Best Alternatives to Audible | Great Audiobook Apps: Scribd, BookBeat, XigXag, Audrey and more

What are the best alternatives Audible? I tried several different paid audiobook apps to see how they compare to Audible in terms of cost, ethics, sustainability, range of titles and usability and have several recommendations for you! Check out my in depth overviews of Scribd, BookBeat and XigXag, as well as some further recommendations that you might be interested in.

FREE STUFF:
Obviously, none of this is sponsored! However, in the interests of full disclosure, if you use my link below for the 1 month free trial of Scribd, I get a month free if you then subscribe to them - thanks in advance if you do! You can also use the link for XigXag to grab ANY of their books for £3.99 and if three people do that, I get a free book! Didn’t mention in my video as I only found this out after editing. Thanks in advance if you do that too!

0:00 Intro - reasons to try alternatives to Audible
1:49 My testing criteria - what I looked for
5:20 What does Audible offer (for the purposes of comparison)
11:24 Scribd vs. Audible
16:45 BookBeat vs. Audible
22:54 XigXag vs. Audible

#scribd #xigxag #bookbeat #listenwithaudrey

📺 MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:
@MargaretPinard
@GunpowderFictionPlot

@listenwithaudrey
@ScribdChat
@xigxagofficial
@BookBeat

XigXag Get your first book for £3.99 on xigxag!

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[rebeccamolyneux]

Excellent video. I was especially interested to learn about xigxag as I live in the neighbouring town! Worth pointing out that according to their website the prices reset after a year. So if you’re at the £3.99 level it looks like it resets to £7.99 a year after your first purchase.

[AnneEWilliamson]

Yes! The only one I've used is Scribd, but I definitely am against using Audible. Just the more I learn about anything owned by Amazon, the more cynical I am with it, lol. This video was so fascinating!

[violetpagesss]

This is one of the most informative videos I’ve watched!! Thanks so much 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[GemofBooks]

This was so interesting.
I will definitely give xigxag a go at some point.
I really do love Scribd. So glad I took the plunge on that last year.

[anges_book_chatter]

I have moving to Scribd and Kobo. Looking at XigXag and I have signed up to Audrey. Thanks for doing all this research 😀

[Cris-oedf]

Amazing job. Will try out a few of these. Thanks!

[nisoZ]

Brilliant video! Thank you for the immense effort and the great ethics guiding this exploration!

[MarilynMayaMendoza]

Hi Jack, Thank you so much for your amazing Research! I’m planning to get more into audio books this year. I miss you! Aloha

[AliceandtheGiantBookshelf]

🎧 Loved this Jack, such a detailed and well researched video. I currently only use my audible subscription and my library apps. Libby and BorrowBox have definitely been taking over from audible for me lately. Plan to possibly check out scribd or xigxag when I’ve got less on the go. 😊📚🎧

[novellenovels]

Wow you did so much work on this sweetie and it’s amazing.. Well done 🎉🎉💜🎧

[KellyannMitchell]

I love me Scribd. I pay for both Scribd and Audible but I'm always looking for good alternatives. This was a very informative video Jack. Thanks for the options offered and their pros and cons.

[jillybeanh]

I currently have Scribd, but am on a pause to prioritise my own books (although that ended up being me prioritising library books instead 🤦 and my bookshelves still groaning with unread books).
Just signed up to xigxag from your recommendation, I'm on android AND as I had a £1 off in app purchases voucher it made my first ebook £2.99 and it does accept the Google reward points in payment too. Very much looking forward to trying it out now I understand the model and the platform better from your wonderfully clear overview. I got stoneblind as I know you weren't a fan but I'm hoping that Natalie Haynes narration may help since I'm a fan on her 'stand up for the classics' series.

Audrey does look great and I may treat myself to Frankenstein or a heftier classic later, once I do in fact get through some of my already owned books.

[illustratorsam]

I want to throw AnyPlay out there as another alternative audiobook source. It’s allegedly available in 150-ish countries. Audiobook exclusive. Seems like a similar quality & selection to Scribd. I pay under $90/year for the service.

[katiemcneece]

I use Scribd because of their middle grade selection. I agree with you in that they have a very large library of middle grade audio and ebooks. I use it because most new releases in the US are hardback first and paperback a year later. I prefer paperback because of space, so I listen to scribd when it comes out and get the paperback later. 🎧😁

[amy]

Hi Jack, I use a Kindle Fire Tablet because it supports text to speech for e books. I don't use Audible's subscription service. When a title is on audiobook. I use the one click option. As for Amazon itself, I couldn't live without them. It's how I shop being a disabled person.

[frankylee]

I know you’ve pinned a comment from a Rebecca but it really ought to be a quick add on in the video about the 7.99 resetting after a year. I read at least 50 books a year but many only read about half that which means if it does reset they won’t get too many at the cheaper price. It’s a deal breaker for me as I’m already on Libby and Audible. Could you put a note on a video. Some people would be very disappointed.

[alisonbell]

This was a fantastic video thank you. I only use borrow box at the moment but feel keen to sign up to a paid app. It will not be anything to do with amazon due to my own political beliefs. X🎧❤

[jan-bagpussh]

I found with scribd if I bought a books with a lot of chapters they shortened it so never got the full audio.

[CharlieBrookReads]

Such an interesting video. I LOVE Xigxag and they are my go to other than scribd. Such a great company. 🎧❤

[lolaaa]

Did I understand correctly that you can only use xigxag if you live in the uk? That's a shame :(