90 Places For Free Audio Books Online

Introduction

This is a listing of 91 sites that legally offer free audio books, either for online listening or for download. 

I compiled this list  while creating the article for books to read:  446 Places For Free Books Online .

Given the large amount of sites and offerings, I am not able to give more detailed information on each of the sites.  I would appreciate comments from any of you that use these sites, so that I can add it to the information for that site in the listing.

I have put up separate pages for certain genres that list both audio books and books for reading. Some of the sites listed here, that are not listed on the genre pages, will also have books for a genre but did not have a separate listing.
 

• Free Children's Books Online
• Free Science Fiction & Fantasy Books Online
• Free Horror, Ghost & Gothic Books Online
• Free Romance Books Online
• Free Computer & Internet Books Online
• Free Mystery, Detective, Thriller & Crime (Fiction) Books Online
• Free "Westerns" Books Online
• Free Cooking Food & Wine Books Online
• Free Religion & Spirituality Books Online
• Free Health, Fitness & Medicine Books Online
• Free Biography, Autobiography & Memoir Books Online
• Free Travel Books Online
• Free History Books Online
• Free Business Books Online
• Free Comic Books Online
• Great Authors - Free Books Online

All of the listings here are, to the best of my knowledge, offering legal content.  If you find that any of these sites are not offering legal content, then please let me know through the comments below.

If you know of any other sites offering free and legal audio books, then please post them in the comments below.

Most entries at those sites that offer only online listening can be downloaded with the Firefox addon DownloadHelper.

Libraries are an excellent source for audio books and I have inserted a section at the end to help you find information on your local library. Library Information

Alphabetical Listing

AlvieTheLittleBrownBurro  has seven Alvie stories to read online or download in MP3.

AmazingAdventureSeries offers the children story "June the Prune" for free reading online.  The story can also be heard by pressing the audio button at the top of the page.

AmblingBooks offers over 1500 free audio books.  All appear to be unabridged versions.  This is generally a pay site and free registration is required to download.  Also, their "book player" needs to be downloaded to listen.  Still this is a very nice collection with some unique entries.

AmericanaPhonic  offers audio narrations of  3 American historical works  for download in AAC.

AncientFaithRadio primarily offers religious oriented podcasts, but also has what appears to be the complete works of The Chronicles of Narnia available for online listening or download in MP3.

AssistiveMedia  offers several new audio books for download each month under their current offerings.

AudioAnarchy offers 7 free audio books for download in MP3.  These are "anarchist" books.

AudioBooks.org  offers 4 free classic novels for download.

AudioBooksForFree has over 1500 free audio books for download in MP3.  The free downloads are in low quality (8kbps) and registration is required.  The offerings are well divided into categories and sub-categories.

AudioBookTreasury offers about 50 audio books for free download in MP3 (or complete work in Zip) or for listening online.  Many are available elsewhere, but they do have a nice collection of Sherlock Holmes books and a nice collection of Edgar Allan Poe's writings.

AudioCloset offers only a few audiobooks.  The quality is excellent, but they come in Zip format and need to be unpacked with a password.  You need to provide your email address to receive password by email.

AudioLiteratureOdyssey is a site maintained by voice actor Nikolle Doolin.  It is a small, but interesting, collection available for download in MP3 format.

AudioTreasure  has the audio version of the King James and World English bibles for download in MP3 as well as other christian audiobooks.  The Bibles are also available in a variety of languages.

Beenleigh State School  of Queensland, Australia has a large collection of children stories to read online with audio built in.

BMWAudioBooks The car manufacturer, BMW, has released several short stories that will not be found elsewhere.

BookBox  has 18 audio books for children available in a variety of languages available for download in MP3.

BooksShouldBeFree offers several hundred free audio books available for download in very good quality MP3 or as text for reading.  The works are divided into 16 categories.  Some are common to many of these sites, but there is a good amount not to be found elsewhere.

BritishCouncil has a very nice collection of flash animated song and audio read-a-long stories for children.  Games and other activities also available.

CandlelightStories  has several newer audiobooks for free download in podcast form and several other classic audio for download.  Also, in another section has a Tom Swift audio book for free.

ChristianClassicsEtherealLibrary has 35 audio books of classic Christian writers, including Chesterton, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, available for download in good quality MP3 (24kbps).

CinnamonBear is a British site featuring the adventures of Paddy O'Cinnamon available for download in MP3 format.  The quality is very good, but the stories are divided into separate downloads of small sections.  A nice unusual listing though.

ClarkesworldMagazine offers free science fiction short stories for online viewing and also some audio versions.  A winner of the 2010 Hugo award for best Semiprozine.  Thanks to Knight_of_Pentacles for this.

CommonSenseAtheism offers 70+ free audio books and lectures on religion.  Most of them are from Librivox, but there are a few that are not and it is a nice listing of religious themed works.

Cthulhu is a horror podcast inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Cthulu Mythos.  This site is listed thanks to MrWednesday7 (James).

Earthbound AudioBooks has the five volume science fiction Earthbound series available for download in very good quality MP3 or for streaming.

