Format
Audiobooks on Apple Music
The short version: they are not in there. Apple sells audiobooks in a different app, on a different model, and knowing which is which saves a subscription you do not need.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Audiobooks are not included with an Apple Music subscription. Apple sells them in the Apple Books app instead, one title at a time: you buy it, you keep it permanently, and it can be shared with up to five family members through Family Sharing. If you want listening included in a monthly fee, that is Spotify Premium's hours allowance, an Audible membership, or your public library — not Apple Music.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and it does not change which books are here or the order they appear in. Read the full disclosure.
How we picked
This page compares models rather than books, so the picks are recordings worth owning outright, which is the only way Apple sells them. We print no subscription prices, for the reason set out below. We have not listened to all six.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 28, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
What Apple actually offers
When Apple broke iTunes apart, music and spoken-word books went into different products. Apple Music became a streaming subscription for songs; Apple Books became a store for ebooks and audiobooks. They share an account and nothing else.
- Audiobooks live in the Books app, not the Music app, on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay and Vision Pro.
- You buy them one at a time. There is no unlimited audiobook tier bundled with Apple Music, and no Apple equivalent of a monthly credit.
- You keep what you buy. A purchase does not expire when you stop paying for anything, because you were not paying a subscription in the first place.
- Family Sharing covers them. With Purchase Sharing switched on, a bought audiobook can be downloaded by up to five family members.
Apple has occasionally run limited promotions that put a handful of free audiobooks in front of Apple Music subscribers, which is probably where some of the confusion comes from. Those are marketing exercises rather than a permanent tier, and they are not what anybody means when they ask whether audiobooks are included.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lincoln in the BardoGeorge Saunders · 426 pagesThe one that justifies owning a recording | you want to hear what the format can do at full stretch | |
| 2 |  World War ZMax Brooks · 422 pagesThe best full-cast production | you like the idea of a documentary in your ears | |
| 3 |  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyDouglas Adams · 216 pagesWhere it started as audio | you want comedy that was written to be heard | |
| 4 |  Born a CrimeTrevor Noah · 304 pagesThe author-narrated benchmark | you are buying one audiobook and want it to be the right one | |
| 5 |  The Anthropocene ReviewedJohn Green · 328 pagesShort pieces, read by the writer | you listen in twenty-minute gaps | |
| 6 |  NeverwhereNeil Gaiman · 388 pagesA novelist who can actually read | you have been disappointed by an author narration before |
#ad — buying through these links earns us a commission at no cost to you. Prices, where shown, come straight from Amazon’s product feed; the listing is always the final word.
Six recordings worth buying outright
1. The one that justifies owning a recording
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders
Give this ifyou want to hear what the format can do at full stretch
The ghosts in a Washington graveyard on the night Lincoln's son is buried, told as overlapping voices. The recording uses one of the largest casts ever assembled for an audiobook, and it makes a difficult novel easier than the page.
One caveat: Experimental in structure. If you want a straight narrative, start elsewhere.
- Print length
- 426 pages
- First published
- 2017
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 30, 2026
2. The best full-cast production
World War Z
Max Brooks
Give this ifyou like the idea of a documentary in your ears
An oral history of a zombie war, written as interviews and performed by a full cast. The format was built for this book, and the print edition is the lesser object.
One caveat: Some editions are abridged. Check the running time before buying.
- Print length
- 422 pages
- First published
- 2006
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 30, 2026
3. Where it started as audio
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
Give this ifyou want comedy that was written to be heard
Arthur Dent's planet is demolished for a bypass eight minutes before the book begins. It was a BBC radio series before it was a novel, which is why the jokes land harder aloud than on the page.
- Print length
- 216 pages
- First published
- 1979
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 30, 2026
4. The author-narrated benchmark
Born a Crime
Trevor Noah
Give this ifyou are buying one audiobook and want it to be the right one
Growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa, read by the author, who is a comedian and performs every voice himself. Much of the book is about language, and hearing it removes the gap.
- Print length
- 304 pages
- First published
- 2016
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 30, 2026
5. Short pieces, read by the writer
The Anthropocene Reviewed
John Green
Give this ifyou listen in twenty-minute gaps
Essays rating facets of the human-centered planet on a five-star scale, from Halley's Comet to Diet Dr Pepper. It began as a podcast, the author reads it, and every chapter finishes in one sitting.
