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I’ve been listening to Audiobooks for years! My earliest memory of audiobooks was my Dad getting me the entire Harry Potter series in audio format. As somebody who’s always loved books in their physical form, at first I wasn’t sure! But I quickly came around to the idea when Stephen Fry (and Jim Dale – For some reason we owned both the USA and British versions!) told me my (at the time) favourite books. It left my mind free to sink into the story and enabled me to visualise the book as it unfolded.
In my adult years as a young, lonely new Mum as well as starting this blog, I also opened up an Audible account. Now, I listen to around 4 books per month. Audiobooks now allow me to get on with the mundane mum tasks such as child-wrangling and tackling my mountainous washing pile all whilst getting lost in a book!
As a seasoned Audiobook listener, I thought I’d answer one of the Audiobook community’s most burning questions – Bookbeat VS Audible: Which is the best?
Bookbeat VS Audible
Book Selection
Audible has a wide selection of books varying from very well-known authors to lesser-known ones. I do all of my preorders for books I’m excited about on Audible. Audible recently started releasing Audible original books – every book I’ve read so far in this category has been amazing! Audible has many big named authors who exclusively release books on Audible.
Bookbeat boasts a big library of books too, although its selection is much slimmer than Audible. There are quite a few popular books on Bookbeat. In particular, there are many books which are often raved about on Booktok available.
Winner: Audible
App Functions
I love that on Audible you can listen to a sample of each book before buying it, it helps me get a feel for the narrator – this is something Bookbeat doesn’t currently offer. Audible also allow users to return a book in exchange for a credit back, although this is at Audibles discretion! The Audible app is easy to navigate, add things to your wishlists and read reviews.
Similarly, the Bookbeat app is easy to use and has a very clean feel, I like that Bookbeat shows how far through the book you are as a percentage, this is a really handy feature which isn’t on Audible. I also like that Bookbeat shows a star rating for each book. Although the platform allows readers to review the books, you have to actively click on the review section. This is a fab feature which saves you from reading any spoilers.
Winner: Tie
Price
Audible comes in at £7.99 for the 1 book-a-month package and £14.99 for the 2 book-a-month package – included in your Audible subscription is access to the Audible Plus library with many free to listen to books and podcasts.
Bookbeat is cheaper and starts at just £5.99 a month for 20 hours worth of listening time, £9.99 for 50 hours or £14.99 for 100 hours. This makes Bookbeat the cheaper option overall. I think their 100-hour listening package is very generous and would allow you to get through more books than the £14.99 Audible subscription. You can also share your Bookbeat account with up to 4 family members for a surcharge.
Audible often posts a range of offers – sometimes offering 3 months of Audible for only 99p. I subscribed to Bookbeat when I was offered 60 listening hours for free!
Winner: Bookbeat
Final thoughts
Both Bookbeat and Audible are fantastic services and each has their own merits.
Overall, I enjoy Audible for its wide selection of books and narrators. Audible is my go-to app for newly released books, preorders and books on my wishlist. I find the Plus catalogue to be really good for finding lesser-known authors, podcasts and classics.
Bookbeat is more of a budget option. They have some popular books in their selection, I find it also has many books by authors I don’t recognise – which is excellent for finding new hidden gems.
I love both platforms! I feel that because Audible has been around longer and is more established. Therefore for me, it’s the winning platform. However, Bookbeat is a wonderful up-and-coming service which has so much room to grow, expand and improve – definitely don’t sleep on Bookbeat!
I personally subscribe to both. When I’ve used my audible credits, I hop on to Bookbeat to find something else that interests me.
Don’t forget, everything in this post is just my opinion!
Related recommended post: The Vanishing Of Margaret Small Review
Do you prefer Bookbeat or Audible? Or is there another Audiobook service I should check out? Let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog below to stay up to date with all of my newest posts!
