European Alternatives to Audible

The main European alternatives to Audible are Storytel, BookBeat and Nextory (all three from Stockholm), Skoobe and the audiobook subscription of Thalia (Germany) and Legimi (Poland). Audible is based in Newark, New Jersey, and belongs to Amazon; every service named here is run by a company headquartered in Europe. The biggest difference lies in the model: Audible sells credits for titles you keep, while most European services are flat rates with an hours allowance where nothing is owned. Thalia's credit subscription is the closest match to Audible's own model.

Audible alternatives in Europe compared

Service	Headquarters	Model	Audiobooks	Markets
Storytel	Stockholm, Sweden	Subscription: Basic with 20 hours per month, Unlimited without an hour limit	Core product, e-books included	Many countries, in Germany since 2019
BookBeat	Stockholm, Sweden (Bonnier)	Subscription with 20, 40 or 100 hours per month	Core product, e-books included	About 30 country sites, among them DE, AT, CH, FR, IT, ES, NL, UK
Nextory	Stockholm, Sweden	Subscription with 25, 50 or 100 hours per month, four profiles	Core product, e-books included	Ten European markets
Legimi	Poznań, Poland	Flat rate for reading and listening	In the same subscription, e-book focus	Germany, Poland
Skoobe	Hagen and Munich, Germany (Thalia)	Flat rate, listening only in the combined or audio plan	Yes, but not in the cheaper reading plans	German-speaking countries
Thalia	Hagen, Germany	Credit subscription, titles stay in the library; separate flat rate via Skoobe	Bookseller with audiobook subscription	Germany, Austria
RTL+	Cologne, Germany	Streaming service, audiobooks via Deezer in one bundle only	Secondary offer	Germany, Austria and neighbours

Flat rate or credits: which model fits

With a flat rate such as Storytel, BookBeat or Nextory, listening time is the limit and the titles disappear from the library when the subscription ends. This suits people who finish many books and also like to try new genres. With credits, as at Audible and Thalia, one monthly credit buys one title. At Audible, titles bought with credits in the Premium Plus plans stay in the library after cancelling. Thalia's subscription costs 7.95 EUR per month for one credit (October 2026), and the titles stay in the tolino cloud after cancelling. Audible lists Premium Plus at 9.95 EUR per month for one credit (April 2026).

Nextory, Legimi and Skoobe in detail

Nextory was founded in 2015 and is based in Stockholm. Every plan includes four profiles, including profiles for children, and a trial period for new customers. On 1 September 2026 Bonnier Books agreed to acquire Nextory, subject to approval by the Swedish competition authority. BookBeat already belongs to Bonnier, so both services would then share an owner.

Legimi comes from Poznań and has been listed on the Warsaw NewConnect market since 2021. One subscription covers e-books and audiobooks, including combined titles where reading and listening stay in sync. The catalogue leans toward e-books and self-published titles, so it is worth checking during the trial that the titles you want are included.

Skoobe has been on the market since 2012 and has belonged fully to Thalia since 2022. It is mainly an e-book flat rate. Audiobooks are only part of the combined plan or the audio-only plan, not of the Basic and Standard reading plans.

Limits compared with Audible

• There are no Audible Originals. Catalogues differ by country and language because of licensing, so the same title may be missing at one service.
• Hours allowances apply at BookBeat, Nextory and Storytel Basic. Several plans share one allowance between reading and listening.
• Titles bought at Audible stay in the Audible library and cannot be moved to another service.
• Family use differs: Audible has no family plan, Nextory includes four profiles, BookBeat sells extra profiles and Storytel offers a single account in Germany.
• Prices, trial periods and promotions change often. Check the current terms on the provider's page.
• RTL+ is listed in this category, but it is mainly a video streaming service. Audiobooks are only part of its music bundle via Deezer, so it is no like-for-like replacement for Audible.

Services such as Legimi, Skoobe and Storytel also include e-books; for e-readers and the Kindle ecosystem see alternatives to Amazon Kindle and alternatives to Amazon. All providers are collected in the audiobook services category.

FAQ

Is there a European Audible alternative without Amazon?

Yes. Storytel, BookBeat, Nextory, Skoobe, Legimi and Thalia are not owned by Amazon or any other US group. Their headquarters are in Sweden, Germany and Poland.

Which audiobook service is closest to Audible's credit model?

Thalia. Its audiobook subscription gives one credit per month, and the chosen titles stay in the library. Not every title is available through the subscription.

Are there free audiobook subscriptions?

No service listed here is free. Most offer a trial period for new customers. As of October 2026 these ranged from 7 days at Storytel to 30 days at Skoobe, and BookBeat ran a 60-day promotion.

Can I take my Audible books to another service?

No. Titles stay in the Audible library. A new service means building a new library, which is why many people run both subscriptions in parallel for a while.

Is RTL+ an audiobook service?

Not in the narrow sense. RTL+ is a streaming service for series, shows and live TV. Audiobooks are only part of the music bundle via Deezer.