Tired of Audible? These are my favorite free audiobook alternatives
Both are perfectly fine Audible audiobook listening alternatives, but they have slightly unique features that set them apart from one another.
Table of Contents
Audiobookshelf
Audiobookshelf feels a lot like a Plex server but for audiobooks and podcasts. You can upload your audiobook files and it builds a library with cover art, metadata, chapters, and listening progress for you.
You can listen to your audiobooks in a web browser or in the AudiobookShelf Android and iOS apps, which both support offline downloads. It also syncs your progress across devices, allowing you to pick up at the exact same spot if you switch from one to another.
If you have a big pile of DRM-free audiobooks on a hard drive, then go ahead and start here.
Storyteller
Storyteller also offers basic audiobook functions, but it’s really designed for those who often switch between reading a book and listening to it. If you upload both a DRM-free ebook and a DRM-free audiobook of the same title, Storyteller will sync your progress between the two as you progress.
I use this feature almost everyday between listening to an audiobook in my car and then switching to my e-reader to continue reading at home. Storyteller effortlessly saves my spot across both using EPUB 3 media overlays. And much like Amazon’s Whispersync, it can also highlight the current line of text as the audiobook plays.
