Spotify is known for music, but it has audiobooks and a lot of other spoken word content as well. You can find these audiobooks by searching under playlists, artists, or podcasts. As of today, Spotify doesn’t have the same kind of audiobook options that other audio vendors have, but it does have a lot of options for those who want free audio.
As a Spotify binger, I like to keep as much content in my app as possible, so I don’t have to constantly switch apps, so I thought I’m come up with this guide to find ways to find more audiobooks on my already existing and heavily used Spotify app.
Let’s get into it.
Option 1: Search by Playlist
When it comes to finding Spotify audiobooks, a lot of people have already done all of the work for you. So one of the first avenues you should explore is to find what others have already put together in the playlists, then adding those to your Spotify Library.
- Type “audiobooks” into the search bar.
- Select the playlist that says “audiobooks” which has a lot of options, or keep digging to find options in various genres or other topics.
- Browse by language if you’re looking for something in a different language.
You can find a playlist for bestsellers, classics, and a variety of different genres. All in all, this is one of the best ways to find audiobooks on Spotify.
Option 2: Search by Artist
Another great way to find audiobooks is to search by artist. For modern authors, you might not find a lot of their books actually for free on Spotify, but you could find podcasts and a lot of other related material that could be interesting to you.
- Type your favorite author’s name into the search bar under the “artist” tab.
- Find audiobooks or podcasts related to that author
- Also check out the “Fans also like” section that could have suggestions that are similar to the author you searched for.
While most people think of the artist section as related to music artists, it can be used for authors and podcast hosts as well, so don’t forget to keep up with the possibilities here. You can easily find authors you like, or at least related audiobooks if you’re willing to dig deep a bit.
If you search for older authors, authors whose books are likely in the public domain, then you’re much more likely to find full version of their books while you search.
Option 3: Search Podcasts
Podcasts are actually a great source of audiobooks or related fiction, and Spotify has one of the biggest selections of podcasts in the business. They’re a great source for podcasts, especially if you already use Spotify for music.
- Go to the Genres tab and select “Books”
- Browse until you find something you like
- Or find it in any of your searches for playlists or artists above.
It’s actually quite easy to find public domain audiobooks in podcast form (try searching for Librivox), or you could look for other fiction podcasts that are relevant. For example, I really like listening to Clarksworld, which is a podcast of sci-fi/fantasy short stories, read by a professional narrator.
How to Find the Entire Audiobook on Spotify
The nature of Spotify as a platform means that you’re often looking at individual chapters or episodes rather than a full production of a free audiobook. But if you want to read the full Spotify audiobook, that’s relatively easy to find.
Once you’ve found part of an audiobook you like, here’s what you need to do:
- Click on the three little dots next to the title and artist
- Click Go to Album
And that’s it! It should take you to the “album” page, which will have the full audiobook that the one chapter is a part of.
Keep in mind that listening to full audiobooks in order will be much harder to do without Spotify Premium. Without it, you’d basically have to look up each item and make sure it’s what plays next, which can be a lot of work for a free audiobook.
My Personal Recommendations
From what I’ve found on Spotify, here’s what I like best.
- The Audiobooks playlist: This is a great playlist that just curates a bunch of audiobooks. It’s super useful.
- Doctor Who: There are a TON of Doctor Who audiobooks and audio dramas. You can find a lot of them for free at Spotify. As my family’s resident Whovian, I can’t help but listen to them some times.
- Women’s History playlists: There’s a bunch of playlists of books and other stories written by women that Spotify has curated themselves. It’s a great resource for people who want to experience more of the magic that is us.
- Audiobooks Daily: This is a specific podcast that goes through classic books one chapter at a time, each day. But these are all public domain. Think Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Stuff like that.
But honestly, if there’s a genre you like, just do a little digging. I can pretty much guarantee you that you’ll find something you like sooner or later. You might even find something you didn’t expect.
Consider Some Alternatives
Now, all that said, it can often be difficult to find specific books on Spotify, at least for now.
Instead, you might want to consider an alternative. These won’t be free audiobooks, but they will belong to you.
Personally, I use Audible. Yes, I know, I’m feeding the Amazon Gods and all that, but honestly, Audible is still the best name around town for audio. Plus they have a great cross-platform app so I can listen on my phone, my iPad, my computer, etc.
It’s also a audiobook market that lets me keep everything I buy, even if I stop using their service.
So while it does cost money, it’s definitely a much better option over your Spotify account if you’re looking for any specific books, particularly those written in the last 70 years.
Get Audible Here