Books are one of our most common forms of knowledge, recreation, and entertainment. Audiobooks in particular are greatly admired because of their accessibility to people with a wide range of different abilities. But they too can come at a cost, which many are unable to afford. This is why we are going to help you learn how to get free audiobooks online. Just like libraries and e-libraries, there are many online resources that offer free audiobooks.
There are paid platforms that offer free trials and periods of free access, but often you are charged for them as soon as that trial ends. This article will help you find resources where you can find audiobooks completely free of cost.
1. YouTube
The easiest and most convenient way you can access free audiobooks is through YouTube. It’s shocking how many people don’t know that youtube has tons of free recorded audiobooks. Even though there is no making sure of the quality of the recordings, it’s still a free resource that many can take advantage of. There are old classics as well as new modern titles, fiction as well as non-fiction, and many more choices you can find over there.
Channels like Audio Books Pro have tons of free recorded titles for you. You can find Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, IKIGAI by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, as well as modern contemporary romance such as The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. These are just a few titles we came across, you can easily search by the title or author you are looking for, you never know what you can find free of cost.
2. Spotify
Spotify is another common access platform many already use regularly for music and podcasts. What they don’t know is that you can go beyond podcasts on Spotify as well. There are many channels making great quality audiobooks for your benefit. You can search up any titles similar to how you would on YouTube. Additionally, you can go by the category of audiobooks as well and find books you otherwise might not be able to find.
3. Golden Audiobooks
Golden Audiobooks is a lesser-known name in the free audiobook territory. Many others are still somewhat popular or known but Golden Audiobooks is a hidden gem that you might want to check out. Their many different specialties are books from the fantasy, romance, and action genres. The titles range from both older backlists to newer titles from a couple of years ago. Some recent titles you can find here include the 2021 Women’s Prize winner Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin, How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie among many others.
4. Open Culture
There are so many educational resources you can find at Open Culture that would otherwise cost you tons of money. It is a completely free-of-cost platform where you can access textbooks, online courses, audiobooks, and even entire movies. The platform really lives up to its name. Their formats include links to major audio/music streaming platforms such as Spotify or iTunes as well as direct MP3 download options. You can download up to 900 free audiobooks without any payment, except for voluntary donations, if you are able. The only setback is that you might not be able to find all the titles in the format you want.
5. Loyal Books
Loyal Book is a great resource for so many titles of books that are otherwise tucked away because of their lower readership. The interface and website look a little more outdated than it works. In terms of use, the site is adequate enough to work for you. They have so many titles from classics, literature gems, young adult fiction to nonfiction and short story collections.
6. LibriVox
LibriVox is a name that does more niche audiobooks than the others in this list. The organization works through volunteers globally, who work to record any public-domain text/book to bring it in audio form. For those who are unaware of public-domain access, it refers to anything that has no copyrights or its copyrights have expired. The most recent example of this is The Great Gatsby, which entered the public domain as 2021 started and its material copyrights expired. Along with that, LibriVox houses hundreds of audiobook versions of texts and books that are in the public domain. They have more than 15,000 cataloged works that you can choose from.
7. VK
Finally, a platform that is more than a resource. If you are fond of bookish communities and platforms where you can find discourse along with the source, VK is your place. It is ultimately Facebook for people who read, like to discuss what they read or want to read, and ultimately share any free sources they can find. You can chat with people, start conversations around books you want, post any links or files you have that others might benefit from, in turn, expect others to do the same. The interface is simple enough to use and makes the entire experience easy enough for anyone.
8. OverDrive
OverDrive is an application and platform that collaborates with local libraries to bring you books that you are able to borrow from for free, as you would with any physical library. There is an entire process to access your local libraries through their app and website, whether you are using it through your phone or web browser. Simply search any library by location or zip code and go to their digital archive to find titles you are interested in.
9. Scribl
If you prefer lesser-known authors, and your reading taste is more niche than others, this is the right place to find audiobooks you would admire. Scribl and Podiobooks have collaborated or more like merged together, to ultimately do the same work of bringing you serialized stories in the format you like. They are not a completely free platform as their service extends to other stuff that includes paid resources, but there are many other indie audiobooks that you won’t find elsewhere. If you want to discover new and fresh content, this is a great place to go. Even the content that is paid for usually is very cheap and affordable. This is how to get free audiobooks online today, instead of paying large amounts of money for subscriptions or titles. Let us know if you find this helpful and we might do a series with a list of eBook sources that are completely free.
