Best Alternatives to Audible | Great Audiobook Apps: Scribd, BookBeat, XigXag, Audrey and more
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- 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
31:00 Audrey, Libro.fm, Libby and BorrowBox
#scribd #xigxag #bookbeat #listenwithaudrey
📺 MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:
@MargaretPinard
@GunpowderFictionPlot
• How to download free a...
• Is Scribd Really Unlim...
• The Audrey Guided Audi...
@listenwithaudrey
@ScribdChat
@xigxagofficial
@BookBeat
Scribd 1 month free trial www.scribd.com/gi/99iay8
BookBeat 1 month free trial www.bookbeat.co.uk/registrati...
Audrey www.listenwithaudrey.com
XigXag Get your first book for £3.99 on xigxag!
linkto.xigxag.co.uk/links/kjAj
Libro.fm www.libro.fm
Libby www.overdrive.com/apps/libby
Borrowbox www.borrowbox.com
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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.
That is good to know Rebecca, thank you. I'll pin your comment!
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!
Thank you so much, Anne. I have really enjoyed finding viable alternatives to Audible and Amazon for books.
This is one of the most informative videos I’ve watched!! Thanks so much 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
You are very welcome! So glad it was helpful! 😁🤍
Brilliant video! Thank you for the immense effort and the great ethics guiding this exploration!
Thank you so much - I thought it would be an important factor for anyone who is able to shop around.
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
I’m so glad you found it useful Marilyn! Miss you too - will drop you a message as it is now the school holidays and I can breathe a little!
I have moving to Scribd and Kobo. Looking at XigXag and I have signed up to Audrey. Thanks for doing all this research 😀
You are welcome Ange! Look forward to hearing what you think of them!
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.
Love Scribd - so glad you found this useful Gem x
Wow you did so much work on this sweetie and it’s amazing.. Well done 🎉🎉💜🎧
Thanks so much Em!
🎧 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. 😊📚🎧
Thank you so much, Alice! I find I'm using Audible less and less these days so I'm contemplating ditching the annual subscription, though we shall see when my renewal rolls around!
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.
Great - thanks Sam! I’ll have to check them out!
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.
Thank you, Kelly! I hadn’t really considered alternatives until I started using Scribd, which I love. Definitely some great companies out there!
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.
That is a really great point and I wish I could but I would have to re-film, re-edit and repost the video as I don’t have the old footage. Unfortunately CZcams doesn’t have the capacity to edit things already uploaded - you can’t even add any text to the screen once it is up, so pinning that comment was the only option I’m afraid.
🎧 thank you!
Thanks for watching!😊
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.
Thank you so much - so glad this was useful! I do hope you enjoy Stone Blind - I love Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics! Her non-fiction book, Pandora’s Jar was one of my favourites last year and the chapter on Medusa was excellent. I know what you mean about trying to prioritise your own books - unfortunately I end up having library books take over as well because I put holds on things that take weeks to come in!
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. 🎧😁
I was so impressed with their middle grade range and that definitely influenced my decision to subscribe to them. Over here in the UK, quite a large number of children’s books go straight to paperback rather than hardback first, which is great.
@@spreadbookjoy I wish they did here. I have a few in hardback, but the paperbacks allow me to collect so many more than I could in hardback.
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.
Yes, Amazon were a lifeline for me and my partner during the pandemic when we were shielding. Their service is vital to so many people, so I hope this video doesn’t sound judgmental in any way. I have just been very curious about other audiobook services and thought others might like to see what I’ve found.
@@spreadbookjoy They're lots of services out there so use what works for you. I like to chime in to remind folks there are those who use certain things for very specific reasons.
@@amy8458 it’s always good to get a balanced view, which is what I hopefully did here with my outline of the pros and cons of all of the apps, including Audible. Their interface, compatibility with ebooks and range are still the best of the bunch, which I think is obvious. Regarding choice, I completely agree that people have to choose what works for them. I still use Audible and Amazon, as there are many of their services I rely on for my supporting my elderly parents. Also, my mum is hearing and sight impaired, so her kindle fire is also her main form of reading which she absolutely couldn’t do without.
I hope XigXag comes to the US 👀
So do I - it’s a great price model and I love their values! I hope they do well and manage to expand!
@@spreadbookjoy I was able to download the app. I’ve been poking around the site.
@@illustratorsam interesting! I wonder if you’ll be allowed to purchase?
@@illustratorsam Hi 👋 You can certainly enjoy audiobooks from the US - however we don't have a large catalogue available in the US right now. We are working on it! 😊
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🎧❤
Completely understand the stance on Audible as an Amazon company - I was really impressed with the smaller companies and their commitment to ethics and sustainability. Thank you so much- I’m glad this was helpful!
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Such an interesting video. I LOVE Xigxag and they are my go to other than scribd. Such a great company. 🎧❤
Thanks, Charlie! XigXag and Scribd are going to be my main audiobook sources now outside of Libby and BorrowBox
Thank you so much!
@@user-oe6pd6ge3u welcome! Great service!