- Print length
- 328 pages
- First published
- 2019
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 30, 2026
6. A novelist who can actually read
Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman
Give this ifyou have been disappointed by an author narration before
A man helps a bleeding girl on a London street and falls out of his own life into the city below it. Gaiman is one of the few novelists who is genuinely good at reading his own work.
One caveat: Check which recording you are buying — there is also a full-cast radio dramatization, which is a different production entirely.
- Print length
- 388 pages
- First published
- 1996
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
#ad — how we’re funded · price as of September 30, 2026
The four models, side by side
Every service is one of four shapes, and the shape decides whether it suits you far more than the price does.
| Where | Model | Do you keep it? | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Books | Buy single titles outright | Yes | Occasional listeners who want to own |
| Spotify Premium | A monthly allowance of listening hours | No | Light listeners already paying for music |
| Audible | Monthly credits, plus an included catalog | Credits yes, catalog no | Regular listeners, a book or more a month |
| Libby | Free borrowing through your library | No | Anyone patient enough for a hold |
Apple sits at the ownership end with Libro.fm, Chirp and the other stores. That makes it a poor fit for somebody listening to three books a month and a perfectly sensible one for somebody buying four a year and wanting them permanently.
Why there are no prices on this page
You will not find a monthly figure for Apple Music, Spotify or Audible anywhere on this site. Subscription pricing changes, varies by promotion, and differs between a new customer and a returning one, so any number here would be wrong for somebody the week after we published it.
Individual audiobook prices move too, and they move by title: a twenty-hour epic costs several times what a novella does at the same store. The live price for each book above comes from the listing rather than from us, which is the only figure worth showing.
What to do instead, by how much you listen
| If you listen to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A few books a year | Apple Books, or any store | Owning beats renting at that rate |
| One a month, roughly | An Audible-style credit plan | A credit costs the same whatever the title's length |
| One short book a month, and you pay for Spotify | Your included hours | You are already paying for it |
| Several a month | The library, through Libby | Free, and the catalogs are enormous |
| Whatever is cheapest, whenever | A deal site, or the library | No subscription earns its keep below a book a month |
If the honest answer is that you wanted audiobooks included in something you already pay for, audiobooks on Spotify explains the one mainstream service that does that, and Audible alternatives compares the rest. Free audiobooks, legally covers the routes that cost nothing, including the public-domain recordings of classics that nobody should be paying for.
And if you are buying rather than subscribing, where to buy audiobooks compares the stores on the one question that matters later: what you still own when you stop paying.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
Buying a big audiobook library inside one ecosystem
Audiobooks bought from Apple play in Apple's Books app, and there is no Android version of it. That is fine if you expect to stay on Apple hardware forever, and a real cost if you do not — a library built up over years does not move with you. The same caution applies to every store that sells with copy protection, which is most of them. If portability matters, buy from a seller that provides plain audio files, or borrow from the library and own nothing at all.
Questions people ask
Does Apple Music include audiobooks?
No. Apple Music is a music subscription; audiobooks are sold separately in the Apple Books app, one title at a time.
Where are audiobooks on an iPhone?
In the Books app, under the Audiobooks tab. Anything you buy from Apple appears there rather than in Apple Music.
Is there an Apple audiobook subscription?
No unlimited audiobook tier comes with Apple Music. Apple sells audiobooks individually, and you keep what you buy.
Can I share Apple audiobooks with my family?
Yes. With Purchase Sharing enabled, Family Sharing lets up to five family members download audiobooks bought on your account.
What is the cheapest way to listen to audiobooks?
Your public library, free through Libby. After that, a credit plan for regular listening, or single purchases if you only want a few books a year.
Sources
- Apple, Listen to audiobooks in Books — Where audiobooks live in Apple's own apps, and on which devices they play.
- Apple, Family Sharing — Purchase Sharing covers books and audiobooks for up to five family members.
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
Read next
- Audiobooks
Audiobook lists, Audible explained, and the titles that are genuinely better in audio.
- Audiobooks on Spotify
How an hours-allowance model compares with credits and included catalogs, and who each suits.
- Where to Buy Audiobooks
Six ways to get an audiobook, sorted by what you still own when you stop paying.
- Audible Alternatives
Six ways to listen without Audible, compared on what you keep and what you pay for.
- Free Audiobooks, Legally
Four legal routes to free listening, what each costs you, and the shortcut to skip.