Spotify announced Tuesday that it will offer its free audiobooks in Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. Users in these markets will be able to access 15 hours of free monthly audiobook listening. Spotify also announced that it would expand its audiobook catalog from 200,000 to 250,000 titles. This benefit is already available in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
The expansion comes two months after Spotify said its audiobook service was the second-largest audiobook provider behind Amazon-owned Audible. Spotify says users have listened to more than 150,000 tracks since the free service launched last November.
Audiobooks can be found in the Spotify app home feed or through the search tab. Any audiobook marked as “Included in Premium” can be listened to with a Spotify Premium subscription. You can track your listening times in your Spotify app settings. If you’re short on listening hours, you can purchase additional 10-hour allocations for $14.99 CAD, €12.99 IRE, and $19.99 NZD.
Spotify recently launched a $9.99 per month plan that gives its free users access to its audiobook collection in the United States. The plan, which includes 15 hours of listening time, gives Spotify a way to compete with Audible by targeting users who aren’t as interested in its music service. While Audible’s $14.95 monthly subscription gives users a credit toward purchasing a track, Spotify’s $9.99 plan allows users to listen to 15 hours of its catalog, which is often enough to listen to more than one audiobook.
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