A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated Aug. 01, 2024
As the audio streaming giant expands its bookish offerings, subscribers are treated to over 375,000 titles. Here's how to buy and listen to those audiobooks on Spotify.
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There’s nothing quite like reading a great story. Of course, listening to one—with an excellent narrator at the helm—is a fantastic way to fit more reading into your day and a guaranteed good time. That’s why, when streaming audio giant Spotify announced in late 2022 that it would be offering audiobook titles on the platform, readers rejoiced. But as with many things in our fast-moving media world, some of you didn’t get the memo. So we’re giving you a quick introduction (or refresher for those in the know) that explains how to listen to audiobooks on Spotify.
Audiobooks currently account for 11% of the total book market in the United States, according to an analysis from the Audio Publishers Association. That number has been growing by 20% year over year as more and more consumers fall in love with audiobooks, as Spotify reported in its initial audiobook business announcement. The company’s latest data found that a quarter of its premium users have engaged with audiobooks since the feature launched. And with the wildly popular streaming platform making over 375,000 titles available for purchase, it’s a book lover’s feast!
Some business smarty pants once said, “Never leave money on the table.” We feel the same way about books. Don’t miss out on listening to some of the best books on Spotify. Read on to find out all about the service, from how to listen to audiobooks on Spotify to how to buy audiobooks on Spotify and how much it’ll cost you.
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Audiobook titles are available to listeners with the Spotify Free plan or one of the ad-free Premium plans.
An added perk of subscribing to a paid plan is the free 15 hours of audiobook listening time you’ll get every month. One big caveat: If you have a Premium Duo or Family account, only the plan manager has access to those 15 hours of listening time. Beyond the 15 hours that come with a Premium subscription, audiobook purchases are not included with Spotify Premium plans. Each audiobook will cost you.
Eager to purchase a few family-friendly audiobooks for your summer road trip? Craving a bloody good horror novel? No matter what you’re in the mood for, we want to connect you with your next great listen right away. Here’s here’s how to buy audiobooks on Spotify:
Not sure what you want to read? While browsing audiobooks, you can read the book’s description, find out how long it runs, listen to a sample and check out the rating. (FYI: An E tag means the audiobook contains adult content.)
You’re now ready to listen to your book!
While you can pay for an audiobook only through Spotify’s website, you can listen on both the mobile and desktop apps after you’ve paid. Once you’ve completed the payment, your audiobook will be unlocked in your Spotify library, and you can start listening. You can download the audiobook to various devices to enjoy when you’re offline too.
Here’s how to start listening:
Not only can you start, stop and pause Spotify audiobooks from the app, but you can also adjust the speed, skip forward and rewind. Readers who love to fall asleep to a good book can even set a sleep timer so they don’t snooze through the story.
Unfortunately, audiobooks on Spotify are not free, even if you already pay for a Premium membership. Audiobook prices range from $3 for shorter works like children’s books up to about $40 for sagas like George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.
Spotify also recently added a new audiobook subscription called the Audiobooks Access Tier, which costs $9.99 a month. Although the cost is slightly cheaper (by a dollar) than the Premium Individual subscription and you get the same 15 hours of listening time, you don’t get the ad-free music streaming option the Premium plan provides.
If you’re a big reader, yes. Folks are busier than ever, and it can be hard to keep up with your favorite authors and new releases—not to mention that teetering TBR pile. Audiobooks make it easy to read while doing other tasks, like exercising or commuting. Of course, readers also appreciate the opportunity to hear celebrities and authors narrate must-read books.
And family audiobooks are perfect for road trips. “Listening to audiobooks with my kids during long car rides helps turn mundane trips into adventures,” says Charnaie Gordon, author of picture book Etta Extraordinaire Goes to the White House and diversity kid-lit blog Here Wee Read. “Audiobooks also help spark imagination and nurture a love for storytelling. Plus, they are a great way to introduce diverse voices and stories.”
As for purchasing on Spotify specifically, it’s a good option for those who want to keep all of their audiobooks on one platform—and those who want to keep everything they listen to, from music to podcasts to audiobooks, in one place.
Spotify has a diverse range of titles, offering the best audiobooks in every genre, including fiction books, nonfiction books, inspirational reads, romance novels and mystery books.
An Editor’s Pick section highlights everything from beach reads like Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez and Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan to more sobering nonfiction bestsellers like Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond.
If what you’re looking for isn’t available yet, there’s also a section listing all the titles coming soon. You’ll even see a countdown on some coming-soon titles, which you can pre-save.
Audible, part of Amazon, is currently the audiobook giant, but it seems Spotify is coming for the title. How should you decide which one to use? We’ve broken down the basics so you can make an informed decision.
Whichever you ultimately go with, Spotify’s entry into the audiobook world is sure to be a boon to bookworms. Anything that makes it easier to read is a good thing in our books.
Additional reporting by Zan Romanoff.
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About the expert
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At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece on how to listen to audiobooks on Spotify, Nicole Blades tapped her experience as a longtime journalist and novelist to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
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Originally Published: September 27, 2022
