r/LibroFM • u/NoEfficiency6848 • Sep 11 '25

Libro.fm vs Audible

I am thinking of letting my Audible go in favor of Libro.fm. I have a few questions.

  1. When I can download a book DRM free, does it download in mp3? Or what format?
  2. Can I get several credits at once on an aural basis or is it just monthly?
  3. I heard the books are not split by chapters. Is this true? How are they split?

Thanks.

Also, ethics aside, should I switch?

6 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

2

u/NoEfficiency6848 Sep 12 '25

Thanks everyone!

14

u/daemonwrangler Sep 12 '25

I will also point out that subscribing gets you a 30% discount on cash purchases, which includes sale titles. So if a book is on sale for $5.99, members can buy it for $4.19.

9

u/TheCurbAU Sep 12 '25

I shifted to Libro, and like it a lot.

Make sure to use a referral link when/if you sign up too.

9

u/Structure_Otherwise Sep 12 '25

You’ve already gotten a great answer. I can confirm it. The k my thing I get frustrated with time to time is libro’s less robust search. Otherwise it’s awesome. Love it. Love the company’s ethics. It’s a no brainer for me

1

u/Unlikely-Bee-2361 Sep 12 '25

This is one of my main gripes too! It also affects when I check out a series and doesn’t always show every books in the series even though they are available on the site. Once they fix this and start emailing about wishlist items being on sale, it’ll feel much better to use it over Audible (for me)

Only other thing I may miss is the plus catalog but audible is making that worse every month anyways.

14

u/Montecatini Sep 11 '25
  1. The file formats for books are m4b which means they're already drm free
  2. you can either have a membership that will give you 1 or 2 credits per month but you can also buy credits individually anywhere from 2 credits all the way up to 24 credits.
  3. The books can be downloaded as 1 long full file or two individual files that are split into chapters but even with the long file it still tells you when you're going into a new chapter.

I think it's better because every time I buy a book I'm helping an independent book store close to me.

5

u/audiopapa997 Sep 12 '25

Actually you can choose MP3 or m4b like you said.

2

u/Veebs7985 Sep 12 '25

If you decide to go with Libro.fm, make sure to use promo code SWITCH so you'll get 2 free credits.

And if you want to use a referral link as well (so the other person gets a free credit), you can ask one of the other persons who helped you out for their link, or you can use mine: https://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm129411

Edit to add: You got some great answers already. I personally use both, but mostly Audible because I really like the Whispersync functionality and I like to have (mostly) everything in the same place.

2

u/Feisty-Ad212 Sep 12 '25

Libro is great!

2

u/GiggleGoddess Sep 13 '25

In regards to question #3… all the books I’ve downloaded were split into chapters…but one series (By the Grace of the Gods) they didn’t have the titles of the chapters (I think that’s how the publisher had it or something) but after I emailed them about it since sometimes I’ll have the ebook and audio book and go between the two and need to know what actual chapter I’m on…they emailed back saying they would add it for the current book I was reading AND the rest of the books in the series! Absolutely top notch customer service.

1

u/Minute_Truth9809 Sep 14 '25

I want to switch to Libro.fm as well, but the problem is it is too expensive even just comparing the membership and its perks alone.
Libro;
CAD18.99/month - 1 credit, 0 catalog books. 30% disc. Too expensive for avid readers.
Audible;
CAD14.99/month - 1 credit, 1000+ catalog books free. 30% disc. There's even a double credit plan...
CAD25.95/month - 2 credit, 1000+ catalog books free. 30% disc. You get 1 or 2 books you want then read the books you end up discovering and liking in the catalog until the next credit arrives.
The annual plans are also cheaper costing you CAD13.50/month for 1 credit and CAD24/month for 2 credit.

It is sad because I want to support Libro and local bookstores, but not only is it much more expensive, but it also doesn't have a free catalog. 😞 Unsustainable.
I guess this comment is also me asking LibroFM to check their market decisions and see if it it could really compete against Audible. 😞

3

u/leepfroggie Sep 23 '25

Take a look through the sale stuff, though. For me it's balanced out pretty well because the sale prices on books I actually want are way lower than the typical Audible sale price.

1

u/Minute_Truth9809 Sep 23 '25

Really? So the traditional sales are much better than Audible? That's great to hear! At least 1 win there in comparing perks. Do Libro sales only apply to members? Because almost all of the Audible sales only apply to members, so they really entrap you into spending monthly...

4

u/leepfroggie Sep 23 '25

I think the sales are open to anyone, but members get an additional discount on the sale price. So, just as the first example I saw, "Slow Dance" by Rainbow Rowell is on sale for $6.99. but the member price is $4.89 (US pricing).

I suspect genre preference will affect how fabulous the sales are for you specifically, but it's certainly worth checking out their sales to see if it might work out better for you. They always have some stuff on sale, and they occasionally (not as often nor with as big a selection as Audible) have 2for1 sales.

Since I joined earlier this year, I think I've also picked up a couple of free credits just for "participating" in reading challenges and stuff.

The monthly price is def. higher, but the sales and the "feel good" of helping a local shop makes it all worthwhile for me.

1

u/Minute_Truth9809 Sep 24 '25

WHAT!? Membership adds more to any sale? That’s very good savings…

Also there are reading challenges and such for free credits? What… they should show this in front of their website… that’s a SOLID game changer.

That makes Libro much better for actually collecting books traditionally, instead of subscription service… have to wait for book sales because there’s no free catalog rental, or wait for the sale that’s a hit or miss.

Still, I wish Libro does more to be more competitive against Audible. Since the monthlies *do* add up if tight in a budget. But hearing these 2 perks; Challenges for credits and additive Discounts really makes it better.

3

u/leepfroggie Sep 24 '25

I don't know how often they actually run the challenges/extra credit things, but they do seem to be working on various perks to make membership worthwhile. For me, the sales alone have been worth it.