Reading written material is a thing of the past, thanks to audiobook apps. These apps have simplified information consumption, allowing you to listen to audiobooks on your phone at home, at work, or on the go.
There are audiobook apps that offer free, full-length audiobooks for streaming or downloading. The apps have plenty of audio material in different genres.
Whether you are an adult, child, or teenager, there will always be something for you. Some of the genres featured include mystery, fiction, education, non-fiction, biographies, myths, kids’ stories, etc.
These apps provide you with multiple output formats for your downloads. These include AAC, MP3, WMA, and more. They offer premium quality content, which you can seamlessly play on any device, including laptops, computers, iOS, and Android devices, and more.
You can also use a free audio converter to have your book in any format of your liking.
In this article, we will feature free audiobook apps that offer free materials without compelling you to subscribe. Our selected apps allow you to browse and choose your favorite audiobooks to listen to when you have time.
Looking for free audiobook apps with your favorite audiobooks? Keep scrolling to discover the best free apps with plenty of audio content in various genres.
Best Free Audio Book Apps Without Subscription
1. Spotibooks
Spotify offers free music and audiobooks for all. This Sweden-based platform has audiobooks to download from your PC, iOS, and Android devices.
It has a library with books in fiction, kids’ storybooks, sci-fi, biography, and fantasy. Other genres include classic literature, plays, and short stories.
Whether it’s a child, teenager, young adult, or more, Spotify has audiobooks for all age groups. The good thing with Spotify is that you have exclusive access to its audiobook library at no cost and without a subscription.
To access your free audiobooks on Spotify, you’ll need to create a free account. It’s easy to use, and you’ll find your favorite books fast with the search function. This app has a rating of 4.55 stars out of 5.
Spotify has a playlist with hours of free recordings on popular titles like Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, and so much more. Once you get your favorite title, just click for instant streaming. The download function is not available yet.
Spotify is pretty user-friendly, and you’ll find your favorite audiobooks in no time. However, the app has a limited title collection.
2. LibriVox
LibriVox features free audiobooks from genres like poetry, children’s fiction, short stories, and action & adventure. It is compatible with PCs, Android, and iOS devices.
LibriVox brings volunteers from all over the world together. These volunteers are tasked with reading and recording texts to create audiobooks. It contains plenty of audiobooks that you can download to your devices and listen to in your free time.
The app is rated highly on Google Play and the App Store. It allows you to search by title, author, subject/genre, language, or reader. When you visit the site, you can choose to volunteer or browse its catalog for audiobooks.
All its short stories, poems, books, and plays on the site are public domain. You don’t need to generate an account with LibriVox to start browsing its catalog.
LibriVox lets you find your titles and download them right away in MP3 format. The app is host to over 15,000 audiobooks, 8,000 of them from the non-fiction, poetry, and novel genres. It also has about 2,000 non-English content.
Besides proofreading and listening to audiobooks, you can also contribute to LibriVox’s success by designing book covers or creating audio M4B files for the eBooks. The audio files are not available for streaming.
Since its launch, the site has had more than 11,000 readers and has a forum for authors and readers to communicate.
3. Kobo Books
Kobo Books is another excellent audiobook, podcast, and eBook app. It offers notable features like switching from audiobooks to eBooks, CarPlay support, and more. It also comes with customization features to help you adjust the text size and style, night mode, annotation features, and multiple language support for a more personalized experience.
The app allows users to post favorite notes, quotes, and thoughts to social media platforms. It has a free version with a large audiobook catalog. Besides its Android and iOS app, it also has a free desktop app for book reading.
Its search bar customizes your audiobook search by author, ISBN, title, or series. The popular, trending, recommended for you, and best of the month lists are also available to hasten your search.
As you browse the app and listen to your favorite audiobooks, the app will start showing similar content on your homepage. Kobo has many genres, including fiction, non-fiction, biography & memoir, romance, business & finance, kids, fiction & literature, science fiction & fantasy, and mystery & suspense. For a broader search, just filter titles by length, category, language, and format.
Kobo has plenty of audiobook topics, including economics, drama, job hunting, LGBT, animals, comics, horror, sports, saga, and more. The app is easy to use, and you can output your audiobooks in MP3 and MP4 formats.
4. hoopla Digital
hoopla Digital is Midwest Tape’s digital service. It provides media and entertainment content to various public libraries in North America. You’ll access free eBooks, audiobooks, TV shows, movies, and more from over 1,500 libraries on this site. Genres include modern classics, children’s books, fiction, and more.
Download audiobooks from your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV Android with this app. The app is downloadable from the HooplaDigital website. Never second guess the app because it is one of the best, with a 4.7 rating on Google Play and a 4.8 rating on the App Store.
Hoopla is like a public library that allows you to borrow free audiobooks with a library card. Once you create an account, you can log in and start borrowing audiobooks right away. Browse and click on the audiobooks to select from the list.
They have almost 60,000 audiobook titles, which you can filter to narrow results by language, date, user rating, format, and more. Click on titles for detailed information, then tap the borrow function to stream or download the book.
