Best Audiobook Distributors (Top Audiobook Platforms for Self-Publishing)
With the rapid growth of the audiobook industry, more and more self-published authors, small publishers, and author coaches are looking to understand and optimize audiobook distribution—
the process of making audiobooks available for sale to listeners on retailers’ sites, subscription services, and library platforms, such as Apple Books, Audible, Google Play Books, Kobo, NOOK, Spotify, and the Libby app.
It's no surprise that as a nonfiction publishing coach, the authors I work with want to sell audiobooks and have many questions about audiobook platforms.
They’re wondering where to publish audiobooks and want to know more about the top audiobook distributors. And you do too.
You’ll want to choose your audiobook publishers and distributors strategically.
So, I put together this helpful guide to help you maximize your sales, royalties, and engagement.
The best audiobook distribution platforms for audiobook publishing
Below, for each of the audiobook distributors, are audiobook platforms reached; audiobook royalties/royalty rates; audiobook distribution cost; digital narration policies (AI audiobook narration); and pros and cons.
Let’s get started!
➡️Don’t miss my in-depth article, “ACX Audiobook Royalties.”
Let’s start with the most obvious one, the largest audiobook platform with over 1 million titles.
With 63% of the market share, ACX is the big player in the audiobook industry. It’s the platform by which authors and publishers can distribute their books to top audiobook platforms.
Distribution: Amazon, Apple Books, Audible
ACX Audiobook Royalties: Read my article, “ACX Audiobook Royalties,” for full details.
You can up to 20%–40% of your audiobook’s list price, depending on who the narrator is and whether or not your audiobook is exclusive to ACX.
There are a number of ways that your books are sold, and each one has different payment models. I offer a full breakdown of ACX audiobook royalty rates in the longer article.
Cost: Free
ACX Digital Narration: ACX began rolling out, by invite only, Narrative Voice Replicas. As of May 2025, this program is still in beta. Joining means you’ll be able to audition participating narrators offering voice replica narration of their own voice. “During the beta phase, all voice replica narration will be Royalty Share productions where you will be entitled to 30% of audible net sales receipts. Narrators will be entitled to 10%.”
Pros: Distribution to the top audiobook platforms. Access to narration, production, and distribution services all on the same platform. The Narrative Voice Replicas program offers a wide selection of participating narrators to choose from.
Cons: You must also have an ebook or print book edition already for sale on Amazon in order to publish your audiobook directly through ACX. Only account holders who live in Canada, Ireland, the UK, and the US are eligible to use ACX. Low royalty rates based on retail price.
Voices by INAudio (formerly Findaway Voices by Spotify)
➡️Don’t miss my in-depth article, “Voices by INAudio for Authors.”
On August 1, 2025, Findaway Voices, the world’s largest and fastest-growing audiobook distribution network, which distributes audiobooks to roughly three dozen retailers, library systems, education channels, and subscription services, rebranded and became known as Voices by INAudio.
Here’s more information on the transition from Findaway Voices to Voices by InAudio.
Distribution: Audible, Apple Books, Google Play Books, Books-a-Million, ThreeLeaf Group, 24 Symbols, Any Play, Audiobooks Now, audiobooks.com, Baker & Taylor, TuneIn, Beek, Bibliotheca, Bookmate, Chirp, Click Digital, Downpour, Fullet, Hoopla, InstaRead, Kobo, Libro.fm, MLOL, My Audiobook Library, Next Story, NOOK, Odilo, OverDrive, Radish, Everand, Storytel, UBook, Overscroft, and Wheeler’s Book Club, Ltd.
Unlike its predecessor, Findaway Voices, INAudio does not offer distribution to Spotify. For distribution on Spotify, publishers and independent authors must use Spotify for Authors.
INAudio Royalties: Read my article, “Voices by INAudio [formerly Findaway Voices by Spotify] for Authors” for full details, in the section titled “Royalties: How much do you get paid on INAudio?”
In most cases, royalties range from 25%–50% of your audiobook’s list price.
You keep 80% of all royalties Voices by INAudio receives on all platforms.
There are a number of ways that your books are sold, and each one has different payment models. I offer a full breakdown of royalty rates in the longer article.
Cost: Free
INAudio Digital Narration: Yes—to those distribution partners who allow it (such as Barnes & Noble)—and if it’s been made using Eleven Labs or Google Play Books.
Pros: Distribution to Spotify—and you keep 100% of your Spotify royalties. Wide distribution. Ability to set up pre-orders. High royalties. Access to up to 100 free codes for promotional purposes.
Cons: Limited built-in promotional features.
Author’s Republic offers distribution to retailers, library platforms, and music streaming services. It also offers audiobook production services through the Author’s Republic Studio.
