Best Audiobook Apps for iPhone and Android

By Lucy Rome | Updated on
Best Audiobook Apps for iPhone and Android

Looking for best ways to listen to popular and trending audiobooks? Here is the list of best audiobook apps that you can use to listen anywhere and everywhere!

Audiobooks are immersive, educational, instructional, entertaining and they’re perfect for the time rich and the time poor. Audiobooks can also change the way we listen, read and learn, improving the literacy of young readers and those for whom English is a second language.

For those young learners who have difficulty reading, listening to Audiobooks can make learning a much easier process. It also makes it inclusive and fun!

In most of the audiobook apps, you can search by author, title, topic or genre or even some provide personalized recommendations based on your listening habits and interests.

So, when you've tried out one of these top audiobooks apps, you have an option to go either the audiobooks way or the conventional hardcover books way. Some of the audiobook apps that you can try today are:

BOOKVO is an audiobook app that aims to support those users who are wishing to learn English through giving them access to a wide range of books and specialised learning tools to help them become more fluent in the English language. You can also listen to free audiobooks and enjoy them anytime.

If you are looking for an audiobook app that features thousands of excellent works from some of the best authors of every genre, you can download this app.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


Google Play Books app is an excellent app that can be accessed on Android as well as on iOS devices. This audiobook app allows users to digest content through ebooks, textbooks, audiobooks, and comic books. Audiobook functionalities are well built into Google Play Books, allowing the users to listen to your purchased audiobooks on various platforms and devices. Listeners can pick up the audiobook where they left off on their Android device, iPhone, or desktop PC due to this.

Unlike the other applications on our list, Google Play Books does not require a monthly membership; however, it allows users to preview audiobooks before purchasing them through the Google Play Books marketplace. The preview option ensures that users decide whether to continue with the audio file or not. Google Play Books is available for free to download for iOS and Android devices.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


AudiobookSTORE.com makes buying audiobooks easy and offers better value than many alternative options. You make your purchases on the website and listen to them on the iOS or Android apps. If you would like to use the audiobooks in other ways, you are free to download the files and play them in any mp3 compatible software on any computer or device.

You can listen to all of the audiobooks you buy using the mp3, m4a or m4b-playing software you have already. AudiobookSTORE.com is an excellent and good value choice for families of audiobook fans. Parents can ensure that they have their travel listening entertainment while kids have a ready source of amusement and educational material.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


Audible is an app from Amazon that lets you listen to more than 200,000 different audiobooks. The audiobook selection includes recent bestsellers, classics, and everything in between. With Audible, you can easily buy and download thousands of audiobooks, filtering them by category or browsing new releases. You can also transfer any audiobook you have on your computer or another device via WiFi.

Listening to stories read aloud is proven to help improve kids' reading skills. At Audible, parents can download the best-selling audiobooks for kids from timeless classics to popular series.

One cannot keep Audible away from the list of best audiobook apps, and it tops our list here as well. Audible is easily one of the most popular audiobook apps. It has the most extensive audiobook library, with classics, fiction, nonfiction, technology, politics, fashion, health & wellness, and romance, among other genres. On iOS and Android devices and Kindle and other Amazon products, the Audible app can be downloaded (Echo, Tap or Echo Dot). Audible is available for Android and iOS devices at the starting price of $17.95/month.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


Kobo does have an extensive collection of ebooks and audiobooks, thus making it one of the best apps to listen to audiobooks. Through the plethora of options available, users can tune into their favourite audio file and have a better reading experience. Kobo's audiobook player includes a timeline scrubber bar, time skip buttons, chapter navigation, playing speed configuration, and a snooze timer. In addition to the audiobook player functionality, the Kobo app offers cross-platform syncing and a customizable ebook reader. New users can get a $5 discount on their first ebook purchase if they sign up. Kobo is available for Android and iOS devices for free.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


Kindle app is well-known for its vast collection of e-books and one of the best e-readers out there. But more than reading books, it also provides an extensive library of audiobooks. It is one of the best Android audiobook players you can find. Contrary to other audiobook apps, Kindle for Android gives you the option to choose between two formats for the same work; meaning you can either get an audiobook or an e-book.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


This audiobook app is one of the most popular, completely free audiobook apps available today. The app maintains its cost-free status by having thousands of volunteer readers and partnering with Project Gutenberg, for written copies of the books, and with the Internet Archive for hosting the audio files. Since it is public access and no payment is needed, the majority of the audiobooks on LibriVox are classic literature books. The LibriVox audio book app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and App Store that host the LibriVox libraries like the Audiobooks free app.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


One of the best audiobook apps is Audiobooks.com. It is a free audiobook app with in-app purchases. With over a 100,000 audiobooks in the library and 7,000 available for free download, it is one the best options for those who enjoy a good read. The audiobook player has superior sound quality with the narration speed adjustment feature. Moreover, if you need customer service, you can get in touch from within the app. Audiobooks.com app also has the capacity to add bookmarks and take notes with memos. It is compatible with Android and iOS, and with its sync feature, you can switch to any device without losing your place in the audiobook.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


Scribd is a reading app that gives subscribers access to hundreds of thousands of audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, sheet music, and more. You can read millions of books, magazines, and comics with this app. Not only this the app has a separate library for studies, reports, and case studies. For ease of the user, the app offers to download and read the books whenever they want. Now if you want to select the best ebooks app then you can try and choose this app and enjoy reading and listening with offline access to books as well.

Devices: iPhone, iPad


Libby

10. Libby, by OverDrive

Libby is an app from OverDrive -- a company that works with libraries around the country to show off their e-books and audiobooks on offer. Users will need a valid library card from a participating system to use Libby. But if you meet those criteria, then the app makes it a snap to check out materials or place holds on the titles you want. You can read or listen to them right in the app.

Devices: iPhone, iPad


Hoopla Digital is one of the most popular digital media lending systems, allowing users to borrow items like ebooks, audiobooks, music, and movies from their local library's digital collection.

Suppose your library enables lending out media through Hoopla. In that case, it's a solid competitor among the top audiobook apps thanks to its simple setup and search, as well as its hassle-free navigation, viewing, playback, and returns.

From best-selling novels and blockbuster movies to niche, hard-to-find content, Hoopla offers something for everyone. With your Library card, you may read, listen, and watch without advertising for free and available on iOS and Android devices.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


Storytel

12. Storytel

Users can listen to and read audiobooks and ebooks in English and other languages as much as they want. Discover new favourite stories based on personal recommendations — everything from current blockbusters to critically renowned thrillers, unforgettable novels, and captivating biographies are available. Storytel is a paid app with a subscription starting from $12.98/month and is available on both Android and iOS devices.

Devices: Android, iPhone, iPad


To join the audiobook bandwagon, download one of these applications. Enrich your thoughts without devoting any time away from your usual routine. Put on your earphones and start listening while doing chores or whenever you want. To keep your mind enlightened, read a book or, even better, listen to one! As someone who wishes to explore the world of books, you must strike a balance between earning your money's value and the audiobooks app's quality. Audiobooks are a great way not to stress your eyes, and hence this list was to help you not to worry too much over deciding the best audiobook apps in the market.