Remember, you’re only allowed to borrow audiobooks for a limited time. The books will be removed automatically when you’re done listening. You also have a limit on how many books you’ll check out at a time.
Please note that most Hoopla content is licensed to the U.S and Canada only.
5. Free Books Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg offers educational resources and classic literature in audiobook form. Established in 1971, it’s among the oldest digital libraries available.
Like LibriVox, it relies on volunteers who upload their audiobooks and eBooks. It hosts over 60,000 free audiobook titles, which you can access without creating an account.
Use a PC or Android device to download the app and browse content. There’s a complete list of audio content you can listen to.
Most of them are streaming-ready. Not all content is in audiobook form. Some audiobooks here are digital renditions voiced by computers, while some are read by authors/volunteers.
The audiobooks are available in various formats, including eBooks.
6. Loyal Books
Loyal Books is owned by Twist Idea LLC. It’s a free audiobook app, and is best-suited for kids’ books and classic titles. It was established to create a fun reading experience for users by offering free books.
It allows you to stream and download content from your Android, iOS, and PC. The major genres found here are fantasy, fiction, mystery, and kids.
The platform is an excellent resource for free public domain eBooks and audiobooks. The Loyal Books website lets you download the app and browse popular genres and languages from the list. Search by author, keyword, or title for more refined results.
It has a simple, intuitive user interface. You can create your own local reading library from the massive audiobooks available. It has over 7,000 free books, which you can download or stream directly.
Each of their books is reviewed by readers. The ones featured will be displayed on the dashboard. It also has a top charts section to view audiobooks trending in various categories.
For a seamless listening experience, the app offers a playback function with an adjustable speed. And you can easily translate the audiobooks into 25 other languages.
When you find the title that interests you, click on it to stream or download it in your preferred format. No need to have an account in order to browse content here. The reviews from other users will help you find content quickly.
7. English Story with audios
English Story with audios is one of the best free audio apps that provides numerous stories with an audio and transcription. This application is what you need after a long day of work, as it contains tons of soothing audio stories to keep you engrossed for hours on end.
The stories are narrated in a fascinating fashion, such that, you won’t stop listening until you hear all of it.
If your child enjoys fairy tales, this is the app to get them. More importantly, English learners can use the app to improve their learning; the speaker and dictionary function makes understanding of unfamiliar words a piece of cake.
8. 90000 eBooks & Audiobooks
90000 eBooks & Audiobooks is an app from Amazing Books, Inc. It allows you to listen to and enjoy your audiobooks at no cost. The platform features some of the bestselling classics, eBooks, and new releases to help you diversify.
Their quick menu lets you access features, including bookmarks and a bookshelf. Its audio player has intuitive navigation features, including the rewind, previous, next, and fast forward buttons. It’s also easy to adjust your audio books’ speed settings to two or five times the normal playback speed.
You can easily switch the display to light or dark mode. You can also customize the fonts, margins, and contrast. All the audiobooks you’ve downloaded will sync across your devices.
90000 eBooks & Audiobooks has 70,000 eBooks and 20,000 audiobooks to keep you preoccupied. It is available on all devices. The app does not collect your data nor share it with third parties.
Its filter is one of the features I enjoy most. It makes searching for audiobooks a breeze by sorting your list by release date and popularity and also ensures that you see the audiobooks in the language and by the author you choose.
9. Apple Books
Apple Books is the default audiobook and book app for Apple iOS devices. It is meant for iPad and iPhone users as it comes already installed in the device. You can listen to your audiobooks for free at any time.
Content on this platform is grouped by genre. Use the search function to find the particular audiobooks you want.
The app also has an excellent narrator, which allows you to filter books according to the voiceover artist. This means that you’ll listen to audiobooks from popular celebrity narrators.
Some audiobooks from iBooks feature digital booklets. The app allows you to download or stream your content. You can also control the books’ playback speed.
10. Scribd: Audiobooks & eBooks
Scribd is a user-friendly audiobook app with over 10 million downloads. It contains a catalog with over a million free audiobooks, which it syncs across multiple devices. Users can adjust their audio books’ narration speed.
The app has a vast collection of audiobook titles, including The Alchemist, The Exorcist, and more. It lets you download audiobooks for offline use. You can enjoy premium audiobooks for a month for free.
Scribd is renowned for its user-friendliness. You are free to download or stream your audiobooks. Among the audiobooks available are multiple options of genres that your kids will love to listen to.
11. Libby, By Overdrive
Libby is an audiobook app for mobile users. It is free and compatible with various mobile gadgets. Designed by OverDrive developers, this platform is popularly used by Forbes, BuzzFeed, Reader’s Digest, Lifehacker, and other platforms.
The Libby app is user-friendly and supports online and offline audio listening. All your audio files will be synced into a cloud platform for easy access.
The app has a library containing thousands of audiobooks. You can use the content lists or browse its library to search for content. It also has a guide that will help you find audiobook titles easily.
Its audiobook player has a 3x playback speed that is adjustable and can swipe to skip backward or forward. It also sets a sleep timer. To use the app, you need a card from the local library.