Distribution: 51 partners, including 1) Audible/Amazon; 2) Retail and Library Channels: 24Symbols, 3 Leaf Group, Anyplay, Apple, Audiobooks Now, Audiobooks.com, Audioteka, Baker & Taylor, Inc., Beek, Behear, Bibliotheca, BookBeat, BookMate, Books-A-Million, Bookwalker, Chirp, Chirp Digital, Divilab, Everand, Follett Library Resources, Fonos, Fountain.fm, Globook, Google Play Books, Hoopla, Instaread, Kids.Radio, Libro.fm, ListenerU, Mackin Educational Resources, Nextory, Odilo, OverDrive, PocketFM, Radish, Rahva Raamat, Sounded, Speechify, Spotify, StoryFair, Storytel, The Audiobook Store, UBook, Ulverscroft, Wheelers Book Club Limited, YouScribe; 3) Music Channels: Apple Music, Calm Radio, Deezer, Napster, YouTube Music. You can select or deselect each distribution option and, prior to distribution, you can opt out of individual retailers by emailing Author’s Republic’s support team.
Author’s Republic Audiobook Royalties: 70% of net royalties, meaning 70% of the 25% royalty from Audible, Amazon, and Apple; 70% of the royalties paid by retail and library channels, etc. Payment is by PayPal or direct deposit.
Cost: Free
Author’s Republic Digital Narration: Yes. It’s allowed.
Pros: Wide reach. No requirement to already have the book in another format on Amazon to access Audible/Amazon. Received an excellent rating from the Alliance of Independent Authors.
Cons: 78-minute chapter limit. Unlike Voices by INAudio, they don’t notify you when your book is on a retailer’s site. Can’t update files or metadata without going through customer support. Same partners as Voices by INAudio—for less royalties. Self-publishing expert Dale L. Roberts says this: “Just my opinion. Authors Republic doesn’t offer enough additional distribution for the effort.”
Spotify for Authors
Spotify, the largest streaming audio subscription service in the world, offers 350,000+ audiobook titles, which can be purchased and 150,000+ that can be listened to as part of subscription packages.
Audiobooks on Spotify are managed through the Spotify for Authors platform. A Spotify account is required.
On May 1, 2025, Spotify for Authors opened to independent authors who had previously published at least one title through Findaway Voices. On August 1, 2025, Spotify for authors opened to all other independent authors.
Distribution: to Spotify subscribers in the US, the UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
Spotify Royalties: According to Spotify for Authors Audiobook distribution terms, royalties are as follows:
Under the A La Carte distribution model, for a la carte purchases, the royalty is 50% of the suggested retail price that you set for your audiobook.
Under the Pool Subscription distribution model, when Spotify users listen to your audiobook as part of their Spotify subscription, royalties are paid out of a “shared revenue pool” based on the “pro-rata share of the total consumption of Distributed Audiobook Content, as reasonably determined by Spotify.” This information is not publicly available.
Cost: Free
Spotify for Authors Digital Narration: Yes—if it’s been made using Eleven Labs or Google Play Books.
Pros: Distribution to Spotify. Ability to set up pre-orders. Access to Spotify redemption codes for promotional purposes. Lack of transparency regarding the pool subscription distribution model. Spotify found that 57% of their audiobook listeners are between the ages of 18–34, so putting your audiobooks on Spotify can be an excellent way to reach younger readers.
Cons: Limited built-in promotional features.
Google Play Books, which also sells ebooks, is available to publishers and self-published authors in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Distribution: Google Play Books—to users in 20 regions (vs. 70 regions for ebooks).
Cost: Free
Google Play Books Audiobook Royalties: 52%
Google Play Books Digital Narration: Yes. It’s allowed. You can create an auto-narrated audiobook through Google Play Books Partner Center, and you can reuse or publish the files wherever you wish. See the auto-narrated audiobooks program.
Pros: The ability to create promotions, review sales analytics, and update metadata tailored for Google Play. Impressive AI narration quality and options.
Cons: Limited market share compared to Audible.
Learn more: Upload & sell audiobooks to Google Play Books
Kobo Writing Life is a self-publishing platform for independent authors, offering global distribution, royalties, and control for ebook and audiobook formats. It continues to expand.
Distribution: Kobo.com and Kobo Plus, Booktopia (Australia), Librería Porrúa (Mexico), Gandhi (Mexico), La Feltrinelli (Italy), Mondadori (Italy), Bol (Netherlands and Belgium). “There will be certain factors, however, such as the language and content, which may prevent the books from being distributed through these channels.”
Cost: Free
Kobo Writing Life Audiobook Royalties: For à la carte sales, the royalty rate is 45% for all audiobooks priced $2.99 or above; 35% for audiobooks listed at $2.98 or lower. 0% if someone uses a free trial token. 32% if someone uses a paid token. For Kobo Plus (optional enrollment, no exclusivity required, for ebooks and audiobooks), you get paid by the time listened out of a global subscription pool.
