One of the most intriguing ways to learn and grow from the experiences of others is by reading books. Audiobooks give you the opportunity to do this hassle-free.

Imagine listening to your favorite titles on the go; priceless. There are a plethora of excellent audiobook services available today that enables you to search for and download as many audiobooks as you choose.

There are some that offer these services free of charge, while for others, you’d have to subscribe to their monthly or yearly plans. There are also others that require a one-time payment for any audiobook downloaded.

A lot of them are available as mobile applications, while there are others available as websites that can be accessed from a conventional personal computer.

Some of the finest audiobook services allow you to download these audiobooks to almost any device, allowing you to listen and digest these your favorite books at any place or time.

The rate at which the audiobooks market is growing in popularity is quite fascinating, and 2021 is predicted to be a big year for them. Almost every one of us has a very hectic schedule, and we seldom have time to spare to read books. Audiobooks are an excellent answer to this problem since they give you the opportunity to listen and concurrently do some other activities such as working out, cleaning the home, or preparing supper.

Benefits of Listening to Audiobooks

The benefits of listening to audiobooks are enormous. Audiobooks completely revolutionize how we read, learn, and improve our literary skills. It is a paradigm shift and a very welcomed one.

  • Audiobooks increase the speed at which listeners complete books. because they may be slow readers, audiobooks make up for that.
  • audiobooks teach listeners how to pronounce words correctly.
  • Audiobooks can be considered an intellectual pleasure. You can listen to them as you go for your morning exercise, or as you go on your evening walk. You can listen while you are driving to work or out in the store picking out groceries. The flexibility that comes with listening to audiobooks is unmatched.

So, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to read more books, you are here for good. We may be in the second half of the year, but it is not too late to tick that checklist. Our top recommendations for the finest audiobook platforms to utilize in 2021 are listed below. I’ll go through the benefits and drawbacks of all of them suggested here, so you determine which is best for you.

Top Best Audiobook Services

1. Audible – This is our number one pick

Audible takes the first spot for being the most popular audiobook service on the market today.

Audible is the mother of all audiobook services in the market due to its extremely massive collection of audiobooks, and it’s now owned by Amazon. They have the largest audiobook library of any service provider, with over 200,000 titles. Your favorite classics, not-too-known titles, and a slew of recent releases are among them.

Audible’s app is straightforward and user-friendly. You may return or swap an audiobook upon downloading it and realizing it isn’t for you. Once an audiobook has been downloaded to your device, it belongs to you indefinitely, even if you downloaded it from a free trial account whose trial period has ended.

What Is Audible and How Does It Work?

Subscribing to Audible begins by signing up for a free 30 days trial. It allows you to try out Audible without committing to a membership. If you neglect to cancel your trial, Audible will inform you some days prior expiration of the trial, so you won’t subscribe to a plan you don’t intend to use.

Audible offers a variety of membership packages, the most prevalent of which is Audible Premium Plus. This membership package provides one credit each month. Credit essentially is a token that you can use to buy an audiobook. This membership also includes free access to Audible’s massive collection of lectures & podcasts.

Here’s a rundown of Audible subscriptions packages:

  • Audible Plus – the most affordable option but does not contain any credits
  • Most prevalent among the subscription option is Audible Premium Plus.
  • Audible Premium Plus;
    • + Double Credits – gives you two credits monthly.
    • Annual – this overall is the less expensive package. You will receive 12 credits per year upon yearly upfront payment.
    • Annual 24 – the most costly plan upfront but entitles you to 24 credits each year

Because Audible is Amazon-owned, there are several compelling reasons to signup if you already have Amazon Prime membership. There are frequent promotions that offer books for free if you join audible through your amazon prime account, and they run cheap membership packages on a regular basis.

However, there are certain drawbacks, like with any audiobooks services.

In contrast with TV subscription platforms, such as Netflix, an Audible membership does not grant you limitless access to audiobooks. If you desire to listen to more audiobooks, you’ll need to purchase additional credits. As a result, Audible is more expensive when compared with other audiobook services in the market.

Nonetheless, it is still worthwhile. Audible is definitely worth the money if your goal is to access the largest and finest selection of audiobooks available.

Advantages:

  • The largest collection of audiobooks
  • Various subscription options
  • 30 days free trial

Disadvantages:

• It is costly

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2. Scribd – Unlimited audiobooks

Scribd brags about giving its users unlimited access to its library of books, including audiobooks. They allow users to rent a wide variety of media for a modest monthly fee.

