Good alternatives to Audible and Kindle, by reader request
No judgments, just options. For reasons.
Yesterday, I decided it was time to use up my remaining Audible credits and cancel my monthly subscription with Amazon.
Having fairly particular tastes in audiobooks (as do we all), I finally took a dive into Substack Chat to ask my subscribers for recos.
Not only did I get tons of wonderful audiobook suggestions, thanks to my amazingly well-read community here and on IG and on Threads, I got a lot of questions about alternatives to Amazon’s Kindle for e-books, and Audible for audiobooks.
Fortunately, I have answers! (It helps to have been Editor in Chief of a tech site for parents for a whole lot of years, and to have had excellent writers who did a lot of research with me about such things.)
First: No judgments. And a disclaimer or two.
I have an admittedly low tolerance for that cocktail of sanctimony and hypocrisy. Nothing makes me want to buy something from Amazon more than someone on Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook yelling at us to stop “supporting billionaires,” before they return to Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s Google to search for a new Bill Gates Microsoft Xbox game for their kid’s birthday while they enjoy some Jeff Bezos 365 by Whole Foods Trail Mix.
So as always, there is no judgment from me whatsoever about where you buy your e-books or your lip balms or your HUANUDOXIFUS shower speaker.
Everyone has different situations, different budgets, different levels of access to other retailers.
I should note that I have a much neglected Amazon affiliate account, and should you want to buy a massive jug o’ the best body moisturizer ever or a copy of On Tyranny, you can shop through my link and I’ll get a few dollars (or cents) that would otherwise go to Amazon.
I don’t promote it much. I think I’ve made about $2.77 this year so far.
I also have a bookshop.org storefront that supports me a tiny bit, but mostly supports independent bookshops. I recommend shopping there all the time, but in all honesty, it is hard to get most people to pay a little more for a book, plus wait a little longer for it to arrive. It’s a balance.
I believe that most of us here try to live our values as best we can, where and when we can. I think that simply being more conscientious about what we buy and where is a fantastic start.
So let’s start with these!
Good Alternatives to Audible for Audiobooks
If you’re an avid reader, you may want to download a combination of apps to be sure you can get what you want when you want it.
Libro.fm
This app is an Audible alternative, with a portion of your purchase going to the independent bookshop you choose. Libro.fm is currently offering 2 bonus credits when you switch to a subscription using code SWITCH or you can buy individual titles a la carte. Bonus: You can pause or cancel your membership without losing credits. With Audible, you can only pause to keep your credits.
Bonus: You actually own your books purchased with Libro.fm because unlike Audible, the files are not protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management) software. Feel free to share your audiobooks, as with any other book you might own.
Hoopla Digital
If you have a valid library card with a participating library, Hoopla lets you instantly borrow any audiobooks in their catalog, free. No wait times. You can borrow a set number of titles each month depending on your own library’s limits, then they’re automatically set to be “returned” after 2-3 weeks. So borrow when you’re ready to listen! That said, your library pays a fee for each borrow — as much as $3.99 /audiobook, so some libraries can’t afford to participate, or allow you to check out too many titles each month.
Libby app/OverDrive
Libby is most like a real library borrowing experience, with a lot more new titles than Hoopla (and more support for libraries), but you may have to wait to get a hold of your book. That’s because with Libby, libraries just pay once per audiobook/e-book that they own for lending out. So if they pay for 3, they only have 3 to lend. But again, that saves them money and we all want to keep our libraries, right?
Chirp Books
If you’ll basically read anything you can get your hands on, and you love a deal, Chirp is worth a look. You get daily deals under $5, keep all the books you purchase, and there’s no subscription needed. It’s owned by BookBub, an independent company that recommends discounted books.
LibriVox
Like Audible meets Wikimedia Commons, they promise “acoustical liberation of books in the public domain” — or volunteer-narrated audiobook classics. Play from your browser or through iTunes. I can’t vouch for the quality of the narration, but I’d think children’s audio books for car rides could be worth exploring if you’re down for free entertainment.
Apple Books audiobooks and Google Play audiobooks
Indie? No. But if you’re a die-hard Apple or Android fan, may as well browse around for any audiobook deals through the app that came pre-installed on your phone or tablet to begin with.
Good Alternatives to Kindle for E-Books
Bookshop.org
Last year, Bookshop started offering e-books! Prices are comparable to or better than Kindle — most are $9.99 to $14.99, though there are deals like an under-$4 section.
Tip: Follow the bookshop.org Instagram for great recommendations.
Hoopla Digital
See above for more info. Hoopla has a wider selection of e-books than Libby, including comics and other kinds of media, but it does charge libraries up to $2 per e-book that you borrow. That’s why you’re subject to a monthly checkout limit. Still, no waits for books, no overdue fees. You can use the app on a Kindle Fire tablet, but not through a Kindle app.
Libby app/OverDrive
See above for more info. While there can be long wait times for popular titles, a nice benefit of Libby is that you can download e-books for offline reading, read through their iOS/Android app, on desktop using LibbyApp.com, on your phone/tablet’s Kindle app or a Kindle e-reader or tablet. Wait complaints aside, people who love this app love this app.
Project Gutenberg
Download multiple formats of public domain e-books for reading online, or through your Kindle device/app. If you’ve always been meaning to read Pride & Prejudice, The Picture of Dorian Grey, or Don Quijote in Spanish, give it a shot. Also, nice way to finally own The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Free.
Apple Books e-books and Google Play e-books
See above for more info; both apps sell e-books in addition to audiobooks. Bonus: You can share them with your family members if you have Family Sharing set up on iOS, or Family Library on Android.
Calibre E-Book Management
You don’t have to be too techy to figure out how to use Calibre to “sideload” e-books into a Kindle app if you want to continue to use it. Calibre is a free, open source e-book manager that lets you take a downloaded book file, then convert it for reading on your laptop, phone, or Kindle device. If you have no idea what any of this means, skip it and try something else. (It’s not my preferred method for reading e-books either, but there are lots of fans!)
Have a favorite on this list? Any watch-outs we should know? Anything else I missed? Please let us know!
thank you for sharing. this forced me to google what happens to my audible purchases after I cancel, and I'm pleased to see any books I purchased will still be available for me to listen to.
One cool thing to know about Libby app is that you can add partner libraries, in addition to your home library. There’s a way to search on the app or you can ask your local librarian for a list. I have 12 libraries I can borrow from so my wait times are seriously reduced.