Home › Audiobook services
An audiobook listener asks what the cheapest subscription that includes audiobooks costs, how many hours of listening it allows and whether the service can be tried for free. These decide 50 p out of 100.
Score shows how the company does on our comparison criteria, on a 0–100 scale. Rankings cannot be bought.
Basic metrics · 64.6
+ Longest free trial period: 45 days free of charge (the industry norm is 14-30 days)
Basic metrics: 64.6, rank 4 · ▲ 3 places
Basic metrics · 78.7
+ Four clearly priced tiers (Mini 8.99 €, Standard 12.99 €, Plus 17.99 €, Unlimited from 26.99 €) with listening hours publicly displayed
Basic metrics: 78.7, rank 1 · ▼ 1 place
Basic metrics · 69.7
+ Five clearly priced tiers (Flex, Standard, Premium, Unlimited, Family) with the number of listening hours stated for each
Basic metrics: 69.7, rank 3 · no change
– Free trial: The length of the trial is not stated on the front page or in the FAQ, only ”Start a free trial” and that offers vary.
Basic metrics · 72.4
+ The monthly 12-hour audiobook listening limit is stated clearly on the Finnish-language audiobook page
Basic metrics: 72.4, rank 2 · ▼ 2 places
Basic metrics · 27.4
+ The site's title tells you what is on offer: 'Unique podcasts & thousands of audiobooks'
Basic metrics: 27.4, rank 5 · no change
The buying motives of these services could not be checked; the reason is shown for each one. They are not on the list as poor performers but as unscored. The result of the basic metrics is shown for comparison.
+ The Kobo app is mentioned on the front page ('with the free Rakuten Kobo app')
– The site blocks automatic reading (bot protection).
Basic metrics: 25.8, rank 6 (for comparison only)
Weights are fixed. All companies are measured on the same scale. Read the full methodology.
| Buying motive | What is measured | Scale | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price QUESTIONWhat does the cheapest subscription that includes audiobooks cost per month? | Monthly price of the cheapest audiobook subscription at the regular price, after the trial period. | €8 or less = 100 points, €20 or more = 0, in between directly proportional. | 24 p |
| Listening hours QUESTIONHow many hours can I listen with the cheapest subscription? | Monthly listening hours of the cheapest audiobook subscription. | 20 hours or more = 100 points, 5 hours or less = 0, in between directly proportional. | 14 p |
| Free trial QUESTIONCan I try before I pay? | Length of the free trial period in days. | 30 days or more = 100 points, 0 days = 0, in between directly proportional. | 12 p |
| Basic metrics | Digital quality, transparency, reachability and AI quality score | Basic metrics × 0.5 | 50 p |
We scored 6 audiobook services operating in Finland on 19 metrics. The key question: are the monthly price, library size and cancellation stated clearly before you place an order?
Audiobook services are monthly subscriptions that give access to a large selection of audiobooks and e-books. They suit listeners who want to read several books a month without buying each one separately. On this page we compare six services available in Finland on how clearly they state the monthly price, library size, differences between subscription tiers, listening limits and cancellation terms before you place a subscription.
Monthly price shown publicly (30), free trial and cancellation terms stated (20), library size or number of Finnish-language books stated (15), differences between subscription tiers stated (if there are several tiers) (15), owning company stated on the site (10), listening time or download limits clearly stated (10)
Transparency is 30% of the basic metrics, i.e. 15% of the total points · these metrics make up its 100 points · the full formula and the other pillars
How to read the comparison correctly: Half of the points come from buyer's questions, i.e. things the buyer finds out before deciding. The other half measures how openly the company publishes its prices, terms and contact details. Clear differences in points indicate a genuine difference: one tells you the price immediately, another only after logging in. Close scores should not be read as a ranking order, because every measurement has a margin of variation. The measurement accuracy and the full calculation formula are open in the methodology.
Customer experience is brought into the assessment separately. We also collect customer feedback and customer experiences about companies through separate surveys. The survey results will be added to the overall assessment later.
All six services are Nordic or international companies. Storytel, BookBeat and Nextory are Swedish, Podimo Danish, Kobo Canadian and Spotify Swedish. None is Finnish. We show the owner for each service.
Spotify is primarily a music service. Its Premium subscription includes 15 hours a month of audiobook listening, after which books can be purchased separately. The other five services are built primarily for audiobooks. The comparison measures each service's audiobook features, not music.
We do not assess the size or sound quality of the library. We measure the transparency of public websites: are the monthly price, the library description, the differences between subscription tiers, the cancellation terms and the listening time limits visible before ordering?
Every company is measured with the same public formula: half of the points come from buyer's questions and half from basic metrics, which have four pillars: technical quality, transparency, reachability and AI quality score. Ranking cannot be bought, and you can see the origin of each point on the company's profile. Read the full methodology →
Nextory Mini offers the cheapest monthly subscription (8.99 €/month), but the number of listening hours is limited. Spotify Premium (12.99 €/month) includes 12 hours of audiobook listening as part of a music subscription. Libraries and Celia audiobooks are free for special groups.
Storytel markets itself as 'Finland's best audiobook service' and has been on the Finnish market the longest. Nextory and BookBeat have grown quickly and also offer a wide Finnish-language selection. A precise comparison of library sizes cannot be made on the basis of the websites.
Yes, Individual, Duo and Family Premium subscriptions include 12 hours of audiobook listening per month. When the hours run out you can buy more separately. Student Premium does not include audiobook hours in the same way.
Yes, with most services: up to 4 profiles on Nextory, 2-6 user accounts on Storytel's Family tier, and up to 6 accounts on Spotify's Premium Family. The details of BookBeat's and Podimo's family subscriptions were not apparent from the main site.
All clearly priced services (Storytel, BookBeat, Nextory, Spotify) state openly that the subscription can be cancelled at any time without a commitment period. It is worth cancelling in the app or account settings before the next billing date.
The free pre-analysis shows every item where your company loses points and which rank fixing it is enough for. The paid analysis shows what the items are and how to fix them.
Can't find your company on the list even though it should be there? Get in touch and we will include it in the next measurement round.
See the free pre-analysis A ranking cannot be bought. The analysis shows how it is earned.