Free audiobooks are an incredible resource for book lovers of every type.
More and more people are discovering the joy of listening to an audiobook during their workout or commute with each passing year. Nothing beats the convenience of being able to listen to your favorite titles for fun or education on your phone, laptop, or another device.
But where should you go to find your next listen?
Read on to discover fifteen of the best places to download and stream audiobooks for free in 2024.
Where can I get audiobooks online for free?
When you’re searching for free audiobooks, it’s essential to stick to trustworthy websites. There are a lot of piracy-based services out there that may claim to offer free audiobooks but actually offer nothing but malware and misery. Don’t run the risk of infecting your computer or phone. Stick to one of the providers on this list instead.
Digital Book is a platform providing a wide range of different ebooks, audiobooks, and podcasts for download. A dedicated Digital Book app is available or you can browse through their website. Digital Book has clean categories making it easy to find the latest trending titles, titles of particular genres, those top-rated by users, and those in a wide range of different languages.
Although the popularity of eBooks may have exploded in recent years, the format is also perfectly suited for the oldest and greatest books out there. Free Classic Audiobooks does precisely what it promises – it provides a range of classics in either MP3 or M4B format for you to enjoy. There’s also an option to request a particular audiobook in case there’s a golden oldie you can’t find on the site.
The ascent of e-learning has enabled people from anywhere in the world, to learn about almost anything, even while on the move. Podcasts play a huge role in that leap forward. Learn Out Loud offers a wide range of educational material in audio format, covering topics ranging from Arts through to History, Literature, and Technology.
Chirp is a free-to-sign-up for Audible alternative. They offer free audiobooks and book deals that start under five dollars. From John Grisham and Walt Whitman to Agatha Christie, you’ll find a nice selection of audiobooks to take with you anywhere.
One of Chirp’s standout benefits is that it doesn’t require a subscription, commitments, or waitlists.
Librivox is a little different from a lot of the other free audiobook sites out there. The main focus is not to provide the same audio titles that are available elsewhere. Instead, Librivox is on a mission to record audio versions of books in the public domain and make them available for people to freely listen to. If you’re passionate about the project, you can even volunteer to help record books for others to enjoy.
Lit2Go adds even more value than your average audiobook service. As well as offering a wide range of classic poems, plays, and audiobooks, the company includes bonus educational materials like study guides and companion PDFs with every download. This supplementary material makes Lit2Go the perfect service for students, teachers, and anyone else who wants to gain a deeper appreciation of the classics.
Loyal Books combines a wide range of classic titles with the power of community. You can rate and review your favorite titles and leave notes so other listeners know what to expect. Every download is available in several formats and also offers various ebook formats.
Although Mind Webs isn’t currently active with new titles, fans of old-school science fiction should check out its archive. If you’re looking for atmospherically recorded classic sci-fi, Mind Webs is the place for you. Some of the best work from all-time masters of the genre is just a click away.
Open Culture is an incredible timesaver if you want to listen to some of the best freely available audio material without having to trawl through every other service on this list. As well as a thorough collection of audiobooks, you can find recordings of classic poetry and even material from contemporary authors.
While a lot of free audiobook sites focus on classics that are freely available, OverDrive offers a more comprehensive selection of listens, including contemporary titles. How? Through a partnership with libraries across the country, OverDrive enables listeners to check out even the newest releases without having to pay a penny.
Scribl takes a unique angle on offering great-value content for ebook readers and audiobook lovers. Half of all its content is available for free. The other half is available on a model known as crowd pricing. The price of the content adjusts based on its popularity. As a community, Scibl listeners work together to find a fair price point for each title.
Project Gutenberg is famous for offering one of the biggest selections of public domain works anywhere online. While it may be a popular choice for ebook fans, audiobook lovers have a lot to enjoy here with a great selection of titles recorded by talented human narrators.
While you know Spotify for its comprehensive selection of music and podcasts, you might not have checked out its regularly updated audiobooks playlist. Paid subscribers are able to enjoy listening without advertisements but you can get free access first to see if this is the right audiobook listening service for you. For some of the best audiobooks on Spotify, check out this article.
Storynory is the perfect free service for younger listeners, containing an amazing selection of poems, classic fairy tales, and newer stories. Storynory is an ideal resource for education or for fun.
Sync is a free Spring and Summer program for listeners. They give away free audiobooks each week during the program, aimed at teens. The service features some of the best titles each and every year. No word yet on when the 2024 edition of the program will begin.
Just like its name implies, Thought Audio is the perfect place for intellectually discerning listeners. The service focuses on offering audiobook editions of classic works of literature and philosophy.
Believe it or not, you can even find some free audiobooks on YouTube.
The worldwide popularity of ebooks is unlikely to slow down any time soon.
The growth of internet speeds and the prevalence of powerful mobile devices means more and more people are able to listen to the books they love no matter where they happen to be.
That’s something to celebrate! We hope you enjoy taking part in the free audiobooks revolution.
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