What is the best audiobook app for the money? Well, Audible's huge library of both nonfiction and fiction, as well as different plans for every need, makes it my top pick for best audiobook app. But there are more audiobook apps out there too, which might suit your needs better .
And in this article, we're going to take a look at 5 audiobook apps that I think you should consider:
| Audible | Best overall audiobook app (and for investment books) |
| Storytel | User-friendly and simple |
| Nextory | Best for Norwegian books |
| BookBeat | Huge library at reasonable price |
| Podimo | For those who love podcasts (and want something extra) |
When you need to relax, nothing beats a good book. But with everything that happens in everyday life, it is not always easy to find time to sit with your nose down in a book. This is where audiobooks come in as a great solution!
You can listen to books on the way to and from work, while exercising, walking the dog and so on. In addition, you can set audiobooks to a higher speed, so that you can listen through the book quickly, if you wish.
There are many different audiobook apps out there, but which one is best for you?
Here you will get the help you need. Furthermore, you can see the best 5 audiobook apps that you can test, and which can give you a good listening experience.
Audible
Best overall audiobook app
Cost: You get 30 days free + an audiobook to own and own. Then a paid plan.
| Plan | Monthly cost |
| Premium Plus 1 credit | £7.90 |
| Premium Plus 2 credits | £14.99 |
Audible is owned by Amazon, and is a well-known audiobook app for many. And for good reason. Audible uses a 'credit' system, which means that you can buy and own audiobooks for 1 credit every month.
In addition, Audible has well over 200,000 audiobooks in its library, which you can listen to whenever you want.
What I personally like best about Audible is the huge selection of non-fiction books on, among other things, investment, career, history and self-development.
Plus of course they have a massive selection of fiction and podcasts available too.
You get very good prices on books that may not be in the library, and you always pay £7.90 - regardless of the book.
I myself bought one of my favorite books Richer, Wiser, Happier in the app for that price. Usually it costs closer to £30.
Audible lets you keep books you buy,whereas many other apps only offer loans. This means that you do not risk the book suddenly disappearing from the library, since you actually own it.
And this is important. It was actually the main reason I switched from Storytel to Audible myself, when they suddenly removed many of my favorite books from their library.
To get started with 30 days free - plus a free book to share and own - click the button below.
If you choose to continue the subscription, you will receive a new credit each month that you can use on an audio book of your choice, in addition to access to the huge library where you can listen to as many books as you want!
Audible has no lock-in period. You get a 30-day free trial, so get started today!
Storytel
User-friendly and simple
I have used Storytel diligently for almost 2 years - until I now switched to Audible. That said, the big reason I'm switching is that many of the titles I listen to (in investing and finance) are disappearing from Storytel's library.
As I write this, Storytel has over 500,000 audiobooks and e-books in its library, which you can listen to on your mobile or tablet.
What I like about Storytel is the great, user-friendly design, the large selection of Norwegian specialist books, as well as the ability to download audiobooks and e-books offline, so that I can listen to them wherever I happen to be.
Here, there is also no limit on how many hours you can listen per month, as for example other audiobook apps such as BookBeats have.
Storytel has a free trial period of 14 days.
After this, the following prices apply (Norwegian krone):
Unlimited subscription for individuals, NOK 199 per month.
Family subscription with 2 accounts, NOK 259 per month.
There is no commitment period at Storytel.
Nextory
Best for Norwegian books
Nextory has a large selection of audio and e-books, with over 400,000 titles. For a fixed monthly price, you can read and listen to as many books as you want.
In fact, Nextory is the only player on the market that has agreements with all the largest Norwegian publishers and is thus the largest in Norwegian books, children's books and other best sellers.
Just like with Storytel, you don't need an internet connection to listen or read – as long as the book is downloaded, you can enjoy the book offline.
If you're in any doubt about what I mean by offline: all you need to do is download the audiobook via the mobile phone/tablet app.
