Audiobooks are perfect for travellers as you can listen to books on road trips, on flights, or even when exploring a new city. Just like television and music, audiobooks are available on a monthly subscription plan similar to Netflix or Spotify. Two of the main audiobook services are Audible and Scribd. To help you determine which service is better for you, I’ll compare both of these services.
Cost
Audible is $14.95 a month 1 audiobook and 2 Audible Originals per month (with any additional books costing on average between $10-50).
Scribd is $8.95 a month for unlimited Audiobooks
Number Of Books
Audible has the largest selection of audiobooks available out of any service. They also provide access to other own audiobooks and audio courses. Unfortunately, Audible has a minimal range of travel books and doesn’t carry books from companies like Lonely Planet.
Scribd offers a massive selection of not only audiobooks but paper books and magazines too. Unlike Audible, they have a fantastic choice of travel-related books and carry all the popular travel books like Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, and Fodor’s Travel Guides.
Why Pick Audible
Audible has the largest selection of books available, so if you are happy to listen to non-travel related books, you’ll find plenty of interesting books.
Audible also is the default audiobook service with Alexa and Google Home so you can easily switch from listening on your Alexa dot to your phone as you wish.
Also unlike Scridb, when you cancel your service, you still own the audiobooks you previously purchased.
Read my full review of Audible.
Why Pick Scribd
Scribd has a lower price and offers unlimited audiobooks, books, and magazines. The one set price is perfect for avid readers as you can read as much as you want, unlike the typical one audiobook per month with Audible.
Because Scribd also offers e-book you gain access to the most popular travel books which is extremely useful for travellers. You can freely access books like Lonely Planet to help you plan your next vacation for no additional cost.
Read my full review on Scribd.
Overall Winner
Without question, Scribd is the clear winner for travellers. Audible’s lacklustre selection of travel books, limitation to one book per month and higher monthly fee can’t compete with Scribd.
Want to test them out for yourself?
Get 1 month of Audible free
Get 2 months of Scribd free
Looking for more essential apps for your next flight? Make sure to check out my guide.