Can you remember the times when we had to buy CDs and DVDs to listen to music? Those days are gone. But still, we use digital devices to listen to our favorite music. Even many platforms offer audiobooks to listen to the audio version of your favorite book. If you are an iPhone user, you will find many types of audiobook apps in the app store.
But most of their products are generated by robots. There is no taste of an audiobook if it doesn’t create with a human voice. Therefore, today I have brought the hotlist of the top 10 best audiobook apps for iPhone. So let’s dive into it.
Why these Apps?
What’s the best audiobook app for the iPhone? As I have mentioned earlier, some audiobook apps generate their audiobook via robots. So, the voice will be monotonous and boring. You will not get a better experience by using those apps. For this reason, I have made this list because these apps give you original narrator books and the original voice that you love.
10 Most Popular Audiobooks Apps
1. Apple Books
If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, then the chances are good that you’ve had at least one experience with the Apple Books ios app. Most iPhone users will select Apple books as their first priority. It is Apple’s own product and the best audiobook app for iPhone for free. It is available for both iPhone and iPad users. iPhone comes with preinstalled Apple Books app. It has a wonderful premium collection of audiobooks. Besides, it supports books also. You’ll get the option to select your own country to listen to the native audiobooks if it is available in your country. You will fall in love with its user-friendly interface. There is an option for library management also. You’ll find recently listened audiobook, your wishlist, and audiobooks recommendation in one sidebar.
Still, Apple Books doesn’t have any paid subscription fees, which means it is totally free for the users from Apple’s iOS store.
Features:
- A robust collection of audiobooks for each category, including fiction, nonfiction, thrillers, and many more.
- Notification for Top audiobooks, new releases, various offers.
- Audiobooks are created by authors, voice actors, and native speakers.
- You can easily browse and download free samples and previews of available and upcoming audiobooks.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free
Average rating: Not available
2. Audible
If you have an iPhone or iPad, you should really check out an Audible App! It is an Amazon audiobook app for iPhone available on the Apple app store with 1.2M ratings and reviews. With a great collection of audiobooks, you will find audio shows along with podcasts and originals also. It becomes famous because of those Hollywood celebrities who contribute in narrating their favorite audiobooks. You will find here different types of audiobooks of your favorite authors. Audible has the option to download audiobooks for offline listening. Besides, there is an option to sync your audiobooks with all of your devices. You can also choose the speed of the narration of your audiobook.
Though you have to purchase a premium subscription for Audible but you can download your first book totally free. It has two plans, Audible Plus costs $7.95 per month, and Audible Premium Plus costs $14.95 per month. However, you can try their first 30 days free trial before purchasing a premium subscription.
Pro Tip: To get the first-month free audiobook, read everything about their membership subscription.
Features:
- Create your own library from entire premium audiobooks.
- If you don’t like a credit-bought title, you can swap it with simple exchanges.
- Access to unlimited numbers of audiobook contents.
- Thousands of original audiobooks and podcasts.
- You can stream audiobooks along with downloading them to listen offline.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Plus Monthly – $7.99, Premium Plus Monthly – $15.99
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5
3. Libby
The Libby Audiobook is the ultimate choice for those who want to read their favorite books while they are out on vacation or on a business trip. This is because it not only guarantees to keep you entertained, but it also ensures that you hear every word of the book. Libby is an audiobook app on iPhone created by Overdrive, a combination of ebook reader, an audiobook player, and digital media management. It is one of the best audiobook apps for iPhone. Even you can add your library card and lend ebooks and audiobooks from your local library.
Wherever most of the audiobook apps required a paid subscription, you can listen to newly released audiobooks for free. Though it doesn’t offer a wide range like Audible, but it is totally beneficial for those who don’t want to pay for an audiobook subscription.
Features:
- Find your favorite audiobook from a vast catalog of digital books.
- You can borrow digital audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines from your local library.
- Download audiobooks and ebooks for offline reading or streaming.
- Sync audiobooks with Apple Carplay to play them.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5
4. Hoopla
For those who are still not aware of the name of Hoopla, it is the best free audiobook app for iPhone. The interface of the app is fast and flawless. Your navigation experience will never become complicated, and you will always get access to a great collection of digital content. Even you can borrow ebooks, movies, and music if your library supports it. The easy navigation and user-friendly interface make it a solid competitor to other best audiobook apps for iPhone. You can log in with your library card to use Hoopla Digital. It doesn’t matter which library it is; users have access to every content. Even you can listen to a specific title parallelly with other patrons. The most important thing is that it is totally free for the users with a lot of features.
Features:
- Keep your digital library always with you.
- Available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
- Download contents for offline and immediate stream option.
- Synchronize your borrowed content with other devices.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5
5. Google Play Books
Surprisingly, Google Play Books is also available on iOS. It is one of the most popular Audiobooks. Besides, it is suitable for those who just switched from Android to iPhone. If you like to read books while traveling, then you might want to check out Google Play Books for your iPhone. It is an all-in-one app for digital content such as audiobooks, ebooks, and many more. Though it does not have a catalog like top audiobook apps, it doesn’t cost any subscription fees. If you have a google account and have used it previously on your android, you can easily synchronize the previous contents. Even Apple Carplay allows it to run. It has features including a sleep timer, playback speed control, and jump back and forward. Even you can purchase new audiobooks and add them to your Google Play Books.
