Do you wish you could listen to unlimited audiobooks all day, every day? But you don’t because they are so expensive, and it’s starting to add up? Don’t worry, you can get a Netflix-like experience with audiobooks, too!
While most audiobook services limit listeners either by listening hours or number of books, there are still several platforms that offer truly unlimited audiobooks for a flat fee – or even completely free.
Below, I’ll introduce you to the best unlimited audiobooks services available today, so you can listen to as many titles as you want without worrying about credits or monthly limits.
**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**
Audible Plus: Unlimited Audible Originals
Audible Plus is Amazon’s unlimited audiobooks subscription that includes thousands of Audible Originals and Audible Studios productions. You can listen to as many of these high-quality audiobooks as you want for a flat monthly fee.
The catalog focuses heavily on Audible’s own productions, which means you’ll get professionally narrated content across genres like fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, and self-improvement. Since these are Audible exclusives, you won’t find this content anywhere else.
How does Audible Plus work?
If you’re already an Audible Premium Plus member, Audible Plus content is included free with your membership. Simply look for titles without the “1 credit” tag in the Audible app or website. These can be streamed or downloaded instantly.
For standalone access, Audible Plus costs $7.95 per month and gives you unlimited streaming and downloading from the Plus catalog. You can listen offline by downloading titles to your device, and the content streams instantly when you’re online.
As with all unlimited audiobooks subscriptions, these titles are borrowed content that you’ll lose access to if you cancel your subscription.
Is Audible Plus Right for You?
Audible Plus excels if you enjoy high-quality productions and don’t mind focusing on Audible’s original content rather than traditionally published audiobooks. The professional narration and production quality are consistently excellent, making it a very popular choice among audiobook fans.
Read more about Audible Plus vs Premium Plus and check out the latest Audible Plus additions!
Kindle Unlimited: Unlimited Audiobooks from Amazon Imprints
Kindle Unlimited might be known as an ebook service, but it’s actually one of the best unlimited audiobooks platforms available. With over 2,000 audiobooks included and new titles added weekly, it offers excellent value for audiobook lovers.
Most Kindle Unlimited audiobooks come from Amazon’s publishing imprints, making it perfect for discovering new voices and genres.
How Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks Work
You can borrow up to 20 ebooks simultaneously through Kindle Unlimited, and audiobooks don’t count against this limit. To find them, search for “Read and Listen for Free” books on Amazon. These include both the ebook and audiobook versions.
When you borrow a Kindle Unlimited book with narration, the audiobook automatically appears in your Audible library. You can listen using the Audible app even without an Audible membership, just log in with your Amazon credentials.
The seamless integration between reading and listening (Whispersync) lets you switch between formats and pick up exactly where you left off.
Use this Amazon search link to browse through all Kindle Unlimited audiobooks: Kindle Unlimited Books with Narration**
Why Choose Kindle Unlimited for Audiobooks
At $11.99 per month, Kindle Unlimited offers incredible value since you get unlimited access to both ebooks and audiobooks. It’s particularly strong for romance, fantasy, sci-fi, and business genres.
The main limitation is that, just like in Audible Plus, you won’t find many traditional bestsellers or Big Five publisher releases. But if you’re open to discovering new authors and series, Kindle Unlimited provides endless listening opportunities.
Read more about Kindle Unlimited vs Audible and check out the latest Kindle Unlimited Listen for Free books.
LibriVox: Free Unlimited Classic Audiobooks
LibriVox stands out as the only completely free unlimited audiobooks service available. This volunteer-driven project provides audiobook versions of public domain books, giving you access to thousands of classic titles at no cost.
How LibriVox Works
All LibriVox audiobooks are recordings of books that have entered the public domain, meaning their copyrights have expired. Volunteers from around the world record these books, creating a massive library of classic literature, historical texts, and older nonfiction works.
You can browse by title, author, genre, or language on the LibriVox website. Since these are public domain works, you can download them as MP3 files and listen on any device or audiobook app. There are no restrictions or time limits.
Is LibriVox Worth It?
If you enjoy classic literature and don’t mind varying narration quality (since these are volunteer recordings), LibriVox offers unlimited value that can’t be beaten. You’ll find works by authors like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and thousands of other classic writers.
Many recordings are very good and LibriVox is an excellent supplement to paid services, especially for students, classic literature fans, or anyone wanting to explore older works.
Hoopla and Libby: Library-Based Unlimited Audiobooks
Many public libraries offer digital audiobook access through platforms like Hoopla and Libby. While these aren’t unlimited in the strictest sense, they can provide substantial audiobook access for free with a library card, so I wanted to include them here.
How Library Audiobooks Work
Hoopla typically allows a certain number of borrows per month (often 5-10), while Libby operates on a traditional library model where popular titles may have waiting lists. The exact limitations depend on your specific library system.
Both services offer apps for iOS and Android, and you can download audiobooks for offline listening. The selection includes both popular new releases (also traditionally published audiobooks and the latest BookTok recommendations) and extensive backlist titles.
Are Library Services Right for You?
If you have access to a library system with good digital collections, these services can provide significant value. Many audiobook fans have cards from several libraries to increase their number of Hoopla borrows. I pay $50 for my library card with 10 Hoopla borrows and 30 Libby loans monthly. That’s a huge number of audiobooks for a very small monthly fee!
Read more about listening to audiobooks on Hoopla and check out my favorite titles on Hoopla.
Other Audiobook Subscription Options
While the services above offer unlimited audiobooks, several other platforms provide good value for frequent listeners, though with some limitations:
- Spotify Premium includes 15 hours of audiobook listening per month, alongside unlimited music
- BookBeat offers extensive audiobook access in select countries with plans of 20, 40, or 100 hours.
