Kobo Audiobooks: An Honest Review
If you’re shopping for a new audiobook home, you’ve likely noticed Kobo’s name popping up. The platform has carved out a reputation as the “anti-Audible” — a subscription service that lets you actually own your audiobooks, with no DRM lock-in on most titles. But does that freedom come at a cost? This review breaks down how Kobo Audiobooks works, where it shines, and where it might leave you frustrated.
What Kobo Audiobooks Actually Is (and Isn’t)
Kobo Audiobooks is the audiobook arm of the Canadian ebook retailer Kobo, owned by Rakuten. It launched in 2019 as a direct competitor to Audible, and its core pitch is simple: buy audiobooks à la carte, or subscribe to the Kobo Plus plan for unlimited listening.
Here’s the key distinction that matters for most listeners: Kobo sells audiobooks individually, and Kobo Plus is a separate subscription tier. They’re not the same thing, and confusing them is the most common mistake new users make.
The individual store works like any digital bookstore. You browse, you buy, you download. The audiobook is yours — and unlike Audible, most Kobo audiobooks are DRM-free, meaning you can play them on any device, back them up, or convert them to other formats like M4B for use in apps like BookPlayer or Smart Audiobook Player.
Kobo Plus, on the other hand, is a flat-fee subscription. The current structure offers two tiers: Kobo Plus Read (ebooks only) and Kobo Plus Listen (audiobooks only), or you can bundle both. The Listen tier costs around $7.99 per month in the US, which undercuts Audible’s $14.95 monthly credit plan significantly.
The Kobo Plus Catalog: Depth vs. Breadth
Here’s where the honest assessment comes in. Kobo Plus Listen gives you unlimited access to a catalog of roughly 150,000 audiobooks. That sounds impressive, but the composition matters more than the raw number.
The Kobo Plus catalog leans heavily toward indie authors, self-published titles, and mid-list genre fiction. You’ll find plenty of romance, cozy mysteries, sci-fi, and fantasy — the kinds of books that keep genre devotees busy for months. But if you’re looking for the latest bestseller from a major publisher, you’ll likely be disappointed. New releases from the Big Five publishers are generally sold à la carte, not included in the subscription.
A concrete example: as of this writing, a title like The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is available on Kobo as a standalone purchase, but it’s not part of the Kobo Plus Listen catalog. Meanwhile, you’ll find thousands of lesser-known but perfectly enjoyable titles in the subscription tier.
This makes Kobo Plus a different beast than Audible’s model. Audible gives you one or two credits per month to buy any title in their massive catalog. Kobo Plus gives you unlimited access to a smaller, curated pool. If you’re a voracious genre reader who goes through several books a week, Kobo Plus can be exceptional value. If you only listen to a couple of books per month and want the latest releases, the à la carte store is where you’ll spend your money.
The practical takeaway: Before committing to Kobo Plus, search the catalog for five authors you actually read. If fewer than two show up in the subscription tier, you’re better off treating Kobo as a pay-per-title store and keeping your subscription dollars elsewhere.
Ownership and DRM: The Real Differentiator
This is the section that matters most for ecosystem-conscious listeners. Audible’s biggest complaint — beyond pricing — is its DRM. Audible audiobooks are locked to Amazon’s ecosystem. You can listen on Audible apps, but you can’t easily move files to other players, and you can’t back them up independently without breaking Amazon’s terms of service.
Kobo takes the opposite approach. The vast majority of audiobooks purchased individually from Kobo are DRM-free. You download MP3 or M4B files, and they’re yours to keep, transfer, and play anywhere. This is a massive advantage for listeners who want true ownership.
The practical implication: if you buy a Kobo audiobook, you can load it onto a dedicated MP3 player, put it on a USB drive for your car, or use it in apps like Bound or BookPlayer on iOS. You’re not locked into Kobo’s app experience.
How to verify DRM status before buying: On any Kobo audiobook product page, scroll to the product details section. You’ll see a line that says “DRM: None” or “DRM: Protected.” If you see “Protected,” that title won’t transfer to third-party apps. Most titles are DRM-free, but checking takes ten seconds and saves you from a frustrating surprise after purchase.
There’s a catch, though. Kobo’s own app is serviceable but not spectacular. The listening experience lacks some of the polish of Audible’s app — no Whispersync-style cross-device progress syncing with ebooks, and the sleep timer and playback speed controls work fine but feel basic. For most listeners, this won’t be a dealbreaker, but if you’re used to Audible’s ecosystem features, you’ll notice the difference.
Pricing: Where Kobo Wins and Loses
Let’s talk numbers, because pricing is where Kobo’s strategy gets interesting.
À la carte purchases: Kobo frequently runs sales, and individual audiobook prices often undercut Audible’s non-credit pricing. A typical new release might cost $15–$25 on both platforms, but Kobo’s monthly “Daily Deal” and frequent sitewide discounts can bring prices down significantly. If you’re patient and willing to wait for sales, you can build a library for less than Audible’s credit system.
Kobo Plus subscription: At $7.99/month for Listen, the subscription is half the price of Audible’s standard plan. But the value depends entirely on how much you listen and what you want to hear. If you’re a commuter who burns through two or three genre novels a week, the math is overwhelmingly in Kobo’s favor. If you listen to one book a month and want the latest literary fiction, you’ll get better value from Audible’s credit system.
