How to listen to Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks

Have you heard about Kindle Unlimited audiobooks but couldn’t quite believe that you can listen to Audible books as a Kindle Unlimited subscriber without any extra cost? “Read and Listen for free” books on Kindle Unlimited are really a thing!

And they’re an awesome thing. Here’s how to find them…

**The marked links and book covers on this page are affiliate links. If you use them to purchase something, I earn a fee at no additional cost for you. Disclosure**

How does Kindle Unlimited work?

Kindle Unlimited (KU)** is a digital library service. You pay a monthly fee of $11.99 (+ taxes) and can borrow as many ebooks and audiobooks as you like without paying anything extra!

You only borrow these books, though. So, once your subscription runs out, they are removed from your devices. But you can keep them for as long as you like while your subscription is active!

You can take out 20 books at a time. If you want to download something else, you will have to return one of the 20 titles you currently have. But you can always get a book again if you want to re-read it.

Amazon will automatically prompt you to return one of your current titles if you want to download a new book and already have 20. You don’t have to worry about returning any books yourself!

By the way, the author is only paid the first time you read their book in Kindle Unlimited. So, if you find a favorite you want to re-read over and over, consider buying the book or borrowing it through another service you are subscribed to. That way you can continue to support your fav author’s work!

Is Kindle Unlimited worth it?

As a fan of indie authors and an avid audiobook listener, I absolutely love my Kindle Unlimited subscription. It’s amazing when you want to discover new authors, new narrators, and new genres!

People who are new to audiobooks also appreciate it greatly because you can get comfortable with the audio format and find out what you like without breaking the bank.

Kindle Unlimited includes audiobooks in all popular genres, and it offers subscribers considerable deals on audiobooks in addition to the free ones.

I like to recommend this subscription to audiobook newbies so they can try out many different Audible books without having to pay for each one. It’s perfect for figuring out your audiobook-ish taste!

Apart from offering unrestricted access to over three million titles as ebooks, Kindle Unlimited gives you access to thousands of books with their Audible narration, and new ones are added every month, so you don’t run out of great books to listen to.

You also have the option to buy additional tens of thousands of audiobooks for a significantly reduced price when you borrow the ebook through KU.

Instead of the usual $20 or more on Audible, you might be charged as little as $1.99 for the same Audible audiobook when you buy it as a Whispersync deal on the Amazon website. But we’ll get to that again later.

A Kindle Unlimited subscription might not be worth it for someone who is reading 2 or 3 ebooks in a month. But if you listen to 2 or 3 Kindle Unlimited audiobooks a month (or more, of course), Kindle Unlimited is absolutely worth the price! And it’s a strong alternative to an Audible subscription.

How much does Kindle Unlimited cost?

On Amazon.com, Kindle Unlimited costs $11.99 per month. “Read and Listen for Free” Audible books cost absolutely nothing extra! And, of course, you can get a 30 day free trial** to test it out.

Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.com is only available to US residents. Customers from Canada, Australia, or the UK, as well as many other countries, can sign up to Kindle Unlimited on their own Amazon marketplace.

Comparing the Cost of Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks vs Audible

Let’s say, you heard about Colleen Hoover on TikTok and want to check out her books. You plan to get Layla** and Regretting You**.

Without any audiobook subscription, you’d pay $55.28 plus taxes on Audible for these two audiobooks.

With an Audible Premium Plus membership, you could use your monthly Audible credit for Layla and buy Regretting You for the reduced member price of $25.06 (that’s including taxes).

However, you also have to pay your Audible membership of $14.95 a month. So, as an Audible subscriber, you would still pay $40.01 to listen to these two audiobooks. Phew, that’s a lot!

With a Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can listen to both audiobooks for free. You only pay the monthly fee of $11.99 for KU and you can even read or listen to as many additional books as you want!

That’s why the answer to the question “Is Kindle Unlimited worth it” for audiobook fans is a resounding Yes!

