Alternative to Audible

April 3, 2020 7:12 AM

Libro.fm is a neat alternative to Audible. Points in its favor: DRM-free; kick-backs to independent bookstores; credits never expire; not owned by Bezos. Like with Audible, the first month is free. Switching from Audible? First three credits are free by using the code SWITCH. Yes, they have far fewer books than Audible, but the selection is pretty good overall and the sale books have some great titles as low as 69 cents.

My only complaints: no widget for the app and no bulk discounts when buying credits.

posted by dobbs (11 comments total)

Oops. My apologies. The Switch code doesn't give you three free credits, it gives you three for the price of one when you sign up.
posted by dobbs at 7:31 AM on April 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

"membership is currently available only to customers in the U.S. and Canada."
posted by Zumbador at 8:41 AM on April 3, 2020 [5 favorites]

Has anyone here tried their mp3 download option? Do you get one mp3 per chapter or per book? In either case, is the mp3 metadata useful and or complete?
posted by Craven Yeti Superstar at 9:18 AM on April 3, 2020

I love how the books are DRM free so I can listen to them how I want and share them with friends. (Plug for bookmobile on iPhone as best audiobook listening app!)
posted by congen at 11:44 AM on April 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

And yes to Craven Yeti Superstar, the mp3 downloads have complete metadata (even covers) and load perfectly into any audiobook app I’ve tried.
posted by congen at 11:54 AM on April 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thank you for this, and particularly thank you for mentioning the support for independent booksellers. My wife works for an indie bookstore, and the payments from Libro.fm are particularly helpful in a difficult time. With Audible, Scribd, and others offering free audiobooks, that is potentially cutting against these independent bookstores who really need the help.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 12:59 PM on April 3, 2020 [3 favorites]

I started listening to my first LIbro.fm book this week. 100% of my first month's subscription went to my local indie bookstore too.
posted by COD at 1:04 PM on April 3, 2020

I have belonged for nearly a year and am quite happy with it.
posted by soelo at 3:03 PM on April 3, 2020

Especially because the name is so similar, I mention librivox, which is a parallel effort to Project Gutenberg, where anybody can contribute the recordings of the public domain works in Project Gutenberg. It's great!! Limited of course, but many classics will have multiple versions of readings, in multiple languages, and long works may have multiple contributors. I find it's worth it to preview different voice versions when available, and the group contributions are fun to hear different takes and get different moods to different chapters.
posted by abcanthur at 6:19 PM on April 3, 2020 [6 favorites]

Another vote for Librivox. The quality of reading and recording is variable. But they are a work in progress and improving all the time, and there is some great stuff on there.
posted by Pouteria at 9:06 PM on April 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

Downpour is another source for DRM-free audiobooks that I've used and had good experiences with. My favorite, however, is Overdrive which, if your local library supports it, lets you borrow DRM-free audiobooks using just your library card. Overdrive has been promoting a new client called Libby which seems to be built on top of the same underlying service, but doesn't provide the DRM-free downloads like Overdrive does (you have to listen through their apps or website).
posted by rudism at 4:00 PM on April 4, 2020