Audiobooks ARE books. Period.

We are not going to get into that argument. Its ever-growing popularity among the reading community speaks for itself. As a result, a number of platforms have cropped up in the last few years to cater to this increasing demand. These include Audible, Storytel, Pratilipi, Pocket FM, Google Audiobooks, Librovox, Kuku FM, etc. Which is the best audiobook app in India comes down to the two giants in the market today.

Today, we are going to give you a detailed lowdown on the two leading audiobook platforms to help you decide which one is the right fit for you.

Audible

When considering which is the best audiobook app in India, Audible probably has the biggest brand value with approximately 500,000 titles in its library. This includes books in a wide range of genres. It offers books from classics to bestsellers to self-help books. Audible Originals offers exclusive content which are audiobooks that are only available on Audible.

Audible India offers a variety of subscription plans for its users. The standard plan costs Rs.199 per month which includes 1 credit per month, which can be used to purchase any audiobook on the platform. You get a maximum of 5 credits rollover. The Audible Plus plan is now available in India and Amazon is giving access to all its paid customers free access. Audible Plus gives you ‘all you can listen’ access to select titles from its catalog of about 15,000 titles along with access to Audible Originals and Podcasts.

Any books that you purchase with your credits or by paying the full price are yours to keep even after you cancel your membership. You can go back and listen to them without an active membership. However you lose access to all the books you downloaded through the Audible Plus access.

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Storytel

Storytel is a Swedish audiobook platform that has been delivering audiobooks to readers since 2005. It has been growing exponentially and is now available in 25 countries, including India. Storytel has a selection of over 700,000 audiobooks in 30+ languages. They also have a large selection of ebooks that you can access with your subscription.

Storytel India has 2 plans for its subscribers. The ‘Select’ plan gives you access to regional language books only and costs Rs.149 per month. You can get year long access to the ‘Select’ plan for Rs.999. The ‘Unlimited’ plan gives you access to their complete catalog, including English and regional language titles for Rs.299 a month. The yearly subscription cost of the ‘Unlimited’ plan is Rs.2899.

In either package, you can listen to unlimited number of audiobooks and read as many ebooks as you like. However, if you cancel your subscription, you lose access to all your books.

The Streaming Experience

When it comes to user experience, Audible and Storytel have very similar interfaces and options. You can access them from a wide range of devices and download a book so that you can listen to them offline. Whether its setting a sleep timer, or adjusting the narration speed, both the platforms offer the same experience. After a recent update, Storytel has made it difficult to navigate within a chapter; a feature that Audible has retained. 

Amazon’s Audible has a much larger catalogue of Original and exclusive content than Storytel. However, Storytel has been growing and building up its catalog steadily and may soon catch up with the giant.

The biggest advantage that Audible has over Storytel in user experience is the ‘Whispersync’ feature which lets a user switch between the Kindle book and the audible version seamlessly. On storytel, a user may not even be able to find both versions of the same book, let alone switch between the two so seamlessly. However, if both the ebook and audiobook of the same title is available, Storytel does let you read the ebook while you listen to the audiobook.

Storytel however has a much more dedicated audience with not only a cheaper subscription plan, but also by offering audiobooks in a wide number of Indian regional languages.

Storytel India has an active presence on social media. Aside from their customer service email id, you can reach out to them on social media. They always respond to queries sent out to them through DMs. For Audible though, you will have to reach out to them through the customer service contacts on the amazon site.

Deciding on which is the best audiobook app in India can be a bit tough to decide based on just the user experience.

Best Audiobook App for Authors

As an author, having your book available as an audiobook can be a great way to increase your reach and visibility. Both Audible and Storytel offer audiobook production and distribution services. Which audiobook platform in India should you consider?

Audible’s ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) platform allows authors to choose from three production options: DIY, pay-for-production, or royalty share. With the DIY option, authors have to record and produce their own audiobooks. With the pay-for-production option, authors have to pay a narrator and production team to create the audiobook. And, with the royalty share option, authors and narrators split the royalties earned from audiobook sales.

An author can choose from various distribution options like, exclusive distribution through Audible or non-exclusive distribution to other audiobook retailers such as Storytel, Apple Books and Google Play. Audible offers a 40% royalty rate for exclusive distribution and a 25% royalty rate for non-exclusive distribution.

Storytel also offers audiobook production and distribution services for authors through their subsidiary, Storyside. Storyside’s model is very similar to ACX. Storyside offers its authors the option to record and produce their own audiobooks or work with a professional narrator and production team. They also offer distribution through Storytel’s own audiobook platform and other audiobook sellers. Storytel’s revenue share model offers a 50/50 split between the author and narrator for exclusive distribution. It also offers a 30/35/35 split between the platform, author and the narrator for non-exclusive distribution.

Audible, as of now, has the largest market share and offers a lot more marketing and promotional opportunities than Storytel. Yet Storytel isn’t a platform to be dismissed easily because Storytel’s subscription model lets authors reach out to a more dedicated audiobook listeners. Storytel also offers its members curated recommendations based on their reading preferences.

While deciding which is the best audiobook app in India for authors… Ultimately, the choice between Audible and Storytel for audiobook production and distribution will depend on an author’s individual goals, resources, and priorities.

My opinion of Audible Vs. Storytel

Being a voracious reader myself, I can totally understand why Storytel has a more dedicated audiobook audience. I subscribed to Audible first and used the free credit happily enough. However, once that free credit is used, the plus catalog has very limited titles to offer and buying individual audiobooks feels like an expensive option as most of the time they are priced similar to (sometimes even more) than its paperback counterpart. And I’d rather buy a paperback than an audiobook.

So, when I subscribed to Storytel and took a look at their catalog, I canceled my Audible subscription immediately. I look at Audible as a bookstore where I have ample choices to buy audiobooks, while Storytel is like a library where I can borrow from. I may want to spend more at a bookstore if I like collecting titles, but the library gives me an endless supply of books at a fixed monthly fee.
For me it was a no brainer… 1 book for Rs.199 a month with access to limited titles on the Plus plan or as many books as I can possibly read for Rs.299 a month? The latter of course!

So, there you are. Whether an author or a reader or both, I do hope that this article helps you make a decision on where to publish or where to read!

You can check out Audiobooks in India – A Guide for Authors & 10 Best Audiobook Apps in India

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.