Advantages of Nextory:
- Large selection of audiobooks and e-books (over 400,000 titles)
- Read and listen online or offline
- Get access to as many books as you want for a fixed monthly price
There is no commitment period and new users get a free trial period of 30 days.
BookBeat
Huge selection of books and reasonable prices
BookBeat is an audiobook app where you can stream over 800,000 books!
They have a slightly different arrangement in terms of price than the others on the list. Here you pay based on the number of hours you want to listen, and the price starts from NOK 79 per month.
All subscriptions give you access to the entire library, but the prices are therefore determined by the listening time you want:
- The Basic subscription costs NOK 79 per month and allows you to listen 20 hours a month
- Standard you get 50 hours of listening for NOK 129 per month
- Premium gives you 100 hours of listening for NOK 179 per month
- (If you need more than 100 hours, you can buy 25 hours for NOK 49 extra)
With BookBeat, you get access to a huge selection of books - from famous novels, exciting crime series, heartwarming feel-good, inspiring biographies and much more.
- BookBeat costs from NOK 79 a month, which makes it the most affordable audiobook app on the market.ng to a huge selection of books - from well-known novels, exciting crime series, heartwarming feel-good, inspiring biographies and much more.
- 800,000 books in Norwegian, English and several other languages.
- They have agreements with all the major Scandinavian publishers: Cappelen Damm, Gyldendal, Aschehoug, Bonnier and more.
There is no lock-in period. You get a 30-day free trial, so get started today!
Podimo
For those of you who love podcasts (and some audiobooks)
Podimo is an app for both podcasts and audiobooks - but they have by far their biggest advantage on the podcast front, where you can listen to an unlimited number of hours.
On the audiobook front, you are limited to 10 hours per month of listening time with the cheapest plan, so this app is primarily designed for those of you who like listening to podcasts, but who want the opportunity to listen through 1-2 books each month too.
(The Premium Plus plan has unlimited listening time, but then you have to up to NOK 169 a month)
I love the design of the app, and it's easy to find what you're looking for. But then, with my very specific need (investment books), Podimo doesn't have the selection I'm personally looking for.
But there is a number of good feedback from satisfied customers on trustpilot who have certainly found an app that gives them full value for money.
I recommend you try out Podimo!
What is the best audiobook app?
My top pick for best audiobook app is Audible. Yes, it has a somewhat smaller selection than others on the list, and it doesn't exactly hit the mark on Norwegian books, but the large selection of investment books weighs heavily in my opinion.
There are several audiobook apps to choose from, and one of the others on the list might be a better fit for your needs, and what you are into hunt for.
| Audiobook app | Trial period | Minimum monthly cost | No. of titles |
| Audible | 30 days | £7.90 (ca 105 kroner) | 200.000+ |
| Storytel | 14 days | NOK 199 | 500.000+ |
| Nextory | 30 days | NOK 139 | 400.000+ |
| BookBeat | 30 days | NOK 79 | 800.000+ |
| Podimo | 30 days | NOK 79 | _ |
So, which is the best audiobook app for you?
To help you decide which audiobook app is right for you and your needs, you need to think about a few different factors.
| Choose this audiobook app... | If you want... |
| Audible | Large selection of specialist books in e.g. finance |
| Storytel | User-friendly experience |
| Nextory | Norwegian books |
| BookBeat | Enormous library at a flexible price |
| Podimo | Podcasts (and some audiobooks) |
How did I select the different audiobook apps?
I used several factors when testing the various audiobook apps:
- Selection of books
- Norwegian books
- Price
- My and other users' experiences
How do audiobook apps work?
An audiobook app is an app that you download to your mobile phone or tablet. It allows you to read or listen to audiobooks and e-books.
How much does an audiobook app cost?
The price of an audiobook app depends on which one you choose. On this list you will find audiobook apps from NOK 79 up to almost NOK 200 a month.
Are there other audiobook apps worth considering?
On this list, I've only chosen to recommend audiobook apps that I've actually tested myself. There are several audiobook apps out there that could certainly have been on my list if I had tested them:
- Google play books
- Audiobooks.com
- Fabel
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