Audiobook vs. Physical Book

With all of the different ways to read a book these days, you may be looking beyond the page for literary enjoyment. One of the most popular new methods of absorbing a book is via recorded narration, also known as audiobooks. These can be classic stories narrated by a single voice or epic tales with a full cast bringing life to each character.

But is listening to an audiobook actually the same thing as reading an actual book? It's the same story and the same words, but the format is very different. If you're trying to decide between listening to a book or reading it with your eyes, we've broken down some key differences to help you decided.

Audiobooks Are More Passive

One of the main advantages (and disadvantages) or an audiobook is that you aren't actively reading the story. This is great for those who want to passively enjoy a book while doing dishes or driving in the car, but it also means that your full attention likely isn't on the book the whole time you're listening. It's certainly possible for your mind to drift off to other places while reading a physical book too, but it's far more likely to happen if you're listening to one.

With that in mind, it's often better to choose audiobooks for stories where you don't want to get into the nitty gritty details with. One great example of this is the Game of Thrones books, which can be pretty densely packed with information in written form. Whereas the audiobook version can let you passively absorb that information without having to read each word.

Reading a Book Relies on Your Imagination

One of the greatest joys of reading books is that your mind gets to fill in a lot of blanks. You get to imagine what the characters look like, sound like, and everything in between. If you are really invested in a book your reading, that experience can be deeply satisfying. But sometimes an audiobook can go beyond what your imagination can do. This is especially true with full-cast audiobooks like Audible's Harry Potter, which even includes details in the ambient sounds it includes.

Outside of the full-cast audiobooks, a really good narrator can elevate the story beyond what the words themselves and your imagination could do alone. The Dungeon Crawler Carl books, for example, have been widely praised for the audiobook versions being better than the written ones. It all depends on how much you actually like the narration and voices, but the best audiobooks can truly elevate the experience.

Books Are More Widely Available

One of primary advantages of regular books is that they are very easily accessible. There are a ton of websites that offer free books and you can even get access to literature at your local library. While there are definitely places where you can get access to audiobooks easily, not every book has an audiobook version. What's more, not every book has a good audiobook version available.

Books can also be found either as physical editions or as eBooks. You can read digital books on a reading tablet or your phone pretty much anywhere. Audiobooks can also be easily uploaded to your device, but many of the best ones are locked behind a subscription service like Audible.

Audiobooks Are More Expensive Than Books

One of the biggest disadvantages of audiobooks compared to regular books is how much they cost. Audiobooks are inherently more expensive due to the production costs that go into making them. If you're buying individual audiobooks, you'll likely have to pay anywhere between $20-$30 even for each one. Whereas even new hardcover editions of books are known to drop below that $20 mark before they even get released.

The cost of audiobooks can be mitigated somewhat by a subscription service, but it still doesn't come cheap. The most affordable Audible subscription is $8.99 per month and includes one audiobook credit per month. A Kindle Unlimited subscription, in contrast, is $11.99 per month but includes thousands of free books with no credit system attached.

With that in mind, there is still a free trial of Audible you can check out if you want to test out the service at no personal cost. It's definitely worth trying out if you are interested in switching to audiobooks.