What Is Scribd and How Does It Work?

Audible and Scribd operate in quite different ways. Rather than using credits, once a user subscribes to a package, they get unlimited access to their entire collection and may read or listen to as much content as they like.

For regular monthly membership, they provide a variety of audiobooks, conventional books, periodicals, and newspapers.

Scribd also has an advantage over Audible in terms of its large library of articles gathered from world-renown newspapers. Whereas normal online users must create signup & subscribe to read numerous articles from prominent publications such as The Guardian, New York Times, etc., Scribd provides unlimited access to their vast library of content for a monthly charge.

Of course, there are certain drawbacks. Their audiobook selection is decent but not as large as Audible’s. Their library still contains some wonderful classic books & current releases, but you won’t find certain big bestsellers on Scribd. Another disadvantage is that, in contrast with Audible, users cannot keep their audiobooks when their membership has expired. Instead of buying an audiobook outright, you are basically renting it.

However, Scribd is able to keep its total expenditures low as a result of this. You may also try their service for free for 30 days before committing to their not-so-expensive premium package. This gives you the opportunity to look over their materials/library to determine whether it meets your requirements.

Overall, if you’re not a bookworm but also want to read ebooks, newspapers, & magazines, Scribd may be an excellent option. However, if you’re a voracious reader who has to keep up with the latest releases, opting for Scribed may not be ideal.

Advantages:

  • Access to as much information as you like
  • You can subscribe to Scribd for a low monthly fee
  • A diverse selection of periodicals and newspapers

Drawbacks include:

• A limited library of audiobooks

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3. Blinkist – Nonfiction Audiobook Haven

In the realm of audiobooks, Blinkest is an outlier. Unlike the majority of other audiobook platforms, Blinkest’s material is geared towards the acquisition of knowledge and self-improvement. So there aren’t many bestselling fiction novels here. Blinkest thrives on non-fiction. They are simply hard to top in this niche.

What Is Blinkest and How Does It Work?

The fact that Blinkest has such a large non-fiction collection doesn’t mean that is all they have to offer when compared with other competitors in the market.

Each book’s material is condensed into very tiny bite-sized portions by Blinkest. All the extraneous information is filtered out, leaving the user with only the most crucial points to remember. For individuals with a hectic schedule (and everyone does have hectic schedules these days, right?), it’s the most efficient method to digest vital information from great non-fiction titles.

The majority of the audiobooks are trimmed down to approximately 20 minutes, thereabout. There are great non-fiction volumes on a wide range of topics, including health & wellness, economics, parenting, and animals. Blinkest is the ultimate easy-to-use shortcut if you are looking to grow as a person from listening to several audiobooks.

Blinkest has another wonderful benefit which is, you may upgrade to the complete audiobook if you loved the condensed version.

Blinkest’s regular membership is already less expensive than Audible & Scribd. But, if you sign up for their yearly plan, you’ll save half the price, making it worth it if you listen regularly.

In contrast with Audible, Blinkest membership includes limitless access to listen to the selected titles, as well as the ability to listen to them offline. There’s also a free seven days trial period, so you may look around and test some audiobooks to see whether it’s appropriate for your needs.

Overall, Blinkest is a wonderful alternative if you’re interested in self-development & learning. It helps you to absorb the main points and concepts from the finest non-fiction books in so little time. Blinkest isn’t for you if you’re seeking fiction novels of any type.

Advantages:

  • A large variety of non-fiction books
  • Unlimited condensed books are included with the subscription
  • Read more books in a shorter amount of time

Disadvantages:

  • Non-fiction books are the only ones accessible.

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4. Audiobooks.com – Best Audible Alternative

Audiobooks.com provides a user-friendly app interface and offers a diverse variety of audiobooks, ranging from best-selling novels to textbooks & self-help titles. It also includes a large number of podcasts and an excellent variety of audiobooks available for free.

What is the Process of Audiobooks.com?

On the surface, Audiobooks.com appears to be quite similar to Audible. Users subscribe by paying a monthly membership fee and, similar to Audible, are given a monthly credit allotment. In this scenario, Audiobooks.com’s standard subscription is double the current offer from Audible for an equivalent price. It also provides a 30-day free trial and an enticing initial offer of 3 free audiobooks simply for joining up.

It’s still a terrific offer; a user can only get 1 of their free audiobooks from the premium membership section (which has all of the best new titles). The last two must be from “VIP.” There are still a lot of well-known contemporary novels here, but there are next to none of the current blockbusters.