Kobo Digital Narration: If you’re wondering “Does Kobo accept AI-narrated audiobooks,” the answer is yes; Kobo accepts AI-generated audiobooks generated through Google Play Books and other services. When uploading your title, you must specify in your metadata whether your audiobook is “Read by Synthesized Voice,” “Female Synthesized Voice,” or “Male Synthesized Voice.”
Pros: Set your own price (unlike ACX). Excellent promotional opportunities (be sure to request a promotional tab through Kobo support). Ability to manage metadata and make quick changes when needed. Access to readers through Kobo Plus, a subscription service that doesn’t require exclusivity and continues to expand to new markets worldwide.
Cons: Limited reach. Smaller selection for readers than Audible and Amazon (though it is growing and is strong in the more popular fiction genres). Kobo audiobooks are not available in as many countries as their ebooks are.
Why publish direct to Kobo vs. another distributor? Publishing direct via Kobo Writing Life gives you access to more precise metadata and promotional opportunities. To avoid duplicates, first deselect it or remove it from the other distributor’s system before distributing directly through Kobo Writing Life.
Learn more: Audiobooks – Kobo Writing Life Help Centre and How to Upload Your Audiobook Directly on Kobo.
Lantern Audio, formerly known as ListenUp Audiobooks, offers distribution and narration/production services, all on the same platform.
The company is known for creating high-quality audiobooks, audio tours, and other audio content for independent publishers, museums, and cultural sites.
Distribution: Apple Books, Audible, audiobooks.com, audiobooksnow.com, DownPour, Everand, INAudio (formerly Findaway Voices by Spotify (for library partners Baker & Taylor, Bibliotheca, Follett Library Services, and Mackln Educational Resources), Google Play Books, Hoopla, Kobo, Lantern Audiobook Store, Libro.fm, NOOK, Odilo, OverDrive, Playster, Storytel, Walmart.
Lantern Audio Audiobook Royalties: 75% of net royalties, depending on the retailer—75% of whatever percentage received from each partner. For example, You get 75% of the 25% of list price paid out by ACX; you get 75% of the list price for sales through Lantern Audiobook Store. Quarterly payouts.
Lantern Audio Digital Narration: I don’t believe they offer digital narration.
Cost: Lantern Audio charges a distribution/royalty onboarding fee of $50 per audiobook title ($199 minimum), which includes a complimentary spec check.
Pros: Offers production and distribution services all on the same platform. Outstanding production quality (they do audiobooks for Big 5 publishers). Production services are quick (six weeks; you retain all rights). Free giveaway codes for books sold on the Lantern store.
Cons: The Lantern store is not well known. 79-minute maximum chapter length (chapters over 12,000 words may be over the limit). You can get a greater share of the royalties by using INAudio for distribution.
StreetLib is a global distribution platform for ebooks, print-on-demand books, and audiobooks. It is based in Milan, with a New York office.
Distribution: Audible, Apple, BookBeat, Everand, Google Play Books, Il Naratore Audiolibri, Kobo Books, Kobo Plus, MLOL, Nextory, OverDrive, Skoobe, Spotify, Storytel, StreetLib Store, Tocalivros, Ubook. Voxa, UScribe
StreetLib Audiobook Royalties: 85% of net revenue of the 20%–50% royalties paid per distribution partner (see the StreetLib list of distribution partners) under the Pro Plan.
Cost: To distribute audiobooks through StreetLib a Pro Plan ($99/year for up to 100 titles) or an Enterprise Plan (pricing and royalty rates not disclosed) for 100+ titles is required. (Source: StreetLib Pricing)
Street Lib Digital Narration: It’s allowed. You’ll need to supply your own files.
Pros: Higher royalty rates than INAudio. Distribution to top retailers.
Cons: Yearly fee. Limited distribution compared to INAudio. By distributing to Spotify through StreetLib, you give up a share of your royalties. Access to fewer library platforms.
PublishDrive is a global distribution platform for ebooks, audiobooks, and print-on-demand books.
Based in Redwood City, California, PublishDrive is the only audiobook distributor that takes no cut of your royalties—but they do charge an annual fee.
Distribution: 50 distribution partners, including Apple Audiobooks, Audible, Bookmate, CNPE Reading, INAudio (formerly Findaway Voices by Spotify) partners, Gardners, Google Play Books, Impact Group Audio, Kobo, LazyJoy, OverDrive, Storytel, Voxa, and WeHear
PublishDrive Royalties: 20%–60%, with most at 50%. WeHear is at 20%. You keep all net royalties. PublishDrive does not take a cut.