Related article: Full Comparison of Kindle Unlimited vs Audible

The Audible app showing the Kindle Unlimited audiobook Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun
You can listen to Kindle Unlimited audiobooks like “Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun” in the Audible app.

Kindle Unlimited Audible Books

Just like Kindle Unlimited, Audible is part of Amazon. When you borrow Kindle Unlimited books with narration, you actually download the Audible book and listen to it in the Audible app. You’ll see the title in your Audible library like any book you’d get directly from their website.

That means you can listen to high-quality free audiobooks and can use the very stable Audible app with its handy features like sleep timer or narration speed settings.

You don’t need an Audible membership to use all these features!

Since the two websites are connected, you simply log into the Audible app with your Amazon login name and password. You don’t need to create a new account or give Audible any payment information.

How to find Listen for Free Audiobooks

Audible books on Kindle Unlimited show the little headphones symbol next to the KU logo, and the button will say “Read and Listen for Free”. When you click on it, the audiobook will be added to your Audible library.

Readi and Listen for Free - Amazon Kindle Unlimited audiobooks
Screenshot from Amazon.com showing the “Read and Listen for Free” button that indicates the audio version for this title will be added to your Audible library.

You then only have to tap on the book in the Audible app to download it, and you can start listening!

When you give back the ebook, the audiobook will also disappear from your library. You don’t own it, you just borrow it like the ebooks.

Follow this link to look at ALL free audiobooks in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon US:

Please be aware that international Amazon marketplaces often have fewer Listen for Free Kindle Unlimited audiobooks than the US marketplace. Some audiobooks might not be included for free there!

This has to do with the agreement the author and publisher made regarding international publishing rights.

How to buy cheaper Audiobooks with Kindle Unlimited Whispersync deals

When you look at an ebook and open the menu below the “Read for Free”-button, you’ll often find the option to “Add Audible book to your purchase for just $$$”. When you toggle that before clicking the “Read for Free”-button, you will buy the audiobook for the reduced price of usually $1.99 or $7.49.

Amazon Whispersync deals with Kindle Unlimited ebooks
Screenshot from Amazon.com showing the option to toggle “Add Audible book to your purchase for just $$$”.

In the image above, I have blurred out the lines between the “Read for free”-button and the audiobook toggle to avoid any confusion. The blurred button is for buying the ebook.

But it’s not necessary to buy a Kindle ebook if you only want to own the audiobook!

The Kindle Unlimited Audible book and ebook are connected through Amazon’s Whispersync**. You can swap back and forth between the ebook and audiobook. Each will pick up at exactly the spot where you last left off in the other format.

The audiobook will automatically be added to your Audible library, and you will now own it. If you give back the ebook or even cancel your Kindle Unlimited subscription plan, you will keep your Whispersync audiobook!

Even if you have no interest in ebooks, Whispersync deals are among the best audiobook deals out there. And they’re an additional reason why Kindle Unlimited is worth it for audiobook listeners!

If you listen to 10 or more audiobooks a month, buying a lot of Whispersync deals with a Kindle Unlimited subscription can help you keep your listening affordable.

Follow this link to browse ALL Kindle Unlimited ebooks that come with an audiobook deal:

The Top 10 Best Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks to get you started!

These are the most popular, best Kindle Unlimited books with narration on Amazon US!

Reminders of Him

Colleen Hoover (Author), Brittany Pressley (Narrator), Ryan West (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.

After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.

Beneath a Scarlet Sky

Mark Sullivan (Author), Will Damron (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, the USA Today and #1 Amazon Charts bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.

If You Tell

Gregg Olsen (Author), Karen Peakes (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

A #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon Charts, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller. #1 New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s shocking and empowering true-crime story of three sisters determined to survive their mother’s house of horrors.

After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now.

The Dressmaker’s Gift

Fiona Valpy (Author), Anne Flosnik (Narrator), Justine Eyre (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

A Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller. From the bestselling author of The Beekeeper’s Promise comes a gripping story of three young women faced with impossible choices. How will history – and their families – judge them?

Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets…

When We Believed in Mermaids

Barbara O’Neal (Author), Sarah Naughton (Narrator), Katherine Littrell (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

An Amazon Charts, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller. From the author of The Art of Inheriting Secrets comes an emotional new tale of two sisters, an ocean of lies, and a search for the truth. Her sister has been dead for fifteen years when she sees her on the TV news…

West with Giraffes

Lynda Rutledge (Author), Danny Campbell (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. “Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…” Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

The Keeper of Happy Endings

Barbara Davis (Author), Robin Siegerman (Narrator), Hope Newhouse (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

An enchanting novel about fate, second chances, and hope, lost and found, by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls. Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings.

For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needle and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.

The Brighter the Light

Mary Ellen Taylor (Author), Megan Tusing (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

From the bestselling author of Honeysuckle Season comes an evocative dual-timeline novel detailing one woman’s journey to discover the hidden stories of her family’s seaside resort.

When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow. Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale’s hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina. When Ivy inherits her family’s beachfront cottage upon her grandmother’s death, she knows returning to Nags Head means facing the best friend and the boyfriend who betrayed her years ago.

My Sister’s Grave: Tracy Crosswhite, Book 1

Robert Dugoni (Author), Emily Sutton-Smith (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

The first book in the series that has garnered millions of readers across the globe, from New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Tracy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister Sarah’s disappearance and the murder trial that followed. She doesn’t believe that Edmund House—a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah’s murder—is the guilty party.

I Am Watching You

Teresa Driscoll (Author), Elizabeth Knowelden (Narrator)

Listen for free with Kindle Unlimited**

When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is put on high alert. But just as she’s decided to call for help, something stops her.

Get your Free Audiobooks on Kindle Unlimited!

You haven’t tried it yet? During a free trial month**, you can use all the features of Kindle Unlimited, including binge-listening to a bunch of “Listen for Free” books with narration. And you can even snatch up a couple of Whispersync deals that are yours to keep even if you cancel before the trial month runs out.

And make sure you bookmark my link with the newest audiobooks in Kindle Unlimited so you will always find the best Kindle Unlimited audiobooks as soon as they are released!

If you’re looking for more Kindle Unlimited audiobooks right now, check out my favorite Fantasy audiobooks in KU and the most popular Romance audiobooks in KU!

FAQ Summary

Does Kindle Unlimited have audiobooks?

Yes! There are around 5000 audiobooks included in your Kindle Unlimited subscription! Read more…

Does Kindle Unlimited include Audible?

No. Kindle Unlimited includes many Audible books for free, but these are only a small part of Audible’s entire catalog. Here’s how you find them all…

How can I listen to Kindle Unlimited audiobooks?

When you borrow a “Read and Listen for Free” book on Kindle Unlimited, the audiobook is added to your Audible library. You can log into the Audible app with your Amazon login and password. You don’t need an Audible subscription!

Can you listen to Kindle Books without Audible?

If you are trying to find out how to listen to Kindle books without Audible, I have to disappoint you. That’s not possible. However, you only need the free Audible app. You don’t need a paid Audible membership!

How much is Kindle Unlimited?

A Kindle Unlimited subscription is $11.99 per month (+ taxes). You can cancel at any time.

How do I get Kindle Unlimited?

If you want to get Kindle Unlimited, you need an Amazon account with a valid payment method in a participating country (US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and Australia). Not all Amazon marketplaces include audiobooks, though, and you can only get Kindle Unlimited on your local Amazon website. If you have an account, grab a free trial here**. You don’t need a special Kindle device. You can simply install the free Kindle and Audible apps on your phone!

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19 thoughts on “How to listen to Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks”

  1. I just listen to my first audiobook and I’m liking how I can listen to the books even with kids around. It’s a lot easier to listen than to read. I will have to check out the kindle unlimited membership and try out your tips!

    1. I’m so happy you found this useful! It’s really surprising how many great audiobooks have those audio deals. It’s always worth checking on Amazon first before buying an audiobook for an Audible credit.

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