It’s easy to see why audiobooks have recently become more popular: something is enticing about stories given to live by professional performers who can bring dimension to a variety of characters.
Audiobooks are your portable pals if you want to listen to stories while walking, doing chores, or lying down with your eyes closed. While audiobooks are more expensive than ebooks or print books, we can help you cut costs (and expand your collection) by directing you to these, free audiobooks online.
List of the finest sources to get free audiobooks online
1. Spotify
This music streaming company offers a variety of audiobooks, and they’ve even gotten into the game by creating their line of high-quality, professional audiobooks. Both of these lists include works that are in the public domain, which means their copyright has expired and they are likely to be ancient classics — so put your sophisticated hat on and get ready to start marking novels off your ‘books to read before you die” list.
Spotify also has a big number of short story podcasts with works from all around the world, so utilize the search box to look up the writers or stories you’re interested in. The 1001 Classic Short Stories and Tales podcast is a fantastic place to start. Just keep in mind that you’ll need a (free) Spotify account to listen to any Spotify content.
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2. LibriVox
Because all of LibriVox’s recordings are done by volunteers, audio quality varies, and particular voices or accents may be difficult to understand if English isn’t your first language. To make audiobooks more accessible online, this platform delivers a massive resource of free audiobooks and was a pioneer in recording public domain works for the general audience.
3. Audible
Not everyone enjoys classic literature. If you’re seeking new audiobooks or a specific novel that isn’t in the public domain, Amazon’s Audible has a huge selection of professionally narrated titles.
Though it’s normally a paid service, you can join up for a 30-day trial that includes a free audiobook and access to a slew of other benefits, like Audible’s fiction podcasts and a separate list of free audiobooks for Alexa users.
Finally, on Audible Stories, Audible is now offering a selection of completely free audiobooks for children and teenagers.
4. Lit2Go
The Florida Center for Instructional Technology at USF offers Lit2Go, a free collection of public domain novels.
The Secret Garden, The Story of Doctor Dolittle, Little Women, and Peter Pan are among the excellent classic children’s literature in Lit2Go’s collection.
Adults, too, are spoiled for choice, with some of the great novels of all time in their library, including Great Expectations, Moby Dick, Dracula, and Wuthering Heights, to name a few.
5. BBC Sounds
The BBC has released a new free app called BBC Sounds. It presently houses the company’s radio stations, which broadcast a wide range of radio broadcasts, podcasts, and even audiobooks.
The BBC has a long tradition of collaborating with the country’s most well-known performers to create radio dramatizations, and it’s now expanding to include free shortened audiobooks. If you don’t mind listening to abbreviated editions, you’ll be able to get some excellent listening.
6. Audiobooks.com
Audiobooks.com is another paid service, although they have a generous trial offer that includes three free audiobooks. This, like Audible, is perfect if you’re looking for certain modern releases or don’t care for the classics.
Their high-quality audiobooks are narrated by expert voice actors, so you can’t go wrong with any of them. Anyone up for some free audiobooks online on your next road trip?
7. Rakuten Kobo
Kobo’s audiobook catalog is fairly vast, and it works similarly to other subscription services, so you’ll probably find what you’re searching for here. It’s usually a paid service, but you can get a free high-quality audiobook if you sign up for a free trial, so it’s worth a shot! Remember to cancel your subscription before your credit card is charged.
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8. Open Culture
Open Culture has done the legwork for you and compiled a comprehensive list of free audiobooks available online. As a result, there will be some overlap with the public domain books on the remainder of this list — but their list is so useful that you’ll forgive them.
9. Learn Out Loud
Learn Out Loud’s objective has been to provide free multimedia for educational reasons since 2005, and they’ve done an excellent job doing it.
They have over 3,000 free audiobooks on their website, and if you want to be more flexible with your listening habits, you can also check out their broader directory of audio and video content, which includes lectures, seminars, speeches, and much more.
10. All You Can Books
Consider a cafeteria, but with books instead of food. This is a paid service, similar to Audible, Kobo, and Audiobooks.com. Signing up for a free 30-day trial with All You Can Books, on the other hand, gives you the freedom to listen to as many audiobooks as you like during that time – and yes, that is a challenge!
11. Free Classic Audiobooks
Free Classic Audiobooks is a simple website that does exactly what it says on the tin: it lets you download classic works as MP3 or M4B files.
Sure, it’s simply another option for public domain novels, but the benefit of having so many is that you can pick and choose which narrator you want if you don’t like someone’s voice. You’ve been spoiled by the internet. Thank you very much.
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12. Storynory
Fairy tales, educational materials, and full-length audiobooks: Your child’s audiobook needs are taken care of by Storynory. From Oscar Wilde’s stories to Greek, Indian, and Norse mythology, tiny readers will find something to enjoy in this fantastic collection. We may need to brush up on our mythology. It’s never too late to start.
