Most of us have grown up listening to stories and fairytales in our childhood. The charm and excitement of getting hooked to a story can only be imagined by the curiosity it fabricates. Today there are tons of options for eBook readers, which are slowly replenishing the old-school charm of physical books. However, still today the enchantment of listening to stories remains fresh as ever. On that note, here are 10 of the best audiobook apps to bring back the nostalgia and keep learning on the go.
Top 10 Apps for Audiobooks in 2022
Audible
Audible (https://www.audible.com/) is by far the best audiobook app for mobile platforms out there. It offers over 470,000 titles with features that are otherwise unavailable in other apps. Being under the umbrella of Amazon, Audible developed a few key features merging with Kindle.
Users can natively control chapters, playback speed, bookmarks, and a host of other things. Amazon even allows for seamless Whispersync which keeps the audio synced with the text for physical reading. Amazon Prime users get a free two months trial with Audible. After that, there’s an added monthly subscription fee. The app is available for both iOS and Android platforms.
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Audiobooks.com
Audiobooks.com is owned by the RB Audiobooks studio. This is another simple audiobook app that focuses on functionality over features. The app comes with a few standard options like sleep timer, playback speed, and auto-sync over devices. The app cannot be used as a standalone reader or as a sync option for other apps like Kindle.
There are over 200,000 titles on Audiobooks.com. Users can add their own mp3 format audiobook files for playback as well. The app is compatible with both iOS and Android platforms.
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Realm
Realm (https://www.realm.fm/) is the perfect audiobook application to discover new titles on the go. The standout feature of the app is that it can smartly cut out portions of a novel based on your travel or commute duration. It’s a nifty little feature for those who are always on the go.
In addition to audiobooks, users can listen to podcasts and shows relevant to the bibliophile community. The app itself is free and is available on iOS as well as Android platforms. There is a paid version that removes the ads and adds a host of other features.
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Kobo Books
Kobo is known for its eBook reader similar to the Kindle Paperwhite. Alongside the eBook readers, Kobo has a decent choice of eBooks and audiobooks in their store. Users can browse, preview, and purchase the audiobooks from the Kobo store just like the Play Books store.
The app itself is designed for reading but Kobo (https://www.kobo.com/) has included some useful features like chapter skip, navigation, timestamp, etc. There is a new user discount for the first audiobook or eBook purchase. Be sure to check it out.
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Boighor
Boighor makes it to the list for being a dedicated Bengali eBook and audiobook app. Though all other apps in this list support Bengali audiobooks, Boighor (https://boighor.com/) offers an exclusive place just for the fans of Bengali literature.
Users can find tons of titles within the app that they can preview and purchase with exciting deals. Books are categorized into genres and there is a smart suggestion option as well. Users can sync their progress across devices without having to worry about losing track. Overall, it’s a nice app for Bengali exclusives.
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Play Books
Play Books has been developed by Google and for long, has been thought of as the perfect Kindle competitor. Over the years, Playbook has added a lot of features, one of which is audiobooks.
Users can buy audiobooks from the Play Books marketplace and listen to the app. The playback-related features here are standard which are also available on most audiobook apps. However, playbooks don’t run on a monthly subscription basis. Instead, users can preview and then buy the book of their choice.
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Golpokotha
Golpokotha (https://www.golpokotha.com/) is all about Bengali classics. While Boighor features a mix of old and new, Golpokotha solely reminisces the old and gold. The app has a huge collection of some of the timeless Bengali literary pieces converted to audiobook formats. It is one of the few apps that only catalogs Bengali books.
The app itself has a minimalistic and intuitive interface, to say the least. Users can simply play audiobooks directly without having to download them with an internet connection. The app also has a download option where users can download and listen to any book of their choice. Most of the titles here are free with some having a minimal price tag. It is available for the Android platform and can be a great choice for Bengali classic fans.
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Bookmobile
Most of the eBooks found in different marketplaces come with a DRM lock. It is essentially a form of encryption that prevents books from being played on other devices or apps. But what if users rip an audiobook in an old-school way like CDs? This is where Bookmobile comes in for the iOS platform.
Users can read DRM locked as well as DRM free audiobooks right in the app. The app mainly supports m4B and mp3 content for audiobooks. The app itself is free with DRM locked audiobooks available for purchase. The app is currently only available for the iOS platform.
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Voice Audiobook Player
Most of the apps in this list are being developed by studios or already established eBooks and audiobooks marketplaces. But what about the open-source platforms? Over the years open source has provided some of the best tool applications free of cost and free of copyright. For audiobooks, the app happens to be the Voice Audiobook Player.
The app is free on the Android platform and there is no dedicated marketplace that comes with it. Users will have to get their fix of audiobooks from other secondary sources and use the app exclusively as a player only.
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Scribd
The last on the list probably has the highest number of titles and categories in existence. Scribd (https://www.scribd.com/) is a subscription-based eBook and audiobook platform that provides fiction to non-fiction to even textbook solutions. Users can sign up with Scribd and access their huge catalog of options. The native player that comes with the book is also very handy. However, the only downside here is the subscription fee which is much higher compared to the competitors.
Final Words
Books are the forever friends of human beings. Besides increasing knowledge, a book can give us peace and entertainment. In this day and age of busy life, it is often difficult to find a dedicated time for reading. Listening to audiobooks can be a great alternative to actually reading a piece without compromising on the story or the excitement of turning pages. In these article, we have mentioned some of the best free and paid audiobook apps for Android and iOS. Hope it helps!