Here's how Premium subscribers can get access to thousands of free audiobooks on Spotify
How to Listen to Over 300,000 Free Audiobooks on Spotify
Updated on Apr. 15, 2025
If you’re like me and love listening to audiobooks, and you’re always looking for clever ways to read books for free, then you should know about this Spotify steal I recently heard about. The digital media giant first introduced a library full of audiobooks in 2022, and when I reached out to Spotify, I found out they have since more than doubled the size of their collection—and now offer Premium listeners more than 300,000 free audiobooks on Spotify.
Spotify has long been many listeners’ go-to for finding their favorite music and podcasts online. And thanks to their audiobook library expansion, the digital media streamer is also a stellar place to find your next favorite audiobook—and read it for free. Spotify’s expansive audiobook library, which offers more than 375,000 titles total (with more than 300,000 of those for free), is a virtual treasure trove of tomes.
Here’s what you need to know about how to read the best books for free on Spotify.
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What, exactly, is Spotify’s free audiobook feature?
With the introduction of free audiobooks to their Premium subscription in 2023, Spotify began offering another bonus for joining the subscription program. It’s now a one-stop shop for all things audio: music, podcasts and audiobooks.
Spotify Premium members get 15 hours of Spotify audiobook listening time per month, along with access to more than 300,000 audiobooks available free to Spotify Premium members. The full Spotify audiobook library includes an additional 75,000 audiobooks available for purchase via the Spotify Web player.
Who can get free audiobooks on Spotify?
If you’re already a Spotify Premium Individual, Family or Duo plan member in the United States, then your 15 audiobook listening hours are already included in your plan. (Student plans don’t include the free audiobook access.) New Premium users can get one month free, then pay $11.99 per month for an Individual subscription. The Premium plan includes ad-free music streaming, more ability to skip songs and podcast access, along with the 15 audiobook hours per month.
Audiobooks have been available free for Spotify Premium subscribers in English-speaking countries in addition to the U.S. (the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland) since the program’s launch in 2023, with new countries including France and Belgium added in 2024. More countries are being added, so check Spotify’s website for audiobook availability if you live outside the U.S.
Can you get free audiobooks on Spotify without a Premium plan?
If you don’t already have (or don’t want to buy) a Spotify Premium plan, Spotify is offering 15 hours of audiobook access to their 300,000-title free catalog through the Audiobook Access plan, which is $9.99 a month. This plan also includes access to music on their ad-supported network, as it would be if you were using the free version of Spotify.
But if you don’t want even that level of commitment, you can also purchase and listen to individual audiobooks on the Spotify network through the Spotify Web Player, then keep music, podcasts and audiobooks all in one place on the Spotify app.
How can you get free audiobooks on Spotify?
So how do you find the best free audiobooks on Spotify for Premium subscribers? Here’s your step-by-step guide to where to find and listen to them.
How to find free Spotify audiobooks
Step 1: Open the app’s home screen, and find the audiobooks tab at the top of the page.
Step 2: Once you hit the tab, you’ll have access to Spotify’s extensive library of audiobooks—with more than 300,000 free selections in the subscriber catalog. According to Spotify, the free library includes access to more than 70% of the books on the New York Times bestseller list.
Step 3: Looking for something specific? Hit the search button, then click audiobooks to head to a page where you can dive deeper by genre, category, book title or author.
How to listen to free audiobooks on Spotify
Step 1: Once you’ve found a title you want to listen to, click on the book title to access it.
Step 2: Save the book to your library or hit play to listen.
Step 3: Your audiobook will be accessible within the library, and the player will restart from the point where you left off when you open it again.
Tip: If you’re a bedtime listener like me and sometimes fall asleep listening to your library lullabies, Spotify’s got a fix for that so you don’t burn through your free hours while snoozing. There’s a handy Spotify Sleep timer you can set to end your listen and shut off the player if you think you might nod off, so you don’t lose those precious play hours.
What audiobooks are available for free on Spotify?
Spotify is so committed to the audiobook space, they’re introducing new Spotify audiobook features and content every month, including genre lists (like their new spicy audiobooks hub!), video clips, author pages and customized audiobook playlists.
Titles in the free Spotify audiobooks library also feature Spotify’s top audiobooks of 2024, which include favorites like A Court of Thorns and Roses, Game of Thrones and Fourth Wing. Genres of audiobooks include:
- Fiction and literature
- True crime
- Self-help
- Sci-fi and fantasy
- Romance
- Thriller books
- Much more
Plus, the more you listen, the more Spotify gets to know your tastes in books, just like it does in music. So as your audiobook listening library grows, Spotify will start to curate book recommendations for you and share new titles that deserve some space on your shelf.
Pro tips for getting Spotify audiobooks free
- If you haven’t downloaded the app yet (although trust me, the app makes it easier), you can find audiobooks on Spotify Web Player’s Audiobooks hub on a web browser.
- If you’re a big reader, 15 hours of free listening time might not sound like a lot. But many audiobooks these days clock in between 6 to 12 hours, which means you can listen to one or more free books per month through this plan. Note that your 15 free hours don’t roll over from month to month—so use them or lose them.
- Once you run out of your 15 free hours, Spotify will offer the option to top up your audiobook hours in 10-hour increments at an additional fee. An added perk: Your additional hours are good for 12 months from purchase.
- If you want more audiobook listening time by the book, you can purchase additional audiobooks and keep them handy on your Spotify shelves.
- Books can also only be purchased on the Web Player, as the mobile app doesn’t currently offer in-app purchase capabilities.
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