Imagine if you could read during your commute to and fro office without inviting motion sickness? Or, if you could get in your daily reading quota without having to change your very busy schedules? What if someone told you laugh out loud stories when you have to deal with mind-numbing chores?
Audiobooks. The answer to all of the above.You can simply listen to audiobooks on during your commute which will help you not only drown out the noise, but also get your reading time in. Waiting in queues, or having to deal with mundane chores like dusting or washing dishes – just put on an audiobook on your favourite app, and you are all set.
No wonder that audiobooks are gaining popularity among bookworms. If you are standing on the fence on this, and wondering where to start, we have the list of best audiobook apps in India for you. It should help you at least narrow down your choices and maybe even decide on one particular app to quench your thirst for more books.
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International Apps:
Audible – Audible is the audiobook distribution channel of the e-commerce giant, Amazon. They produce and distribute audiobooks in multiple languages all over the world. Whatever your preferred genre is, or preferred language is, Audible has something for you. With Audible plus you also get access to exclusive content and podcasts. Audible has it’s own app that works both on android and iOS devices and their plans start from Rs.199 per month.
Storytel – This Swedish origin audiobook platform has audiobooks in over 30+ languages and an ever-growing presence that is very encouraging of the future of the audiobook industry. The platform now has 700,000 books in it is catalog and has apps for both android and iOS devices. Storytel has a monthly plan for Indian readers who love to listen audiobooks in their regional language for Rs.149 per month. Their plan of Rs.199 per month gives access to their complete catalog and you can listen to as many books as you like during your subscription.
Google Play Books – Google play books doesn’t have subscription plans. However, they do offer free previews and in-app purchases of individual ebooks. You can listen to the ebooks you purchase across multiple devices.
Scribd – Scribd is an American subscription platform that provides ebooks and audiobooks. It has a smaller audiobook collection than those platforms mentioned above. However, it boasts a collection of 1 million in its overall catalog. Scribd subscription plan starts from Rs.299 per month. It also has a 30 day free trial and so you can check out their catalog before signing up for the paid plan.
audiobooks.com – Audiobooks has a set up similar to Audible but is on the expensive side for Indian listeners. The android and iOS apps make it easy and accessible. It charges $14.95 and gives 1 credit every month. They also provide 2 free credits as sign up bonus.
libro.fm – LibroFm has a monthly plan of $14.99 plus tax and provides 1 free credit every month which you can exchange for a book. Again, this is a service that is bit on the expensive side. However, if you are a book influencer, you can get multiple free Audiobook Listeners Copies every month in exchange for reviews. Their apps allow you to download the book and not only listen offline on their apps, but also allows you to download the files to listen on different devices.
LibriVox – This platform is free and offers public domain books in audiobook format. They allow volunteers to read and record books in their own voices as well. At the moment, they have a catalog of 17,902 audiobooks in 47 languages. They have both android and iOS apps available for anyone to download and listen.
National Apps:
Pocket FM – When we are talking about best audiobook apps in India, we have to start with Pocket FM. It was started in 2018 by and Indian entrepreneur to offer the Indian audience something equivalent to an OTT for audiobook listeners. They offer quite a few free Hindi audiobooks to listeners in serialised manner. They also offer access to regional FM radio channels. Their subscription plans start from Rs.99 per month to Rs.599 per year.
Kuku FM – Another Indian App that was started in 2018 and they have plans for as low as Rs.499 per year. They have books in regional languages, spiritual books like Bhagvad Gita, access to radio channel and podcasts. They also add new books every week and have over a crore of listeners which makes it one of the best audiobook apps in India.
Pratilipi FM – Pratilipi FM offers a huge collection of audio stories from Indian Authors in multiple different genres. With Pratilipi you can subscribe to your favourite authors for Rs.25 on a monthly recurring basis. They too have android an iOS apps.
So, what are you waiting for? Download, subscribe, put your headphones on and let the magic of storytelling begin.
You can check out Audiobooks in India – A Guide for Authors & our hot take on Storytel Vs Audible
Audiobook FAQs:
- What are the benefits of audiobooks?
The top benefits of audiobooks are:
– They have the same benefits as reading as audiobooks disperse the same information as print or ebooks
– Give a break to your eyes from screens
– You can save time and listen to audiobooks during your commute or while doing chores
– It can help readers with learning disabilities
– It can help with vocabulary and comprehension - Do audiobooks help with speech?
Audiobooks can certainly help with the fluency of a language and improve your pronunciation. - How do audiobooks affect the brain?
A person can immerse themselves completely in visualising and imagination, which in turn stimulates their memory and thinking skills. - Do I need to download an audiobook app?
Yes. You will have to download your choice of app from google play store for your android devices or the app store on your apple devices. - How heavy is such an app?
On an average, the audiobook apps are 30MB. However it takes up space when you download a book for offline consumption. - How heavy is an audiobook?
The size of an audiobook is completely dependant on the length of the book. However, on an average they are 28MB per hour. - Is audible account same as Amazon?
Yes. You can log in to Audible account with your amazon account login details, but you have to make payments for your audible subscription through audible site. - Do all apps support all languages?
It depends on whether each platform has books in the language you are looking for. Both Storytel and Audible offer audiobooks in multiple languages. - Are any audiobooks available on YouTube?
There are couple of dedicated YouTube channels that provides public domain audiobooks.Some of them are: Greatest Audiobooks, Audio Books, Free Audiobooks - Does apple music / amazon music / Spotify do its own audiobooks?
Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc are music distribution channels. They do not produce audiobooks or distribute audiobooks. Spotify does offer audiobooks distribution, but only in US at the moment. However, none of these platforms produce audiobooks.