However, Audiobooks.com provides an outstanding collection of entirely free audiobooks, totaling 8,000+.

Thanks to the innovative additional features, such as the incredibly user-friendly interface, the app has received positive feedback. If you easily fall asleep while listening, you may utilize the built-in sleep timer; having the timer set will automatically stop the playback at the designated time.

When compared to Audible, one thing that serves as a significant disadvantage for Audioooks.com is the limited number of audiobooks available. Don’t misquote me: Audiobooks.com offers more than 150,000 books that you can select from, so it’s not a joke. However, when compared to Audible, the collection is still lacking.

However, if you’ve had it with Amazon and are searching for a similar platform as a decent substitute, Audiobooks.com will be a great choice.

Advantages

  • Good initial deal
  • Free 30-day trial
  • Simple app

Disadvantages

• A lesser audiobook catalog

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5. Google Play Books – Great for Android Users

How it works

Google Play Books does not need a membership, so there is no upfront or ongoing charge. This service is more akin to a large online bookstore where you may explore for free. Simply choose any title you wish to purchase, pay a one-time cost, click download, & the book is yours to keep forever.

This service isn’t only for Android users; anybody may access this audiobook platform on their tabs or personal computers using their usual web browser. Surprisingly, it’s also available on the app store for iPhone users.

When compared to membership platforms like Audiobooks.com & Audible, Google Play Books offers a lot of value to many customers. If you don’t spend time on audiobooks and but only listen two or three times in a year, you will have far more flexibility, as well as a lower cost. They also offer sales on your favorite titles on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for amazing deals in your email.

As previously stated, Audible truly holds a gold medal when it comes to the sheer number of audiobooks they have in their library collection, but Google Play Books may also contain what you’re searching for. The collection isn’t as large as it might be, but it focuses on specialized book titles instead of bestsellers.

Additionally, once you’ve downloaded an audiobook, you can listen to it on numerous devices and retain it forever.

Advantages

  • No membership price
  • Audiobooks at a reasonable price
  • A large variety of titles

Disadvantages

• It may be more costly for frequent users.

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6. Apple Books – iPhone Users’ Favorite Audiobook Service

What is the Process of Using Apple Books?

Apple Books functions similarly to Google Play Books. It doesn’t have monthly subscription fees or contracts; instead, it’s essentially one huge online store with pay-as-you-use options.

And, similar to Google Play Books, they have a huge selection. If you want to read instead of listen, there are a plethora of ebooks available to choose from. It also offers extensive free book previews for any book available for you to test and see if it’s appropriate before you buy it.

Apple Books is an alternative if you’re an all-around Apple customer. Audiobooks purchased may be downloaded straight to your Apple Watch & listened to whenever and wherever you choose, whether you’re at the gym, driving, or relaxing on the sofa in your house. You can also use iCloud to sync all the audiobooks purchased across your Apple devices. This way, they are always with you.

However, if an iPhone is all you have and you don’t have any other Apple devices, these capabilities will be of little value to you.

Also, it is no surprise Apple Books are typically more costly than Google Play Books. If you currently listen to several audiobooks, sticking with a membership provider like Audiobooks.com/Audible will certainly save you money. If you’re a casual user who belongs to the Apple clan, Apple Books is the way to go.

Advantages:

  • No monthly fees
  • A large variety of books
  • Easy integration with all Apple devices

Disadvantages

  • More costly;
  • Apple device is needed to read them.

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7. Mana App – Hidden Gem for Meditation Audios

Discover a sanctuary in your pocket with Mana, an exquisite anti-stress and meditation app designed to nurture your mind, body, and soul. Unknown to many, Mana is a hidden gem that offers a world of tranquility at your fingertips.

Embark on a journey of self-discovery and calm with Mana’s daily doses of inspiration. Start your day with uplifting quotes, deepen your understanding with wisdom lessons, and find solace in guided meditations crafted to suit your pace and preferences.

With over 100+ meditations, ASMR sessions, hypnosis experiences, sleep-inducing music, and immersive soundscapes, Mana offers a rich catalog designed to cater to every mood and need. From the gentle whispers of nature to the soothing rhythms of exclusive relaxation music, each session is a step towards inner peace.

Advantages:

  • Aesthetic and Intuitive Design
  • Personalized Experience
  • Extensive Library

Disadvantages

  • The Premium Version might be a bit expensive