Free Audiobooks: Every Legal Source, Compared

Every legal free source, compared

Libby: your library’s audiobooks on your phone

Libby is “a free app where you can enjoy ebooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines from your public library”; you can stream or download, and “all you need to get started is a library card.”¹ It runs on iPhone, Android and newer Fire tablets, and in a browser at libbyapp.com.¹

1. 1

   Get a library card

   Ask your local public library. A card is usually free for people who live in its area.

2. 2

   Install Libby

   On iPhone, Android or a newer Fire tablet, or use libbyapp.com in a browser on a computer.

3. 3

   Add your card and search

   Search or browse your library’s audiobooks. Borrow a book if a copy is free, or place a hold and Libby lets you know when it’s your turn.

4. 4

   Borrow and listen

   Choose the loan length when you borrow, if your library offers a choice. In the app, audiobooks download on Wi-Fi by default so you can listen offline.

• Holds. Libraries buy individual copies, and publishers often require each copy to be lent to one person at a time, so popular books have waiting lists.²
• Loans. Loan length and how many loans and holds you can have are set by your library; typical choices are 7, 14 or 21 days. Loans return automatically on the due date, at the same time of day you borrowed.^3,15

Downloading Libby audiobooks to listen offline

• Download or stream. In the app, Menu › Downloads sets whether loans download automatically (Everything, Titles Under a size you choose, or Nothing) and whether they download away from Wi-Fi. “Download Only On Wi-Fi” is on by default, and most audiobooks are over 300 MB.^14,17 A cloud icon on your Shelf means the title isn’t downloaded and will stream.¹⁹
• Android SD cards. If your phone has one, Libby tries to save downloads there by default.¹⁸
• Computers. libbyapp.com always needs an internet connection; downloads are for the phone and tablet apps.¹⁹ OverDrive’s old desktop and phone apps, which downloaded MP3s, were discontinued on all platforms on 31 January 2025.²¹
• When the loan ends, the title is returned and deleted from your device.²⁰
• MP3 players and Kindle. “Audiobooks in Libby can’t be transferred to MP3 players or iPods.”⁴ A few library cards still have MP3 access: borrow on a computer at libbyapp.com, then Manage Loan › Read With… › MP3 Player downloads the files, which may not be passed on and must be deleted when the loan ends.¹⁶

Hoopla: no waiting for Instant titles

Hoopla is also free with your library card. Its Instant titles “are always available” with no waiting list, up to a set number of borrows each month; its Flex titles work like Libby’s, with holds when they’re out.⁵ Your library decides the monthly limit, so it’s worth saving Instant borrows for books with long Libby queues.

LibriVox: classics you can keep

LibriVox’s aim is “to make all books in the public domain available, narrated by real people and distributed for free”. It is non-commercial, ad-free and run by volunteers, its texts mostly come from Project Gutenberg, and its audio is hosted by the Internet Archive.⁶

• It’s legal. LibriVox records only texts in the public domain in the USA, and its recordings are public domain too. Outside the USA, check the book’s copyright status in your country before downloading.⁷
• Old books only. In the USA, works published in 1930 or earlier are now public domain.¹³ LibriVox’s own page still mentions an older cut-off.
• Many formats. Each book has 64 kbps MP3s, 128 kbps MP3s, a zip of the whole book, an RSS feed and, for most books, an M4B audiobook file with chapters.⁸
• Readers vary. Volunteers choose what to record, so quality and style differ; many books have several versions.⁶

Free with something you already pay for

• Spotify Premium: 15 hours a month from the subscriber catalog in the US, for Individual plans and Duo or Family managers; unused hours don’t roll over.⁹ See Spotify audiobooks.
• Apple Books: “thousands of free audiobooks and ebooks are available”, and you can sample any audiobook free; there’s no subscription.¹⁰
• Prime Reading: Prime members get “a curated catalog of eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, comics, and more” from Kindle+ (Amazon’s new name for Kindle Unlimited from 22 October 2026).¹¹
• Audible’s free trial: 30 days on Standard or Premium. Books you buy stay yours; cancel before the trial ends to avoid the charge.¹²

What to avoid

Sites offering free downloads of new, in-copyright audiobooks are usually unauthorised. Many YouTube “full audiobook” uploads of current books are also unauthorised; public-domain readings like LibriVox’s are fine. If a recent bestseller is free with no library card or subscription involved, it’s almost certainly not legal.