Turns out, Audible isn’t the only one! Peek into the best audiobook apps and their interfaces below...
There are many hobbies to take up while staying home – growing a family of shrubs, crafting your own trinkets, doing your own manicures… But the one thing we’d continue doing even after we get out of isolation? Plugging into audiobooks. Whether you’re in the shower or on-the-go, this is a super convenient way to feed (or entertain) your mind. Trial these audiobook apps for free and subscribe to your favourite for more good listens!
Best audiobook subscription apps
Storytel
Free trial: 30 days
Subscription: From $9.90 per month
Book selection: Storytel has over 400,000 book titles with narrated book summaries, full audiobooks and e-books to choose from. Take your pick from SingLit, business, science fiction, YA, personal development, thrillers, short stories and even books for the kiddos! Save your faves to your virtual bookshelf and browse the editor’s picks if you don’t know which title to begin with. Plus, dive into the minds of experts with the Best of Harvard Business Review or MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series.
Blinkist
Free trial: 14 days
Subscription: From $19.98 per month
Book selection: If you’re all about non-fiction reads, Blinkist is your go-to app. It has over 3,000 non-fiction titles with 30 new ones added monthly. Full-length audiobooks and book summaries (called ‘blinks’) are available for listening or reading. These take you through highlights of a book in around 10 minutes – so who says you can’t go through a book a day? You can sync your book highlights with Evernote too. Pro tip: even if you aren’t planning to subscribe, sign up for an account to access a free daily read (or audio), randomly selected by the app.
Scribd
Free trial: 30 days
Subscription: Around $13.90 (US$8.99) per month
Book selection: There are more than just books here. Scribd has everything from audiobooks and book summaries (under the ‘snapshots’ section), to online documents (think academic papers and business templates) and sheet music (including the likes of Frozen and Wicked). The range of fiction and non-fiction titles is pretty extensive, with New York Times bestsellers spotlighted on the homepage. The app’s nifty features let you highlight and make notes on your pages too!
Audible
Free trial: 30 days
Subscription: $14.95 per month
Book selection: You’ve probably already heard of Audible. But beyond its audiobook subscription, there are numerous other highlights to check out. Audible Originals is an exclusive selection of titles narrated by storytellers from theatre, journalism and more. Audible Sleep brings you bedtime stories, meditations and other sleep-inducing audios from the likes of Nick Jonas to Arianna Huffington. And if you’re all about romantic stories, consider signing up for Audible Escape. Separate from your standard Audible subscription, this also has a month’s free trial and costs $12.95 after.
Best subscription-free audiobook apps
Kobo
Price: Pay per book, free audio previews available
Book selection: Kobo has a range of genres spanning romance, science fiction, memoirs, business and finance. Pay per e-book or audiobook that you want to access. Download the app to sample short snippets of audiobooks before purchasing or to take advantage of the daily selection of free e-books!
Overdrive
Price: Free
Book selection: This service by the National Library Board gives you access to its list of titles with e-books, audiobooks and even videos – all completely free! Simply download the Overdrive app, search for ‘National Library Board, Singapore’ and start browsing its selection.