It has a very functional user interface and is free. However, Libby doesn’t have a desktop client.
12. Audio Books & Novels
The app is from the creators of audiobooks.com. This free app is for people who love reading novels and has premium quality audiobooks that are free to stream and download.
You simply have to download it on your device and create an account. It is downloadable on iOS and Android.
The platform has plenty of audiobooks that you’ll sort by author, title, or narrator. Its user interface is sleek and user-friendly. It displays all the free audiobooks available, which are grouped into categories.
Create a customized reading list of your favorite audiobooks to keep them intact when returning them. Most novels featured on the platform are classics and epic romances.
Other themes include fiction, health & wellness, history, and kids. The novels and audiobooks are also available in other languages.
13. Audiobooks Now
Audiobooks Now is an excellent free audiobook app. It has over 150,000 audiobooks, and 1,000 of them are free. Among them are classic titles and bestsellers from renowned authors and narrators.
The app provides a seamless listening experience for users. You can stream audiobooks directly or download them for offline listening.
Download the Audiobooks Now app on Google Play or the Apple store and download as many audiobooks as you want. Your downloaded material will be saved in the cloud and synced across every device you own.
The app lets you create your own bookmarks and store the audiobooks that interest you. It supports CarPlay, which lets you play your audiobooks in your car while driving.
The app was created by BookLender.com.
14. Bookmate: Books & Audio
Bookmate is an audiobook app featuring eBooks in 12 languages. By creating a free account, you’ll access over 50,000 audiobooks. The app has a unique feature, smart suggestion, which allows access to the audiobooks library created by other users.
The user library is like a social platform. You follow other users and get to know the audiobooks they recommend. Share your library to let them in on what you like.
Bookmate recommends audiobooks based on your taste. When streaming or browsing audio content, it follows your interests to present you with suggestions of prospective titles you may like.
By saving quotes from your favorite books, audiobooks, quotes, bookmarks, and other aspects of your audiobook collection, you’ll be able to manage your personal library better.
This app is customizable, allowing you to adjust the narration speed, colors, fonts, set timers, and much more. If you’re an author with personal audio content, you’re free to upload it here for others to listen and rate you.
15. AudioMate: Free Audiobooks. Poem, & Podcast Stories
AudioMate provides free audiobooks and podcasts. The app features exclusive content titles on Android.
AudioMate allows you to download content for offline use or stream the audiobooks. It has thousands of free audiobooks which you can download in different languages. Book categories include technology, music, education, business, and more.
Share interesting audio books with other enthusiasts on the platform as you get a chance to listen to their creations. The platform has simple audiobook uploading tools for the audio files and accompanying text.
The app’s library keeps growing, with new audiobook titles added every week.
16. Bookamo – 10,000+ Free Audiobooks
Bookamo is another free audiobook app you can access on the web and from your Android and iOS devices. The platform was designed to help people read. It lets you create a personal library by searching your favorite audiobooks and storing them in the library.
Bookamo has thousands of free audiobooks and has recorded over 8,000 downloads with audiobooks from 4,000 authors. Their audiobooks are available in 140 genres.
Bookamo is easy to use, with excellent features to help you search for audiobook titles and download them seamlessly on your devices. The best part? You can listen to your audio files at your preferred pace by adjusting the playing speed.
After selecting your audio material, you can bookmark them or save the notes. Bookamo is completely free to use.
17. Audiobooks.com: Books & More
Audiobooks.com offers plenty of audiobooks to download or stream. It features narration speed adjustment, a customizable sleep timer, and a bookmarking tool. The time intervals of the audio content range from 15 to 90 minutes.
The free audiobooks have titles such as Star Trek, Art of War, Black Thursday, etc. It also features audio materials for kids, such as Peter Pan, Snow White, and more.
Developed by RB Audiobooks USA LLC, the app is fast, easy to use, and popular. Audiobooks.com has been featured in The New York Times and Forbes.
It contains more than 250,000 audiobooks and 10,000 of them free. You can filter your search by genre to find the audio content you need. Genres include history, health & wellness, mystery, fiction, and politics, among others.
Audiobooks.com lists all the trending audiobooks to help you find the audiobooks that other users listen to. Its smart recommendation tool automatically picks a book that may interest you.
Besides free audiobooks, this app also has over 100 million free podcasts, and you can set a notification on the app to let you know when a new podcast has arrived.
In Conclusion
If you are an audiobook enthusiast, these free audiobook apps will feed your curiosity. These apps contain great book collections to give you plenty of genres to choose from.
The fact that each app has a distinct set of free audiobooks to download or stream makes it even more exciting to explore.
Having your own library with a wide variety of audiobooks takes all the boredom away. While you learn a lot with each audiobook you listen to, you will also be building a lot of knowledge and inspiration.
Who knows? The material you consume from these apps may become your ultimate ticket to a brighter and more enlightened future.
Scott L. Macarthur is a marketing consultant and an online author. He is mostly engaged in providing his expertise to startups and SMBs. He is also an author on TheNextWeb.