EasyMediaBroadcast  has some novels and short stories for download in MP4 (zip)

ejunto has a small, but interesting, collection of free History, Science and Philosophy audio books available for download in good quality MP3. 

EscapePodoffers free weekly audio science fiction short stories in podcast and mp3.  Thanks to Jon Maloney for this suggestion.

FaithComesByHealing  offers several versions of the Bible in many different languages.  Their software is required to be able to download.  Suggested by Stephen Warkentien.

FreeAudio small collection of free audio books, mostly USA historical and political, with a couple of unusual entries.  They are available for download in MP3.

FreeAudioBooks.Co.UK  offers a good variety of audio books for listening online or download in MP3.  Searchable by genre, title and author.  As the anonymous poster who suggested this said-it is easy to navigate through and get to what you want.

FreeAudioBooks.ws has some interesting entries in their free MP3 audio book collection.  They have several categories, but the childrens section is the most interesting.  These appear to be links offsite, but still nicely put together.

FreeAudioReview offers a personal review and links to over 206 free audio books. 

FreeChristianAudioBooks has a small collection of Christian audio books for free download in WMA, MP3 or AAC.  Most of these works are not available elsewhere.

FreeClassicAudioBooks has around 60 classic works available for download in MP3 (32kbps) or iPod friendly m4b (32kbps).  They are pretty much split between human read and computer.

FreeKeene offers 3 free audio books for download in MP3.  This is a "pro-liberty" (anti-government) site and the books reflect their beliefs.

FreeListens  is a blog that culls the web for free audio books.  Not all blog entries are about the free audio books, but most are and there is a large amount of content available through here.

FreeMP3AudioBooks small collection, but with a couple of unique entries, available for download in MP3 format.

GlobeRadioRepertory (InterenetArchive) offers Madame Bovary, Don Quixote and 16 Stories by Anton Chekhov for download in MP3, Ogg Vorbis or online listening.

GutenbergProject has a very large collection of both human read and computer generated audio books available for download in high quality MP3 (128kbps), ogg vorbis (variable bit rate) and Apple AAC (16kbps mono).  Also available in Speex audio, which I an unfamiliar with.  There is no categorizing of the audio books.

InternetArchive has a large collection of audio books from different sources available for download in MP3 or Ogg Vorbis or for online listening.  Even though the works are available at other sites, the Internet Archive offers them for download in different formats and is a bit more convenient.

iT'SFreeDownloads has a listing of free audio books offered by iTunes.  Many are samples, but there are several complete works.

JimKelly (InternetArchive) the internet archive offers a number of works by Science Fiction writer Jim Kelly, originally offered as podcasts, for online listening or download in MP3 or Ogg Vorbis.

Johnnie's Story Page most of these are links offsite, but it is a very nice collection and  well sorted for beginning and more advanced readers.  All the ones I looked at were flash presentations and also had audio available.

KidsAudioBooks Very good site which lists many of the same records listed at KiddieRecordsWeekly, but has them all available in one download.  Also has some old time radio shows as well as a small collection of coloring (images to be saved) and reading books (pdf download).

KidsLearnOutLoud  has about 160 free audio books and podcasts available for listening or download in various formats (usually MP3).  These are links to other sites so the format and quality can vary, but the few I listened to were of very good quality.  Some interesting entries here.

KidsNurseryRhymes has singalong nursery rhymes for online listening and disco sing alongs for download in MP3 format.

KiddieRecordsWeekly has a very interesting collection of stories.  These were recorded on records during the mid 1940s to the early 1950s.  Many of these recordings were extravagant Hollywood productions on major record labels and featured big time celebrities and composers of the day.  There are around 250 recordings available for download in high quality MP3 format or they can be streamed.  Some are available as one download, but most are available in several segments. (See KidsAudioBooks for easier download).

Kindersite offer a good number of stories in flash for reading and listening online as well as lullabies, music and games for younger children.

LibriVox has over 2000 free audio books (and always growing) available for download in MP3 (64kb/128kb) or ogg vorbis.  All are human read.  This is a very nice collection.

Librophile  has a good size collection of audio books for download.  Most all appear to be from Librivox, but the site is easy to navigate through.  Suggested by Philip.

LightUpYourBrain has 14 childrens audio books available for download in MP3 or for listening online.  All are read by Chuck Brown.  There is also a large collection of childrens games available at the site.

LitToGo is a project of the Florida Educational Technology clearing house that offers a very large collection of interesting audio books and poems.  All are available for download in very good quality MP3.  They are also available for online reading.  They offer browse by title or author or search, but no categories.

LiteralSystems is a site maintained by a group of local Santa Fe, NM, USA, actors and technicians that offers around 50 very interesting audio books for download in excellent quality MP3.  Some are available for direct download at the site and others are hosted at LoudLit.

L.LeeLowe offers two complete novels, Mortal Ghost and Corvus,  for listening online or download in MP3.

LoudLit offers a small collection of free audio books, but with some unusual entries.  They are available for online listening (and reading) or download in MP3.  All are human read.

MariaLectrix is a site that is primarily known for its books catering to a Catholic readership. However they also have some interesting works that are not religious oriented, particularly in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mystery categories.  For listening online.

