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Does Spotify have free audiobooks? Best books to stream this winter
As Spotify roll out their new audiobooks feature, you might be curious to know whether you can stream any audiobooks for free.
Earlier this year, in September, Spotify launched audiobooks on the music streaming app in the United States. This November sees the new feature roll out in more countries around the world. This is the first time Spotify has had such long-form content available to stream on their platform.
For book lovers, accessing 300,000 audiobooks at your fingertips will make blitzing through your winter reading list a breeze. But you may have noticed that the audiobooks are available at an extra cost.
So, does Spotify have any free audiobooks? Here’s a rundown of all the ways you can tune into the streaming platform’s new library.
Why is Spotify charging for audiobooks?
Like other audiobook streaming platforms such as Audible, the majority of audiobooks on Spotify aren’t free to stream.
Audiobooks will show up with a lock icon on the play button, signaling that they need to be purchased in order to listen. You need to purchase the audiobook using a computer, as it can’t be done through the Spotify app as of yet. Once purchased, your audiobook will show up in your library, ready to stream.
Regardless of whether you have a premium or free Spotify account, you will need to pay for the majority of audiobooks on the streaming platform. But there are some books which will be accessible without a charge.
Spotify audiobooks prices explored
There is no blanket fee for audiobooks on Spotify. With over 300,000 titles, there’d be no sure way to standardized pricing across the board.
Instead, the audiobooks range in price from around $3 up to $40. The lower end of the price range is for shorter works like children’s books, whereas the prices titles are for sagas such as George R.R. Martins Game of Thrones.
Expect to spend a similar amount that you would on a regular book with Spotify audiobooks. This means newer releases and long works might cost you sums in the double digits.
Some audiobooks will be available for free
While the main audiobooks might see you dishing out quite a sum of money, there are some ways to stream audiobooks for free on Spotify.
Any book which is in the public domain, meaning it is no longer any copyright, are available for public use. This policy changes by country, but books often go into the public domain 70 years after the death of the author. In other countries, books automatically go into the public domain 120 after they are written.
So, this means that a lot of classic novels written before the turn of the century are available for public use. As a result, some individuals have recorded their own audiobooks, which are available on streaming platforms such as Spotify in podcast format.
The best free audiobooks available to stream on Spotify
Here are some of the top audiobooks we’ve found you can stream for free on Spotify. While there are plenty of classics in there, there are a few modern titles you’ll be familiar with mixed in. All you need to do to find them on Spotify is search the book titles with the author. The audiobook will be there in your Spotify library to stream, for free!
If you want to check out what audiobooks are free, type ‘Audiobooks’ into your Spotify search bar. Next select the artist page for ‘Audiobooks’ and it will show you all the free streaming options.
Check out our top picks:
- A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
- The Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton
- A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
- Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
- Goosebumps series – RL Stine
- The Hunger Games trilogy – Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay)
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Washington Irving
- Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
- Love & Misadventure – Lang Leav
- Mortal Engines series – Philip Reeve
- Notes From A Nervous Planet – Matt Haig
- The Raven Cycle – Maggie Stiefvater
- Right Ho, Jeeves – P.G. Wodehouse
- The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
Happy listening!