The overlap problem: Some titles are available both à la carte and in the Kobo Plus catalog. If you subscribe, you can listen to them without buying. But the catalog rotates, and titles can leave Kobo Plus without notice. If you fall in love with a series and want permanent access, you’ll need to buy it separately.
A realistic mismatch to watch for: Kobo Plus is a terrible fit if your listening leans toward narrative non-fiction, literary fiction, or anything from major academic publishers. The subscription catalog is dominated by genre fiction, and the selection outside that lane is genuinely thin. One listener who primarily enjoys history and biography will find the subscription nearly useless, while a romance reader will have more options than they can finish in a year.
The Kobo App Experience: Functional but Unremarkable
The Kobo app (available on iOS, Android, and desktop) does the job. You can adjust playback speed up to 2x, set a sleep timer, and create bookmarks. The library view is straightforward, and the store is integrated directly into the app.
What’s missing: no social features, no community reviews integrated into the listening experience, and no equivalent to Audible’s “Plus” catalog of included titles for subscribers. The app also lacks the polish of Audible’s player, which offers features like variable speed in finer increments, a “car mode” interface, and better chapter navigation.
One notable gap: Kobo doesn’t offer a family sharing option for audiobooks. If you’re a parent trying to share your library with kids, Audible’s household sharing is more mature. Kobo’s account system is simpler, but that simplicity means fewer features.
Try Audible Free for 30 Days — Start your free trial on Amazon and get two free audiobooks.
Kobo vs. Audible: A Side-by-Side for Decision-Makers
The honest answer to “which is better” is: it depends on your listening habits. Here’s a decision framework:
Choose Kobo if:
- You want to own your audiobooks without DRM restrictions
- You listen to a high volume of genre fiction (romance, cozy mystery, sci-fi, fantasy)
- You’re price-sensitive and willing to wait for sales
- You prefer to use third-party audiobook apps
- You want to avoid Amazon’s ecosystem entirely
Choose Audible if:
- You want the latest bestsellers and new releases
- You value ecosystem features like Whispersync (syncing between Kindle ebooks and audiobooks)
- You want a more polished listening app
- You like Audible’s exclusive content and original productions
- You want family sharing options
The hybrid approach: Many listeners use both. Use Audible for new releases and exclusives, and use Kobo Plus as a “library card” for high-volume genre listening. The subscription cost is low enough that it can coexist with an Audible membership without breaking your budget.
Who Kobo Audiobooks Is Perfect For
If you’re a genre devotee — someone who burns through a dozen romance novels a month or plows through epic fantasy series — Kobo Plus is arguably the best value in audiobooks right now. The unlimited model means you never have to ration your listening. You can start a book, hate it, and move on without feeling like you wasted a credit.
The DRM-free ownership model also makes Kobo the clear choice for listeners who’ve been burned by Audible’s lock-in. If you’ve ever wanted to move your audiobook library to a different app or back it up to a personal server, Kobo is the platform that respects your ownership.
For the time-pressed multitasker who listens at 1.5x speed during commutes and workouts, Kobo Plus offers a low-cost way to keep your pipeline full. The trade-off is that you’ll be browsing a smaller catalog, but for many listeners, the sheer volume of available genre fiction is more than enough.
Where Kobo Falls Short
The catalog gap is the most significant limitation. If you primarily listen to literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, or anything outside genre fiction, Kobo Plus will feel thin. The à la carte store has a broader selection, but you’ll be paying full price without the subscription discount.
The app experience is also a genuine weakness. It’s not bad — it’s just unremarkable. If you’re coming from Audible, you’ll notice the lack of polish immediately. The sleep timer works, the speed controls work, but nothing about the interface delights.
Finally, Kobo’s customer support has a mixed reputation. Some users report slow response times, and the company’s return policy for audiobooks is less generous than Audible’s. Audible allows returns within 365 days if you’re unhappy; Kobo’s policy is more restrictive.
The Verdict: A Legitimate Alternative, Not a Universal Replacement
Kobo Audiobooks is a serious contender in the audiobook space, and for a specific subset of listeners, it’s the better choice. The DRM-free ownership model is a genuine differentiator that respects your rights as a consumer. The Kobo Plus subscription offers exceptional value for high-volume genre listeners. And the pricing is competitive across the board.
But it’s not a universal replacement for Audible. The catalog gaps, less polished app, and lack of ecosystem features mean that many listeners will still find Audible more convenient for their needs.
The smartest approach is to evaluate your own listening habits honestly. If you’re a genre devotee who values ownership and listens constantly, Kobo Plus is worth your money. If you’re a literary connoisseur who wants the latest releases and a polished app experience, Audible remains the safer bet. And if you’re somewhere in between, there’s no harm in trying both — the Kobo Plus subscription is cheap enough to keep alongside an Audible membership, giving you the best of both worlds.
The audiobook market benefits from competition, and Kobo’s presence pushes the entire industry toward better pricing and more consumer-friendly policies. Whether Kobo is right for you depends on what you value most: freedom, price, or polish.
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