Amazon Whispersync for Voice is a fantastic thing for audiobook listeners because it lets you buy audiobooks a lot cheaper than on Audible. And it also makes it possible to read the same title in both ebook and audiobook format!
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What are Amazon Whispersync Books?
Whispersync is a system by Amazon that allows readers to switch between the ebook and audiobook format of the same book. “Whispersynced” books are marked with a special icon on Audible. In order to be eligible, the ebook and audio version need to be identical.
Whispersync is very popular because it offers readers several benefits:
It syncs your ebook reading progress with the Audible version so you can swap between both formats.
For example, if you enjoy reading at night in bed, you can read the ebook in a Kindle app or device. And when you commute to work in the morning or have boring chores to do, you continue with the story in Audible.
The Kindle or Audible app will always jump to the point where you last left off in either format. You don’t have to do anything to use Whispersync other than owning the ebook and audiobook on the same Amazon account!
Amazon also lets you experience immersion reading this way. You can listen to the Audible narration while reading the ebook. Practicing readers can greatly benefit from this. But many proficient readers also enjoy experiencing a story this way.
And last but not least, we get the “Whispersync deals”. As you can see in the Audible screenshot above, Whispersynced audiobooks are offered at a significantly reduced price.
I hear you say: “What? Are Audible audiobooks cheaper if you own the Kindle book?” And the answer is, in many cases, yes! Isn’t that awesome?!
These deals are a great option for audiobook fans who don’t like subscriptions and anyone who likes to own all of their audiobooks. It’s a very affordable way to buy audiobooks from a huge selection.
Why are some audiobooks cheaper when you bought the Kindle ebook? Well, because it’s a great promotional tool for Audible. The deals encourage us to buy an audiobook that we otherwise maybe wouldn’t have gotten. And it gets us hooked on Audible!
Related article: How does Audible work?
Why Whispersync is so great for Audiobook fans
You’ll find that most Whispersynced audiobooks will be either $1.99 (those are most often Amazon Publishing or Audible Studios productions) or $7.49 (that’s the standard Whispersync price most publishers and indie authors get).
You can also find offers for titles from big publishing houses, but if you only want the audiobook, these are rarely worth it as the ebooks are expensive. Spending an Audible credit will be the cheaper option here.
Generally, when you want to buy an Audible book, you should always check Amazon first to see if you can buy it cheaper with what I like to call a “Whispersync deal”.
Let’s check out an example:
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover** was a huge hit. You can buy it for an Audible credit which I consider worth $14.95 (the price of the monthly subscription) or you can get the very same Audible book through Amazon. You go to the title’s ebook page, and you can now buy the Kindle book for $5.99 and add the Audible narration for only $1.99!
So, instead of spending an Audible credit worth $14.95, you now get the audiobook for only $7.98 (plus applicable taxes of course)! And you own the ebook as a bonus.
If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can get it even cheaper. The ebook is included in KU, and when you borrow it for free, you can also buy the Audible narration for only $1.99.
In both cases, whether you buy the ebook or borrow it through Kindle Unlimited, you own the audiobook! It will be automatically added to your Audible app, and you can listen to it whenever and as often as you want. Even while yoiu don’t have an active AUdible or Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Yes, you do not need an Audible subscription to listen to Whispersync Audible books!
You simply install the free Audible app and log in with the same email and password you use for your Amazon account.
Buying a Whispersynced audio version works independently of an Audible subscription. So, even if you don’t have an active Audible membership, you can buy these cheap audiobooks on Amazon and listen to them in the app as you would listen to any audiobook you bought for a credit. They are added to your Audible library and will stay there!
Related article: How to listen to Audiobooks with Kindle Unlimited
How to add Whispersync Narration to a Kindle book
Follow this link to browse through all Kindle ebooks that have cheap Audible narration**. Unfortunately, you can’t sort by price for the audiobook here. But you can filter for recent releases and genres you are interested in.
Sometimes, when an ebook is included in Kindle Unlimited, you can’t immediately see whether the book has a cheap Audible narration. You have to click on the tiny grey arrow under the big yellow “Read for Free” button to find the buy options which includes adding the Audible narration. Simply toggle that before either borrowing the ebook through Kindle Unlimited or purchasing the ebook.
If you have Kindle Unlimited and don’t want to own the ebook, you do NOT need to buy the ebook to get the cheap audiobook!
Just toggle “Add Audible narration” and then click the “Read for Free” button.
If you’re looking for Whispersync deals for Kindle books you already own, Amazon has a really nice tool in place for this, the so-called Amazon Matchmaker**. It looks through all the Kindle ebooks you already own or have currently borrowed on that account and offers you the Audible narrations for a reduced price.
A little tip: Whispersync is the reason why I always snatch up ebooks when they are temporarily free or $0.99! Then I can always get the cheap audiobook later on.
You can also find these Audible deals in your Kindle app by clicking on “More”. In the menu that opens up, navigate to “Read & Listen with Audible” to get an overview of all your Whispersynced ebooks. Now you can buy the audiobooks for a cheap price.
I have to mention here that this works perfectly in the Kindle app on my Android phone. But it does not work in the Kindle app on my Fire tablet! The menu entry is the same, but on the tablet, it takes me to a general store page of Kindle ebooks with Audible narration, not to an overview of the titles I already own.
If you experience that on your device, I recommend you use the browser version of the Matchmaker that I linked above. You can also use this with a phone browser!
Eline Blackman (pronouns: she/they) fell in love with books as a child – with being read to and reading herself. 10 years ago, she bought her first Audible book. It was love at first listen! An average of 250 audiobooks per year has become the new normal and you will rarely see Eline without a wireless earbud. Romance and Fantasy are the go-to genres for this audiobook fan.
I purchased 12 credits on Audible so that each credit is worth about $11. If a Kindle purchase has the option of adding Whispersync for $12.99, I’d much rather buy it using one of my credits. But will it then switch back and forth with Whispersync?
The Whispersync should always work when you own both the ebook and the audiobook on the same Amazon account and marketplace 🙂
Can you please share how to navigate to the matchmaker page on the Amazon website (not just the link)? I’d like to be able to figure out where to go in case I lose this link, and also…just figure out where matchmaker is hidden. Thanks!
I just spent quite some time searching, but I honestly could not find a direct way to get through the Amazon website to the Matchmaker. I always google “Amazon Matchmaker” to get there as there doesn’t seem to be a menu entry anywhere on Amazon itself.
If anyone else finds a way, I hope they will share it here 🙂