That said, if you’re like me and don’t have a library nearby, you can still sidestep the hundreds of dollars it can cost for a yearly subscription to Audible as long as you have a friend or family member with a library card who is willing to share their login information with you. People who live in areas without dedicated libraries won’t have access to it, which is worth keeping in mind if you’re trying to set up an account. Instead, you need to check out and reserve books as you would in a physical library.īecause Libby is tied to local libraries, it’s not an app that can be used by everyone. The app essentially works as an extension of your local library, meaning that you don’t necessarily have unlimited access to the content on it. Libby allows users to access thousands of audiobooks, including new releases, for absolutely no charge. Libby is an audiobook and e-book app that’s connected to libraries across the country. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way, thanks to Libby. That sentiment is what caused me (and many other users) to stick with it for years despite having to pay a small fortune just to stay current with the latest releases.

To me, Audible always felt like an app that was about as good as an audiobook app could be because of how much better it is than things like Spotify’s audiobook offerings, despite Audible’s major flaws and high price. While it’s an overall decent service, Audible is hindered by plenty of paywalls and restrictions - regardless of which type of Audible subscription you have.

It’s owned by Amazon, so there’s big money behind it, making the app nearly inescapable. It feels safe to say that Audible is the most popular app for those looking to get into audiobooks.

Best free audible books