Features:
- No need for a subscription, totally free.
- Start from where you left off, even in Apple CarPlay.
- Available shortcut for Siri, “Hey Siri, play my audiobook.”
- Free preview samples are available from unlimited books.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free
Average rating: 4.5 out of 5
6. LibriVox
This audiobook app has literally thousands of books available to you in both audiobooks and ebook format. The sheer volume of material provided through this site cannot be adequately described, but you can at least begin to understand the scope of the work that is being done. There is an enormous range of topics – religious, educational, literature, history, and science, to name just a few. Some of the audiobooks available through LibriVox include works by J.K. Rowling, Maya Angelou, Chuck Palmin, and countless others. The list continues to grow every day with new titles added. This not only ensures a large and varied selection of titles but also provides the potential for readers to remain up-to-date on current books.
Features:
- Available in more than 30 languages.
- Unlimited access to more than 50,000 audiobooks.
- No hidden charge, everything is free.
- Bookmarking and sleep timer features are available.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5
7. Spotify
Spotify, a renowned streaming app in the world. It is on the top of the choice list of audiobook listeners. Many people know it only for music streaming, but it has a massive collection of audiobooks. You’ll find every type of book here. Such as sci-fi, fiction, and non-fiction, biography, even kids’ books also. The list is boundless. Besides, you can stream your audiobooks and podcast without any extra cost. You can share your library or playlist with friends and family. If you don’t bother with ads, then you can use Spotify without any charge. But it has multiple pricing, for instance, duo, family, music, even for students. So you can choose whatever you want. I’ll suggest you go for a premium package. You’ll definitely love it.
Features:
- Play audiobooks on any device.
- Enjoy music without advertisement in the premium version.
- Download your file to listen offline.
- Better and premium sound quality.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Free (With Ads), Individual – $9.99/month, Duo – $12.99/month (2 accounts), Family – $14.99/month (6 accounts), Student – $4.99/month
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5
8. Libro.FM
If you love to listen to the audiobooks published by Indie authors, then you can try Libro. You can say it is an alternative to Audible because the business model is quite similar. It is another convenient and best audiobook app for iPhone. Libro has more than 100K audiobooks in its library. Besides, it supports DRM-free content also. You’ll get access to more than 270 indie bookstores. Another thing is, if you don’t like subscriptions, then you are allowed to buy a single audiobook too. Even if you have any purchased audiobooks in your store, it will automatically sync this app. So if you’re looking for a real alternative to Audible, then try Libro. It will cost $0.99 for the first month; then you have to pay $14.99 every month per audiobook. The monthly subscription is available in the USA and Canada only.
Features:
- Bookmarks your content and sync them with other devices.
- Control playback speed and sleep timer.
- Set custom tags to organize your library.
- Download DRM-free audiobooks and share with friends to earn free audiobooks.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Membership – $14.99/month for one audiobook credit; additional audiobook will cost 30% less.
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5
9. Scribd
Scribd is an all in one service provider. It has an audiobook app for ios. Though the collection is not huge, but you can enjoy every audiobook if you are a subscriber. Besides, they have a broad collection of other digital content including, ebooks, magazines, and documents. You will get access to the latest content. Scribd is available for both iPhone and iPad. It is better than Google Play AudioBook. Because Google Play AudioBook doesn’t allow user access without separate paid subscriptions. But in Scribd, you’ll get access to everything with one monthly subscription charge. Besides, you can also contribute to Scribd by releasing your audiobooks or podcasts. Even you’ll get a 30 days free trial option to check this app before purchase.
Features:
- Unlimited access to the most extensive digital library collection in the world.
- Modify your playback speed.
- Sleep timer feature.
- Option for playing audiobooks offline.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: Membership – $9.99/month, Audiobook Credit – $12.99
Average rating: 4.7 out of 5
10. Audiobooks.com
Last but not least, Audiobook.com is also on our list. It is one of the best audiobook apps for the iPhone. If you want access to both free and paid bestselling titles, then there is no alternative to Audiobooks.com. It has more than 100K premium audiobooks along with 8K free titles. Besides, they add hundreds of new audiobooks every week. You can use it on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, but it doesn’t support CarPlay yet. You can use the playback speed editor to control the narration speed and set a sleep timer if you want. It has a live chat with the customer care option within the app. It is also a subscription-based service provider. You don’t have to pay for the first three audiobooks and will get a 30 days free trial. But then you have to pay $14.95 per month after the trial period.
Features:
- Access to the best selling audiobooks.
- Find popular audiobooks and podcast suggestions.
- Sleep timer for bedtime audiobooks.
- Get the latest notification from your subscribed podcasts.
Compatibility: iPad, iPhone
Price: $14.95 per month.
Average rating: 4.7 out of 5
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a lot of audiobook apps for iPhone users looking to enjoy their leisure time. I enjoyed all of the apps discussed here. They each have their pros and cons, but the choice is yours. But if you want my suggestion, then I will suggest you go for Audible. It is one of the best audiobook apps for iPhone I have ever used. If you want to be able to listen to your favorite books in the clearest audio format possible for entertainment, then the options are nearly limitless. Whether you should try the Apple Books or buy the Audible app for your iPhone remains a matter of personal preference.