How to Buy and Listen to Audiobooks on Spotify

What keeps us glued to a Spotify subscription is that it lets us listen to music and podcasts in a single app. Additionally, Spotify recently added a vast library of audiobooks. In this article, we want to show you how to buy and listen to audiobooks on Spotify.

You can listen to audiobooks, whether using the free or premium version of Spotify. On the premium version, you get 15 hours of audiobook listening time per month. If you run out, you can top up ten more hours. On the free version, you can purchase audiobooks and they will be added to your library. You can listen to it whenever you want.

As you read, you will understand how to access or purchase these audiobooks depending on your subscription and how many audiobooks you can listen to on Spotify Premium or free.

How to Find Audiobooks on Spotify

Audiobooks on Spotify are available in a select few regions. These include the US, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Ireland. Therefore, you can only find audiobooks on the Spotify app if your account is based out of the above countries.

Audiobooks on Spotify can be found in the Browse section. You can tap on the search icon and find audiobooks in the recommendation section. If not, scroll down in the Browse All section and find Audiobooks.

Spotify presents audiobooks in the same interface it uses for music and podcasts. You will find audiobooks grouped by genres, authors, popularity, and latest releases. You can add audiobooks to your library, or a playlist, and everything else works the same way as it does with music and podcasts. Moreover, Spotify has added over 200,000 books in the library and you can expect to find all popular and latest releases.

How you access these audiobooks depends upon your subscription. If you’re using the free version of Spotify, you will have to buy an audiobook.

How to Buy Audiobooks on Spotify Free Plan

If you are using the free version of Spotify, the only way to listen to audiobooks is to purchase it. Once you purchase an audiobook, you can listen to it forever and add it to your library. You can purchase and store as many audiobooks as you like. Unfortunately, you can only purchase audiobooks using the web version of Spotify.

After you buy the audiobook, you can listen to it on any device. You can add it to a playlist or listen to the book offline or whenever you want.

Step 1: Open the web version of Spotify, and log in with your credentials.

Step 2: Find the audiobook you want to buy, and click on the Buy icon.

Step 3: Enter your payment information, and you’ll have the audiobook in your library.

What if you don’t want to pay but still want to listen to audiobooks on the app? Turns out there is something you can do.

Can I Listen to Audiobooks for Free on Spotify

Not many users are aware, but Spotify has always had a vast library of free audiobooks. These audiobooks are available in the public domain and do not have any copyright restrictions. Therefore, several users and accounts have uploaded them as podcasts that you can listen to.

Search for audiobooks on Spotify and go to the ‘Podcasts’ section. Here, you’ll find a tonne of classics and public domain books you can listen to for free.

Also Read: 4 Best free audiobook apps for iPhone and Android

If you own a premium subscription to Spotify, here’s how you can listen to audiobooks.

How to Listen to Audiobooks on Spotify Premium Subscription

Spotify includes 15 hours of audiobook listening time every month with your premium subscription. Therefore, you can pick any audiobook and start listening to it. Like music and podcasts, you can add audiobooks to a library or a playlist or download them for offline listening.

If you complete fifteen hours of listening time, you can top up for ten more hours. Top-up hours get carried over to the next month if unused and are valid for 12 months. However, any unused hours in the base 15 hours are not carried over to the next month.

How to Top Up Hours on Spotify Premium

You can only purchase a top-up in the web version of Spotify. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open Spotify on your web browser. Log in with your credentials.

Step 2: Click on the profile icon in the top right corner. Select Account.

Step 2: Click on your plan.

Step 3: Now, click on ‘Manage your audiobook listening time’.

Step 4: Here, check your remaining listening time, and top up if needed. Click on Top up to buy additional hours.

Step 5: Currently, you can buy ten hours of top-up for $12.99. Click on the buy button, add your payment details, and make the purchase.

There you go – that is how to get audiobooks on Spotify. But if you’re a seasoned audiobook listener, you most likely own an Audible subscription. Does Spotify have anything new to offer? Should you make the switch? Let’s find out how they compare to each other.

Spotify Audiobooks vs. Audible: Is Amazon’s Throne in Risk

Amazon enjoys a monopoly in the e-books space and is the go-to choice for the majority. There isn’t any worthy competition to the collection of books and the refined user experience Amazon offers on Kindle or Audible.

However, there are signs of a threat to this dominance with Spotify’s addition of audiobooks for two reasons. Spotify Premium members can listen to audiobooks at no additional cost, and most users would be comfortable using a single app and a single subscription for all of their listening needs.

That said – Audible has a better collection of books, and the library consists of over 700,000 titles. Therefore, you can expect to find nearly every audiobook of your choice. Moreover, the latest audiobooks will likely arrive on Audible first before any other platform. Here’s a quick comparison between these services.

	Audible	Spotify
Pricing Model	$7.95/month: Includes unlimited listening for a selection of books. $14.95/month: Includes unlimited listening for a selection of books. Plus, you get 1 credit per month using which you own a book of your choice. Audiobooks can be purchased individually without a subscription.	$10.99/month: Spotify Premium includes 15 hours of listening time per month. $12.99/month: Ten additional hours valid for 12 months. Audiobooks can be purchased individually on the free version of Spotify.
Number of Available Books	Over 700,000 audiobooks.	Over 200,000 audiobooks.
Supported Devices	Android, iOS, Windows, Mac and Web	Android, iOS, Windows, Mac and Web
Supported Regions	Available in 180 countries.	Available in US, UK, AU, CA, and IE.
Offline Listening	Supported	Supported

Also Read: How to use Amazon Audible

The All-In-One Streaming App Got Better

We hope this article helps you buy and listen to audiobooks on Spotify. Spotify now caters to all your listening needs under one app – giving it an edge over other streaming apps. However, let’s hope Spotify increases the size of its audiobook library and makes it available in all regions soon.