Publishing · alternatives
Alternatives to Storytel
20 publishing tools sit alongside Storytel in this directory. Below is what separates each from Storytel on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- 2
- Storytel starts at
- $14.99/month
Why people look past Storytel
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Storytel entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
It costs more than the category median
Storytel starts at $14.99/month. Across the 4 publishing tools listed beside it that publish a price, the median entry point is $13.49/month.
There is no free tier
The record for Storytel carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 14 of the 20 alternatives below can be used without paying.
There is only one tier
Storytel publishes a single plan, Storytel at $14.99/month. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free ebook and audiobook app from OverDrive, gated entirely on an active public library card
- Can be used without paying; Storytel cannot.
- Sold on a Free with a participating library card, no subscription model rather than Per user per month, unlimited.
Unlimited ebook, audiobook, magazine and sheet music subscription, the consumer reading service formerly called Scribd
- Starts $3 a month cheaper, at $11.99/month.
Audiobook subscription that splits revenue with an independent bookstore of your choice
- Sold on a Per credit per month, credits never expire model rather than Per user per month, unlimited.
Amazon self-publishing platform that is free to use, earning Amazon a royalty cut instead of a fee, with a hard price band and per-megabyte delivery cost governing the 70% rate
- Can be used without paying; Storytel cannot.
- Sold on a Free to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a fee model rather than Per user per month, unlimited.
- 2 tiers to Storytel's 1.
Rakuten Kobo self-publishing platform paying a 70% royalty with no delivery fee deduction and no upper price cap, a materially different structure from Amazon KDP
- Can be used without paying; Storytel cannot.
- Sold on a Free to publish; Kobo earns a royalty share rather than a fee model rather than Per user per month, unlimited.
- 2 tiers to Storytel's 1.
Amazon-owned book cataloguing, review and recommendation app
- Can be used without paying; Storytel cannot.
- Sold on a Free, no subscription or in-app purchases; funded by Amazon as a commerce and data feeder model rather than Per user per month, unlimited.
Every Storytel alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storytel (this page) | $14.99/month | Per user per month, unlimited | 1 | |
| LibbyIf you have a library card and are willing to wait in holds queues for a free alternative | Free | Free with a participating library card, no subscription | 1 | vs Storytel |
| EverandIf you want ebooks, audiobooks and documents together under one subscription | $11.99/month | Per user per month, unlimited | 1 | vs Storytel |
| Libro.fmIf you would rather buy audiobooks with credits you keep permanently and support an independent bookstore | $14.99/month | Per credit per month, credits never expire | 1 | vs Storytel |
| Kindle Direct Publishing | Free | Free to publish; Amazon earns a royalty share rather than a fee | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Kobo Writing Life | Free | Free to publish; Kobo earns a royalty share rather than a fee | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Goodreads | Free | Free, no subscription or in-app purchases; funded by Amazon as a commerce and data feeder | 1 | vs Storytel |
| PublishDrive | Free | Flat-fee subscription, no commission on paid plans | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Moon Reader | Free, then $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase, free ad-supported version available | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Wattpad | Free | Free with ads; paid ad-free subscription and optional in-app coin purchases | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Webtoon | Free | Free to read on a delay; Webtoon Coins purchased to unlock early chapter access | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Kotobee | Free | Per licence per year | 1 | vs Storytel |
| Affinity Publisher | Free | Free, no licence fee | 1 | vs Storytel |
| Draft2Digital | Free | 10% of retail list price, no upfront fee | 1 | vs Storytel |
| Reedsy | Free | Free tools; freelancers quote per project | 1 | vs Storytel |
| BookBaby | On request | One-time purchase per project | 3 | vs Storytel |
| Scrivener | On request | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Storytel |
| Atticus | $147/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | vs Storytel |
| IngramSpark | On request | Free title setup, then per-unit print cost and revision fees | 1 | vs Storytel |
| Kindle | Free | Free app, revenue from book purchases and optional subscription | 2 | vs Storytel |
| Kobo | Free | Free store and app; hardware sold separately; optional subscription | 2 | vs Storytel |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Storytel badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (14)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Libby , Free
- Kindle Direct Publishing , Free
- Kobo Writing Life , Free
- Goodreads , Free
- PublishDrive , Free
- Moon Reader , Free, then $4.99/one-time
- Wattpad , Free
- Webtoon , Free
Cheaper than Storytel (2)
Entry price under Storytel's $14.99/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Everand , $11.99/month
- Moon Reader , Free, then $4.99/one-time
What you would be giving up
Storytel is most often brought in for a commuter who listens to several audiobooks a month and finds per-title purchase or credit systems expensive, a reader tired of library holds queues who wants guaranteed instant access to anything in the catalogue, a family wanting a shared subscription with separate kids profiles for audio content, someone in a storytel-strong market such as sweden, poland or brazil where the catalogue depth is greatest. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Storytel is broadly right and the question is cost, the Storytel pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Publishing category lists everything the directory holds, and best publishing tools ranks them.
Storytel runs on ios, android, web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Storytel alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Storytel?
- 20 other publishing tools are listed in this directory, led by Libby, Everand, Libro.fm, Kindle Direct Publishing. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Storytel?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Libby, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kobo Writing Life, Goodreads, PublishDrive.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Storytel?
- Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Storytel's $14.99/month: Everand at $11.99/month, Moon Reader at Free, then $4.99/one-time.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Storytel?
- On the figures on record, 3 things stand out: it costs more than the category median; there is no free tier; there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Storytel?
- Storytel is most often brought in for a commuter who listens to several audiobooks a month and finds per-title purchase or credit systems expensive, a reader tired of library holds queues who wants guaranteed instant access to anything in the catalogue, a family wanting a shared subscription with separate kids profiles for audio content, someone in a storytel-strong market such as sweden, poland or brazil where the catalogue depth is greatest. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Storytel?
- None of the publishing tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Storytel alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Publishing, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Storytel against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Storytel covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every publishing tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Publishing category, 20 tools beside Storytel. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.