There Are So Many Ways To Get Free Audiobooks Right Now

Do you suddenly find yourself with a little extra free time on your hands, nowhere to go, and the urge to dive into something new? If you’re in that boat, know there are plenty of things you can do to occupy your time, and one of them is finally listening to those audiobooks you’ve been meaning to listen to for ages. Audiobooks are great because you can listen to them while you’re also doing other things at the same time — like cleaning, working, running, figuring out how to take your gel nails off, etc — and there are a ton of great places to get your hands (and ears) on them right now. 

Additionally, there are a lot of great places for you to snag free audiobooks. Obviously, during this time we should be supporting writers and artists and the work they do (in addition to booksellers), but if you’re looking to dip your toes into the world of audiobooks without fully committing to loading up your playlist with them just yet, where do you start? 

For those looking to add start their audiobook library, or even add to it, for these next few months so you’re fully stocked with entertainment, here are some great resources to find your next favorite story.

I cannot stress this enough — do not go to your local library right now. Don’t. Do not. Instead, use that nifty library card you have to access thousands of audiobooks digitally from the comforts of your own home. Sites like OverDrive (and the mobile version, LibbyApp) use your library card to enter a database full of audiobooks. There’s also Hoopla which uses your library card, too. Additionally, your local library might even have their own database for your to access — check out their website to see how to access audiobooks online. 

Of course Audible is on this list. It’s Amazon’s giant audiobook one-stop-shop for everything to download. While you will have to sign up for the service and pay a monthly fee, the first month is completely free. So, if there is one audiobook you’ve been just waiting to listen to, a free month of Audible might be worth it. 

Did you know that in addition to music you can also listen to audiobooks? Yes, it’s true. While Spotify’s collection isn’t as large as your local library’s if you’re looking to listen to the classics you might have tuned out in school, now is a perfect time to get caught up.  

Digitalbook is powered by Amazon, which means it’s super easy to send things right to your Kindle. It’s full of classic stories, but has other categories too, like young adult, horror, and sci-fi. Additionally, you can also download books in other languages, so if you’ve been meaning to brush up on your Spanish why not try listening to Sherlock Holmes' adventures in Spanish? 

Not only does LibriVox have a ton of audiobooks for free, but you can also read an audiobook for the site, too. That’s kind of the whole idea, actually. LibriVox uses volunteer readers to narrate stories, so if you want to pay it forward, you can volunteer to do the same by bringing life to your own favorite tale. 

What sets Lit2Go away from other free audiobook sites is that it also includes a huge collection of poetry. Remember how you watched Dickinson on Apple TV+ and then thought about diving into some of her poetry? Now is the perfect time to do it in audio form. 

Just like the other sites, StoryNory has a ton of audiobooks. But they’re not so much focused on current reads, but rather fairytales, poems, music, and myths. The selection is geared more towards littler listeners, but that doesn’t mean you can’t check out the Brothers Grimm, too.