Audiobooks on Kindle: Models, Kindle+ and Read & Listen

The short answer

Recent Kindles play Audible audiobooks: Kindle e-readers of the 10th generation and later, Kindle Scribe and Kindle Colorsoft.¹ They have no speaker or headphone socket, so you listen through Bluetooth headphones or a speaker.² Own the ebook and audiobook, and Read & Listen switches between them at the same place.^3,4 Kindle+, as Amazon now calls the subscription, includes audiobooks.^5,7 What a Kindle can’t do is play your own audio files.⁸

Plays: Audible audiobooks
Models: 10th gen and later, Scribe, Colorsoft
You need: Bluetooth headphones
Your own MP3s: Not on a Kindle

Which Kindles play audiobooks

Audiobooks on Amazon’s devices and apps
	Audible audiobooks	Your own audio files
Kindle e-readers, 10th generation and later	Over Bluetooth	No
Kindle Scribe, Kindle Colorsoft	Over Bluetooth	No
Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Touch	Still play; no longer supported by Audible	–
Fire tablets	Audible app, Fire OS 8 or later	–
Kindle app on a phone or tablet	Yes	No

Audiobooks on Amazon’s devices and apps. From Amazon’s and Audible’s help pages, checked 23 October 2026.

Audible lists Kindle e-readers of the 10th generation or later, Kindle Scribe and Kindle Colorsoft; it no longer gives support for the Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Touch, though they still play.¹ On Fire tablets, Audible’s app needs Fire OS 8 or later.⁹

Pair Bluetooth headphones

Put the headphones in pairing mode
Turned on, close to the Kindle, and ready to pair.
Open the Bluetooth settings
Quick Actions (or the Menu), then All Settings, then Wi-Fi & Bluetooth. Turn Bluetooth on.
Pick your device
Tap Bluetooth Devices, choose yours, then Connect. Confirm the PIN if one appears.

If it won’t connect, turn other Bluetooth devices nearby off for a moment, check the headphones connect to something else, update the Kindle’s software and restart both.² The same pairing lets VoiceView, the Kindle’s screen reader, speak through the headphones.¹¹

Switch between reading and listening

Read & Listen (Amazon’s older name was Whispersync for Voice) keeps an ebook and its Audible audiobook at the same place, if you own or borrow both.⁴ Kindle books that have audio show a headphone icon in your library.³

Download the audiobook over Wi-Fi first
Before you switch, so it’s on the Kindle.
Tap the top of the page, then the headphone icon
Select Play: the audiobook starts from the page you were reading.
Go back to reading
Tap the screen, then the book icon or Switch to Reading. The ebook opens where you stopped listening.

Kindle+ (Kindle Unlimited) and audiobooks

Amazon’s help pages now call the subscription Kindle+; its old Kindle Unlimited page leads there.⁷ It lets you borrow up to 20 titles at a time with no due dates, audiobooks included: look for the “with Narration” headset icon, or browse the Kindle+ store filtered to audiobooks. Members who borrow a title listed under “Books with Audio” get the ebook and the audiobook together.^4,5 Kindle+ is offered through Amazon’s US, UK, Canadian, Australian, Japanese, German, French, Indian and other stores, each serving a list of countries.⁶ To compare its cost with Audible, Spotify or Everand for how much you listen, use the subscription calculator.

Your own audiobooks and Libby

A Kindle e-reader is not a player for your own files. Send to Kindle accepts PDF, Word, text, web pages, images and EPUB, not audio, and the Kindle’s USB folder is for documents.⁸ Libby sends Kindle ebooks to a Kindle in the US, but its audiobooks stay in the Libby app.^10,12

For MP3 and M4B files you own (from Libro.fm, LibriVox, a CD or your own recordings), use an audiobook app on your phone, or a browser player.

Audiobook Web PlayerPlay your own MP3 and M4B audiobooks in any browser, with chapters, a sleep timer and your place remembered. Nothing is uploaded. Free · runs in your browser · nothing uploadedOpen the player

More players, by platform: the best audiobook player apps. Audible titles and their protection: Audible AAX files.

Everything else, answered.

Can a Kindle play audiobooks?

Yes, Audible audiobooks, on Kindle e-readers of the 10th generation or later, Kindle Scribe and Kindle Colorsoft, through Bluetooth headphones or a speaker: Kindles have no speaker or headphone socket. The Kindle app on a phone or tablet plays them too.

How do I listen to an audiobook on my Kindle?

Pair Bluetooth headphones or a speaker in Settings, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth. Then open the audiobook from your library (Audible titles you own appear there), or, for a book you own in both formats, tap the headphone icon while reading.

Can I put my own MP3 or M4B audiobooks on a Kindle?

No. Send to Kindle takes documents, ebooks and images, not audio, and Amazon documents no way to play your own audio files on a Kindle e-reader. Play them on your phone with an audiobook app, or in a browser player.

Does Kindle Unlimited include audiobooks?

Amazon’s help pages now call the subscription Kindle+: it includes audiobooks, marked “with Narration” by a headset icon, and for some titles you get the ebook and the audiobook together when you borrow. You can borrow up to 20 titles at a time.

What is Read & Listen (Whispersync for Voice)?

If you own or borrow both the Kindle ebook and the matching Audible audiobook, you can switch between reading and listening without losing your place. On a Kindle, tap the headphone icon while reading; tap the book icon to go back.

Why won’t my audiobook play or download on my Kindle?

Check that Bluetooth headphones are paired and connected, that the Kindle is on Wi-Fi to download the audiobook first, that Sync is on in your Amazon account and on the device, and that the Kindle’s software is up to date. Removing the download and syncing again often fixes Read & Listen.

Can I listen to Libby audiobooks on a Kindle?

Not on a Kindle e-reader. Libby sends Kindle ebooks to a Kindle (in the US), but its audiobooks play in the Libby app. On a Fire tablet, Libby recommends installing the Libby app.

Can I speed up audiobooks on a Kindle?

The Audible app on a phone or tablet has a narration speed setting. Amazon’s Kindle e-reader help doesn’t describe one, so if your Kindle’s player has none, listen in the Audible app.

Do audiobooks work on a Fire tablet?

Yes. Install the Audible app (Fire OS 8 or later), open your library and tap a cover to download. For library audiobooks, Libby recommends its own app on Fire tablets.