Guides
Every audiobook question, answered.
From “what is an M4B?” to “how does ACX royalty share work?”: plain answers first, then the detail, with charts you can change, the free tool for the job, and a source for every fact.
30 guides and references
Most asked
- Free audiobooksWhere to get audiobooks free and legally: your library (Libby, Hoopla), LibriVox, Spotify Premium hours and more, with each one’s catch.Read
- Spotify audiobooksHow many audiobook hours Spotify Premium includes, what counts, what top-ups and Audiobooks+ cost, how Family plans work, and why a book is locked.Read
- Audible creditsWhat an Audible credit costs and is worth, when credits expire, pausing instead of cancelling, family sharing, offline listening and quiet audio.Read
- What is an M4B file?M4B is an MPEG-4 audiobook file: AAC audio with chapters, a cover and bookmarks. What it is, how it differs from M4A and MP3, and how to open one.Read
Files & formats
M4B, MP3, chapters and converting between them.
- What is an M4B file?M4B is an MPEG-4 audiobook file: AAC audio with chapters, a cover and bookmarks. What it is, how it differs from M4A and MP3, and how to open one.
- Play M4B on any deviceHow to open an M4B audiobook with its chapters on every device, step by step, and what to do when one won’t play.
- Audiobook player appsAudiobook players for your own MP3 and M4B files on every platform: price, chapters, sleep timers, CarPlay and Android Auto, and adding books.
- Organise an audiobook libraryThe folders, file names and tags Audiobookshelf, Plex and Jellyfin read: author and series folders, narrators, covers, and fixing bad grouping.
- M4B vs MP3M4B keeps a book in one file with chapters and smaller AAC audio; MP3 plays everywhere. A side-by-side comparison, file sizes, and which to use.
- Audiobook formatsThe formats Audible, Apple, Google, Kobo, Libby and Spotify use, which you can keep, M4A, AAC, Opus and FLAC explained, and the best for your files.
- Audible AAX filesWhat an AAX file is, why it won’t open in VLC, how to play Audible books on every device, what the law says, and where to buy DRM-free.
- Convert MP3 to M4BTurn a folder of MP3s into one M4B audiobook with chapters and a cover: in your browser, on a Mac, with ffmpeg, and why Audacity and VLC aren’t the way.
- Convert M4B to MP3Convert an M4B audiobook to one MP3 or to one MP3 per chapter, free and without uploading it, plus the ffmpeg and VLC ways. DRM-free files only.
- Audiobook chaptersHow chapters work in M4B and MP3, which players read MP3 chapters, and how to add, rename, detect and split chapters without re-encoding.
Listening
Credits, subscriptions, free audiobooks, length and speed.
- Audiobooks on KindleWhich Kindles play audiobooks, Bluetooth pairing, switching between reading and listening, Kindle+ audiobooks, and why your MP3s won’t go on.
- Kobo audiobooksWhich Kobo eReaders play audiobooks over Bluetooth, the Kobo Books app and CarPlay, Kobo Plus, Kobo’s audiobook format and your own files.
- CD, USB and carPut an audiobook on a USB stick your car plays in order, burn it to audio or MP3 CDs, and rip audiobook CDs into one file, with stereo limits.
- Audiobooks on YotoPut a DRM-free audiobook on Yoto Make Your Own cards: 100 tracks, 5 hours and 500 MB a card, which files work, upload, icons and offline play.
- How long is an audiobook?Narrators read about 9,300 words an hour, so a 90,000-word novel runs about 10 hours. Word count to hours, average lengths, and what changes it.
- Best listening speedNormal narration speed, how fast you can listen and still follow, how much time faster speeds save, and how to change speed in every app.
- Audible creditsWhat an Audible credit costs and is worth, when credits expire, pausing instead of cancelling, family sharing, offline listening and quiet audio.
- Spotify audiobooksHow many audiobook hours Spotify Premium includes, what counts, what top-ups and Audiobooks+ cost, how Family plans work, and why a book is locked.
- Audible vs SpotifyPrice, catalogue, ownership and listening limits compared, with a calculator that prices each service for how much you actually listen.
- Free audiobooksWhere to get audiobooks free and legally: your library (Libby, Hoopla), LibriVox, Spotify Premium hours and more, with each one’s catch.
Making & publishing
Recording, ACX, narrators, royalties, publishing and AI narration.
- ACX requirementsEvery ACX audio rule in plain words: RMS −23 to −18 dB (not LUFS), peaks, noise floor, room tone, MP3 and file rules, why QA rejects files.
- Room toneRoom tone is the sound of your room with nobody speaking. Why audiobooks need it, how much to record, how quiet it must be for ACX, and how to make it.
- Record an audiobook at homeA complete home-recording guide: treating the room, choosing a microphone, recording settings, punch-and-roll, editing and mastering to ACX standards.
- Audacity for audiobooksRecord, clean up, master and export an ACX audiobook in Audacity 3 or 4: levels, Punch and Roll, the mastering chain, ACX Check and export.
- Audiobook narratorsWhat narrators charge per finished hour, what they earn, royalty share, and the practical path to becoming an audiobook narrator.
- Publish an audiobookSelf-publish an audiobook on Audible, Apple, Spotify, Google Play and Kobo: every route, ACX vs Findaway (INaudio), royalties, files and AI rules.
- ACX royalty shareHow ACX royalty share splits royalties with a narrator for seven years, what Royalty Share Plus adds, and when paying upfront costs less.
- AI audiobooksHow AI narration works, how good it is, how to make an AI audiobook free in your browser, and which stores accept AI-narrated audiobooks.
Reference
The glossary and every store’s requirements.
- Audiobook glossaryPlain definitions of the audiobook terms you’ll meet: from ACX, RMS and noise floor to M4B, CBR, PFH and royalty share, each linked to a tool.
- Platform requirementsAudio and cover requirements for every audiobook store in one place: levels, formats, bitrates, file rules and cover sizes, dated and sourced.