MarkMoxonTravelWriting a nice little collection of Mark Moxon's travel writings available for download in MP3 or AAC.

Miette'sBedtimeStoryPodcast offers a unique collection of mostly short story MP3 audio works.  These are selections that you will not find elsewhere and it appears to be a good size collection.

Mightybook is a pay site, but it offers a good size collection of very interesting and free flash animation storybooks, story songs, Beatrix Potter stories and more.  I thought the music and art section, which combines classical music and art,  was a very good idea.  All of the stories and songs are audio and print for read-a-long.

MusicalTales  has the original work "Helena and the Orchestra of the World of Mist" available as an audio book, video or illustrated text.

NewFiction small, but unique, collection of audio books/podcasts available for download in MP3, listening online or reading as text files.  Registration is required.

ODP  has a listing of "100 Free Audio Books You Should Have Read".  The title is a bit strange since these are audio books and the links are off site to sites listed here-but it is still a good collection of classic works nicely put together in one place.

OnlineLibraryofLiberty offers a good number of economic and political science books for download in MP3

OpenCulture lists a large collection of free audio books available for free download in good quality MP3 or iTunes compatible.  Some are available for direct download, but most link to other sites for download.

PeopleTalk is a non-profit British group of actors, writers and others in the entertainment industry who provide audio books, anecdotal stories and documentaries in MP3.  Link is to audio book section.

PodCastle the associated site of EscapePod, above, offers podcasts and MP3 of fantasy related works.   Thanks to Ron Hudson for this suggestion.

Podiobooks offers around 100 audio books available for download in very good quality MP3.  These were originally released as podcasts (and still are) but most are completed.  Most of this collection will not be found elsewhere.

Robert Munsch has about 60 books by Robert Munsch (and read by him) available for download in MP3 format.

SciFiSerialoffers a daily dose of science fiction audio, either a short story or a book chapter presented in serial form.  Thanks to MrWednesday7 for this suggestion.

ScottSigler Offers several audio works available for free listening at Podiobooks or download in iTunes.Also a nice collection of short stories and serialized novels for download in PDF.  These are adult works.  Thanks to MrWednesday7 (James) for this.

Seth Harwood offers 5 of his works for download in Mp3.

Speakaboos is a site for children that has about 100 books available for listening and viewing online through a flash viewer.  Downloads are available for a fee, though some are available free after registering.  They also have a Play area with arts and crafts projects.

SpeakTheSpeech   Offers audio versions of the plays by Shapespeare for download in MP3.  Suggested by Stephen Warkentien,

SpokenAlexandriaProject has a small collection of free audio books available in MP3, Ogg Vorbis or AAC download.  Most are also available elsewhere, but there are few unique ones here.

StoriesNow offers a small but interesting collection of free Science Fiction, Fairy Tales and Sherlock Holmes audio books for download in MP3.  Also, some older Radio Dramas and some radio broadcasts of the Mercury Theater.

StoryLineOnline is a site for children that has audio books available for online listening and viewing through a flash player.  There are also activities associated with the book available online for download in pdf.  This site is a program of the Screen Actors Guild and features well known actors as the readers.

Storynory has a good size collection of interesting children stories.  There are original stories as well as classic novels and fairy tales.  The educational page has Greek myths and Robin Hood stories and some others.  The Junior stories page has books for those just learning to read.  Downloads are very good quality MP3.

Sultan.org  in addition to the text resources, this site also has a good number of audio resources of Islamic works.

TellTaleWeekly  has a good collection of classic audio books for download in MP3, AAC or Ogg Vorbis or for listening online.

TheStorySpieler   offers a good variety of audio books for listening online (or download with the proper addon) all narrated by Roy Trumbull, a retired radio and TV broadcaster.

ThoughtAudio offers around 70 audio books for free download in good quality MP3 format.  Many are not available elsewhere and this is an interesting collection.

Tor.com has a good number of Science Fiction & Fantasy stories available for download in pdf, mobi pocket, html or ePub.  Also available for listening or download as MP3.

TruthForTheEndOfTime offers a good number of Christian audio books for streaming or download in MP3 (128kb).

Voicesin the Dark  offers about 100 classical audio books for download in HQ or LQ MP3 as well as a transcript.  Searchable by genre, title or author.

Wil McCarthy offers his work "The Wellstone" for download in MP3.

WiredForBooks  has a nice collection of Beatrix Potter books as well as a few others for online reading and also available in audio.

WorldofTales   a collection of folktales, fairy tales and fables from around the world available as audio.

YakiToMe  is a free text to speech software and many of their users have created podcasts which are available for download at their site.  Registration is required.  Suggested by Stephen Warkentien,

Libraries

On the advice of anonymous poster that most public library systems offer free ebooks, audiobooks, and music downloads to their customers for free, I did some checking and found that there are a large amount of offerings available through online libraries.  It appears most, if not all, require a local library card.  These are sites that have links to local library sites.

LibWeb is a good search source for local libraries online. A good selection of US and worldwide locations.

Public Libraries very good for US, looked not as thorough as LibWeb on worldwide.

Internet Public Library also has some links, but I found the above two to be superior set ups.