You can purchase and listen to Kindle audiobooks made in 2016 or later, but it’s also possible to transfer audiobooks from your PC to older Kindle models. Learn how to get voice narration for your favorite titles through Audible and how to upload your own audiobooks to a Kindle Fire.
Does Kindle Have Audiobooks?
While all Kindles include text-to-voice narration by Alexa, you can’t purchase audiobooks on older Amazon e-readers. However, you can transfer Audible books you’ve purchased to older Kindles using the Audible Manager for PC and a USB cable. Amazon has a list of Kindles that support audiobooks natively.
On Amazon Fire tablets, it’s also possible to sideload audiobooks from outside of the Audible store.
Listening to Audiobooks on Kindle
Amazon Audible is integrated into all Kindles that can read audiobooks. Look for the Audible tab in the Kindle store to browse through thousands of available titles. If you download a book with Audible support, you’ll have the option to add professional narration for a discounted price. When you purchase audiobooks on one device, you can download them on any Kindle registered to your Amazon account.
In addition to buying audiobooks individually, you can sign up for Audible’s subscription service, which gives you one free audiobook of your choosing each month and a 30 percent discount on all audio purchases. If you don’t like an Audible book you downloaded, you can trade it for another one. Amazon Prime members can also borrow Audible books through Prime Reading.
Newer Kindles come with VoiceView, which allows you to sync your e-reader with a Bluetooth speaker. You can use the Kindle Audio Adapter to enable VoiceView for older models.
How to Purchase Audiobooks From the Kindle Store
The process for purchasing audiobooks is the same for all Amazon Fire tablets. On other Kindle models, the process is very similar:
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Open the Kindle app and tap the shopping cart to open the Kindle store.
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Tap the hamburger menu in the top-left corner.
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Tap Audiobook Store.
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You’ll see recommendations based on your past purchases. Tap the magnifying glass to search for titles.
Using the Audible App to Listen to Kindle Audiobooks
To access your audiobooks on an Amazon Fire tablet, launch the Audible app from your home screen or tap the Audible tab at the top of the screen.
When you select an audiobook, a player will open with various controls. For example, you can tap the Clock to set a sleep timer. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner for more options.
The Audible and Kindle apps are also available for iOS and Android devices, so you can read and listen to audiobooks on your smartphone.
Listen to Audiobooks Online on Kindle
If your Kindle has a web browser, you can listen to audiobooks online without downloading any files. Websites with free streaming audiobooks include:
Transfer Audiobooks From PC to Kindle
For older Kindles that didn’t come with audiobook support, you can download the Audible Manager for your PC and transfer Audible books you’ve purchased to your Kindle using a USB cable.
In addition to Amazon Audible, there are websites from which you can download free audiobooks. You can listen to any audiobook in a DRM-free format (such as MP3) on your Fire tablet using the default media player. Just connect your tablet to your computer and transfer the audiobook file into the device’s Music folder.
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