Let’s admit it, some find reading boring. Stories appeal to them when it is being listened to, and so no wonder,free audio book appsare rising today. The good thing with thesefree audio book appsis that listeners can consume these at their convenient time. They’re the ones in control, unlike with audio stories via radio or podcast, where you need to catch certain hours where the story is going to be played. Accessibility and convenience were the main reasons for the success of these free audio book apps. Once the app is downloaded, you can listen to audio books for free.
Another reason why these free audio book apps are widely consumed by listeners is that listening to audio stories is one effective way of enriching your vocabulary or learning another language. Listening improves language ability. Listening is the beginning of understanding.
Experience immersive storytelling with Wehear
For all these reasons lots of people nowadays would like to listen to free audio book apps rather than reading stories.
Many people listen to audio stories for free not only when time is convenient for them. But they can listen to free audio book apps too even when they are doing something else. Audio books are designed in a way that is ideal for multitasking, which is a thing you could never do when reading a printed book. With free audio book apps, you can listen to audio stories while washing the dishes, cleaning the house, or doing the laundry. But some people preferred to listen to audio books for free during rest time. In that way, they can fully absorb the story, or some like free audio stories online for educational and entertainment purposes.
Either way, it is proven that listening to free audio book apps isn’t harmful but instead positively helpful in a lot of ways.
With its rising fame, there is even a list of audio books on youtube that you could check out but lots of audio books online are not free.
So, I’m recommending the 6 best free audio book apps which you can browse online:
6 Best Free Audio Book Apps to Download
1. Wehear
This is one of those best free audio book apps. Wehear is a world of audibles that offers lots of story genres from romance, werewolf, paranormal, and horror. Everything is on Wehear. There are lots of interesting free stories to listen to, which are very enjoyable and easy to understand. In Wehear you can read and listen for free. The stories of their books are told in ways that are understandable for audiences of different English language levels. They also have free audio stories online in another language. The Wehear app has lots of features and is very user-friendly, accessible, and convenient.
The audio stories are good and the narrators are doing an excellent job. The app itself is running smoothly just fine. For me, this is the most user-friendly app because I can use this with multiple devices at the same time. Like, I can download Wehear both on my phone and laptop with no hassle, and lag. But what I like most about this app is that this is a haven of free audio stories online. This is one of those free audio book apps which I would rate 10 out of 10 because of course who doesn’t want good free stories to listen to?
Experience immersive storytelling with Wehear
2. Audible
You can listen to books for free in Audible however for a limited time. So, I would say this is a bit different from those free audio book apps in which you can tap on free stories to listen for a long period of time. Users of this app are given a 30 day free trial that offers the same advantages as those completely free audio book apps. Users can access Audible’s huge catalog of audiobook titles during the free trial.
The only downside is that there are limits on how many audiobooks a user may listen to each month with the basic subscription. Even so, Audible’s free trial is sufficient for people who are interested in trying out audiobooks for the first time. Or readers who don’t typically read much. So, what do you get with 30 days of free stories? You can have full access to the app’s library. Audible can also be downloaded on multiple devices, however, what I don’t like is that this app takes up too much of your device storage.
3. Spotify
I think this is one of those popular free audio book apps. Of course who doesn’t know Spotify? This has become like a household name when it comes to audio consumption from music to stories.
Okay, so what will you get from this app?
The free Spotify Audiobooks service is a part of the Spotify company’s online streaming operation. The program, which was just introduced, features a huge library of both classic and public domain of free stories to listen to. However, free audio stories are accessible only to users of other Spotify products. So, you need to buy first their other products, and Spotify audio books will be given to you for free. While other Spotify products offer paid subscriptions, the new audiobooks hosting option gives consumers a quality experience for free.
Free stories to listen to aren’t a problem, for Spotify has a wide collection of them in varied languages. Also, users can download the app and can use it even when offline. I think this is the best thing about this app. However, the audio book app has a low-quality sound and it’s not as user-friendly as the other apps mentioned above.
4. Libby
This is one of those completely free audio book apps which you can use without paying a subscription. Like those other free audio book apps , Libby is also compatible with a wide range of mobile devices and operating systems. Users of Libby have exclusive access to a wide selection of audiobook titles that are available at the app’s local library. However, though completely free, Libby has temporal restrictions on how long users can listen to books for free.
Although everything on Libby is free, some users might be pissed off
when one’s favorite audiobook isn’t available at their nearby library anymore. That means you have reached the time limit of your access to that free story.
The good thing is, this is one of those free audio book apps that is compatible with multiple devices. Yeah, this is free to use however you have limited access to their library.
5. OverDrive
This is one of those free audio books apps that has both ebooks and podcasts. What I don’t like is, unlike those other free audio book apps, you need to spend lots of time registering in OverDrive in order for you to access their audiobooks. All users must register first in their local library before they can browse the available audio book titles.
The good thing is, OverDrive has a wide range of free stories to listen to, may it be in whatever genre. You just need to go through some hassling registration first before you’ll have unrestricted access to everything they offer. But that’s fine if you’re patient enough.
What I like most about it is similar to those free audio book apps mentioned above, you can also download this with windows and OS devices. But what I hate is the app requires manual file conversion before you can download it. So, this is the kind of free audio book app that you won’t be choosing if you’re too busy with something else, for downloading and registering on it requires lots of time.
6. LibriVox
This is also one of those free audio book apps. When I say free, it means completely free. No hidden conditions. However, recordings of audio stories are all made by volunteers, so audio quality can vary, and certain voices or accents can be a little difficult to understand if English isn’t your native language.
What I also like about these free audio book apps, is that LibriVox provides a vast selection of free audiobooks. Its mission is to make audiobooks more accessible online. They were even the first to start recording books for general public consumption. And If you have any trouble navigating their website, they also upload their recordings to YouTube, and you can also volunteer to read a book.
All the mentioned free audio book apps have their pros and cons. They are all free, the difference is some are with a limited time, and some have other conditions for being offered free. So, If I would rate what is the best free audio book apps among them, I would choose Wehear. Aside, from that Wehear app offers lots of entertaining stories, and their audio narration stands out for me.
And also, I like free audio book apps which are not a hassle and won’t take much of my time downloading and registering. I’m on free audio book apps for the reason that I can multitask with them. So, too much hassle downloading and using the app is a no for busy people. I can get completely free stories on Wehear, plus the app is compatible with all devices, and also the stories are entertaining, and the narration is quality. So, I think this is one of those free audio book apps I would add to my collection.