Cost: PublishDrive charges a monthly subscription fee to distribute through them; prices start at $13.99/month (billed yearly), with occasional promotional rates available.
PublishDrive Digital Voice Narration: “AI narration can be used, but it must be indicated in the ‘Narrator’ field and/or the book description in the Metadata.”
Pros: Wide distribution. Can reach the Libby app via OverDrive. High royalty rates.
Cons: The monthly fee may not work for authors who are just starting out and who have few titles for sale.
Learn More: How to Upload an Audiobook on PublishDrive
Publish Smarter and Sell More Books
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Working with a publishing coach to walk you through, step-by-step, can make all the difference.
Through your choice of strategy calls, packages, and other services, you get the expert guidance you need, so you can publish with confidence, grow your readership, and make more of an impact.
Ready to level up your publishing and book marketing? Let’s get started.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allows KDP authors to produce audiobook versions of their ebooks using Virtual Voice narration—any US author with an eligible ebook published through KDP can create an audiobook version of that ebook.
As of May 2025, Virtual Voice narration is still in beta, by invitation or request only, and it requires signing an NDA.
Distribution: Audible (Amazon, Apple, Audible)
Royalties: 40%; you can price between $3.99 and $14.99.
Cost: Free
Digital narration? Yes. AI voice narration only.
Pros: Low barrier to entry; convenience of doing this all within the KDP platform.
Cons: Restrictions on eligibility. Mixed opinions from authors. Author Jeff Bonilla, writing in summer 2024 in a comment on a YouTube video, said this: “I’ve used the Google Play AI platform and Revoicer for creating audio narration, and I can tell you that the Amazon dashboard is minimal at best. It’s not very flexible and doesn’t offer too many voices to choose from. Additionally, you can’t use multiple voices like you can on the Google platform, where you could have a conversation between female and male characters. However, the voices themselves are not bad. The interpretation is actually very good, and the emotive quality is on par with the Google Platform. There are some things you don’t have control over as well which I won’t get into.”
This one, Apple Books for Authors, requires a bit of an explanation. You must use one of Apple’s preferred distribution partners, such as ACX or PublishDrive, to publish your audiobook to Apple Books.
You cannot publish an audiobook directly through Apple like you can with an ebook. And you must have an ebook for sale on Apple Books. However, I’m including it on the list because Apple Books is one of the largest retailers of audiobooks, and because it may one day be available to self-published authors directly.
The same is true for Barnes & Noble; you cannot publish audiobooks directly, like you can ebooks and print books.
Distribution: Apple Books
Cost: Free
Royalties: 70% gross; your net profits depend on the preferred partner’s share.
Does Google Play Books allow AI-narrated audiobooks? Yes. And you can create your own files narrated by Apple Books, through Apple’s preferred partners Draft2Digital, Ingram CoreSource, or PublishDrive. Here’s how to get started with Apple Books digital narration.
Pros: Apple Books allows users to quickly switch between ebook and audiobook formats. This is appealing to many readers, and as a result, they’ll buy both formats of your book.
Cons: “Primary category must be romance, fiction, mystery and thriller, science fiction and fantasy, nonfiction, or self-development.”
BookBaby, a full-service self-publishing company, has several audiobook creation/production options and has an online bookshop where authors can sell audiobooks.
Distribution: BookBaby Bookshop only.
Royalties: 75%.
Cost: To sell an audiobook on BookBaby, there is a $99 upfront setup fee when you supply your own files.
BookBaby offers three audiobook creation services: Author-narrated production assistance: $500 + $0.14/word, takes 10–12 weeks; voice actor-narrated audiobooks: $500 + $0.16/word, takes 8–10 weeks; AI-assisted, author-narrated audiobooks: $2,000 + $0.06/word, takes 2–3 weeks.
Pros: High royalty rate. You also get weekly payouts, can create coupons, and can collect the email addresses of buyers.
Cons: Limited distribution—only to the BookBaby Bookshop.
So, where to publish audiobooks?
It depends on where you live, what your priorities are, where your readers are most likely to be, and your audiobook narrator.
Many authors in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland publish to ACX, non-exclusive, and to INAudio (formerly Findaway Voices by Spotify).
If you’re not from the US, UK, Canada, or Ireland, what are the best alternatives to ACX? Consider INAudio, PublishDrive, and Author’s Republic.
If you want maximum royalties and control, or favor certain platforms/retailers over others, then you have other options and combinations that you can pursue.
Wishing you much success with your book,
For more on audiobook publishing and distribution:
Read my article, “ACX Audiobook Royalties.”
Read my article, “INAudio (Formerly Findaway Voices by Spotify) for Authors.”
See book coaching services and schedule a book coaching call today.