- Everand is in the process of changing from an almost unlimited plan to a hybrid model with some unlimited content plus monthly credits. I can still recommend the old plan!
These services can be excellent choices depending on your listening habits and preferences, but they don’t offer the same unlimited access as the services detailed above.
Your Best Unlimited Audiobooks Options
Each service has its strengths: Audible Plus for production quality, Kindle Unlimited for variety and value, LibriVox for classics and cost, and library services for popular titles. Many audiobook enthusiasts use a combination of these services to maximize their unlimited listening options.
The key is choosing services that match your genre preferences and listening habits while providing the unlimited access you’re seeking. With these options, you’ll never run out of audiobooks to enjoy!
If you want to explore more options for affordable listening, check out my 4 go-to methods to get quality cheap audiobooks!
Eline Blackman (pronouns: she/they) fell in love with books as a child – with being read to and reading herself. 11 years ago, she bought her first Audible book. It was love at first listen! An average of 200 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 don’t understand why none of these businesses have offered an unlimited audio book streaming service. My wife and I are truck drivers. We both enjoy listening to audio books while we work. I can go through a book in a day or two and I’m not about to pay $25 for a book I will only listen to once. If a company decided to do an actual unlimited streaming service I would gladly pay $40 a month for it…
Thank you for your comment!
If I understand you correctly, you are upset that no business offers all audiobooks in an unlimited subscription, instead of offering unlimited listening for a limited catalog (like the services I have listed above).
The problem aren’t the audiobook services here. The rights to the audiobooks are held by the publishers and each one offers their audiobooks in a different way. Penguin Random House pulled all of their audios from streaming services like Scribd last year. Now, you can only buy them individually or get them from a public library. Then there are all the indie publishers and authors who might or might not offer their audiobooks in library services. And with Audible Plus, authors actually have to wait for an invite to even add any of their audiobooks to the service.
Long story short, it’s simply not possible to create an unlimited audiobook service that includes *all the audiobooks* because it just doesn’t work with the rights holders. You have to pick your audio streaming service based on your taste. And when you listen to a lot of audiobooks, as you and I do, we just have to mix and match. Borrow some, buy some, use different services to get all the audiobooks we want at an affordable rate.
Even though that’s disappointing, I hope this explanation helped 🙂
Thank you all of this useful information, Eline. Before the pandemic I think I had only seriously attempted an audiobook once and now the only time I read a book is when there is no audiobook available. Listening to audiobooks has increased my “reading” tremendously. I understand what you are saying about the different way publishers allow these services to offer or not offer their audiobooks and how this affects access across services. I currently have Audible and Scribd memberships and I borrow using OverDrive through local and metropolitan libraries every day, Like you, I wish Scribd would give a real accounting of what causes access to be limited. I reach out to them to get more specifics so I could watch for when this is going to happen, but there really is no rhyme or reason and they keep going around in circles saying the same wordy nonsense. I also wish that Scribd and Audible didn’t have titles that are only available through them as that is very limiting and I wish it was illegal. End rant. Thanks again!
Thank you for your comment 🙂
About the exclusive titles… I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I wish all books would be widely available. There are several audiobooks I would like to buy but can’t because of geo-restrictions (which I believe has nothing to do with the companies directly, but with rights distribution). And it’s simply annoying to sign up for a new service because a favorite author has an exclusive audiobook there. And I find it rather questionable when Audible gets exclusive distribution rights for popular books like the October Daye series.
On the other hand, I do understand that companies have an interest in having exclusive content and it’s also a great opportunity for indie authors when they get a chance to sell an exclusive story, e.g. to Kobo or Scribd. And if Audible didn’t produce so many exclusive audiobooks, I think many books simply wouldn’t exist or at least wouldn’t have an audio version.
Thanks for the summary of these options! I usually listen to 2-3 audio books a week. I’m also working my way through Boxalls 1001 List, which means I’m only listening to classics, for the most part. I pay for an annual, non-resident membership to the New York library system, which gives me access to a large audio book catalogue, but there’s frequently long holds lines. My small, rural library does offer Hoopla, but there’s a 5 book a month limit in place. I just signed up for an audible plus trial and have been impressed with the amount of classics offered, without needing to use credits. I’ll have to look into the Kindle unlimited option though and compare the two. I don’t have a Kindle but it might be worth to have a subscription, for the audiobook options. I never re-listen to audio books, so I’m ok with borrowing vs owning.
Thank you for your comment! I’m happy to hear that you found my list useful.
It sounds like a good plan to add one more unlimited audiobooks subscription to your Hoopla sub. Kindle Unlimited has a great selection of classics (aptly named The Amazon Classics Collection) so that’s definitely worth a look. While it’s called “Kindle” it doesn’t require any special hardware. If you want to check out the ebooks at all, you could just download the Kindle app on your smartphone or read on your computer. The Kindle Unlimited audiobooks also come from Audible, so it’s the same app that you use now for Audible Plus.
Finally! someone that calls out scribd’s crapy business model. i was trying to read a series and three months in a row, the next book would disappear, third month i started a new series so if one book series disappeared, i could read the other. they took away the whole genre for a month. unlimited with a giant asterisk
I’m sorry to hear you had those issues! I’ve been there too and it’s the most annoying thing when you get pulled out of your series like that 🙁
I *do* enjoy Scribd and it’s probably the subscription I use most these days. I also feel like throughout the last year or so they have been less restrictive and I didn’t have a lot of unavailable books anymore. But I also still strongly believe they should find a way to be more transparent so people who want to listen to more than 1 or 2 audiobooks a month can plan what they want to/can listen to in Scribd. It all feels so very opaque, the “unlimited” with the hidden premium titles and different tiers or whatever. It’s a shame that they can communicate better how Scribd really works.