What Is Audible Narration? (How It Works, Turning On + More)

Maybe you’ve got a long commute that you want to liven up, or you like to stay entertained while cleaning the house. Whatever the reason, audiobooks are a great way to add more reading to your life.

The only downside? Traditional audiobooks can be expensive. But don’t worry, your wallet is safe!

Amazon offers discounted Audible Narration with many of its ebooks. If you have more questions about Audible Narration, check out the rest of my research!

What Is Audible Narration In 2024?

Audible Narration is Amazon’s audio version of Kindle books as of 2024. They’re the same audio you get when buying the audiobook through Amazon or Audible, but they’re available for a discounted rate when buying a Kindle ebook. This offer isn’t available on all books. To find ebooks with this feature, look for “Audible Narration Ready” on the listing.

If you still have questions about how Audible Narration works, how much it costs, and more, then keep reading!

How Does Audible Narration Work?

Adding Audible Narration to your ebook purchases by using the “Add Narration” option gives you the same audio as the audiobook or the Audible version.

Therefore, you can use the audiobook in the same way as you would any other audiobook—on your phone, on your iPad, wherever!

When you purchase Audible Narration for your books, you can seamlessly switch between reading and listening thanks to the Whispersync for Voice feature.

With this feature, the audio and the ebook will sync, allowing you to pick up right where you left off.

Put another way, there’s no more fast-forwarding or flipping ahead; you’ll always know where you are in your book, regardless of whether you’re reading or listening.

Also, Audible Narration allows you to listen while you read with real-time text highlighting.

How Do I Get The Audible Narration?

Like many of its services, Amazon makes accessing Audible Narration very straightforward.

To do so, simply buy a Kindle book of your choice, click “Add Audible narration to your purchase” when checking out, and enjoy!

After that, you can listen to the narration on the Kindle app (iOS/Android), on Fire tablets, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard, Bluetooth-enabled Kindle eReaders, and the Audible app (iOS/Android/Windows).

Is Audible Narration The Same As An Audible Audiobook?

Audible narrations provide the exact same audio as buying the audiobook through Amazon or Audible.

In reality, the only difference between the two is the price.

For example, an audiobook purchased from Audible costs $22, while buying the Kindle edition and adding the Audible Narration costs about half that.

What’s more, if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can borrow an ebook for free and purchase the Audible Narration for just a few dollars.

Then, when you return the book, the audio version is yours to keep.

How Much Does Audible Narration Cost?

How Much Does Audible Narration Cost? Amazon

There is no set price for Audible narrations. As is the case with ebooks, narrations vary in price depending on the book’s age, popularity, and genre.

For example, some narrations cost as little as $0.99, while others cost $12.99 or more.

But, what’s important to remember is that while you can’t always predict how much Audible Narration will cost, it’s usually cheaper to buy the ebook and the Audible Narration rather than the narration alone.

For example, one reader shared the experience of buying a Kindle book for $1.99 and adding Audible Narration for $3.99.

So, together that makes the total purchase $5.98. In comparison, buying Audible Narration alone from the Audible website costs $14.95.

As you can see, it’s definitely a better deal to buy both, even if you don’t plan on reading the ebook.

How Do I Turn On Audible Narration On Kindle?

Audible Narration is available on the Kindle app, Kindle Fire tablets, and the Audible app.

To access Audible Narration, simply follow these steps:

  • Open your ebook from a platform that supports Audible Narration (listed above).
  • Tap the bottom of the screen to reveal a tray that says “Audible Narration.”
  • Tap this section to begin downloading the audio version. If the audio version is already downloaded, tap the “Play” icon to play the audio for the book.

Additionally, you can pause the audio, jump ahead, or jump back by tapping the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

How Can I Purchase The Audible Narration For My Kindle Unlimited Book?

Many of the ebooks you can borrow for free through Kindle Unlimited also have Audible Narration available for purchase.

With that, if an audiobook companion is available for the ebook you borrowed, you can purchase it right after borrowing the ebook.

To do so, simply tap or click the button that says “Add Audible narration for $X.XX.”

Also, you can purchase the audiobook at any time from the Amazon or Audible website.

On the Amazon website, search for the audiobook and click or tap “Buy with One-Click” or “Buy with Audible Credit.”

On the Audible website, search for the audiobook and click or tap “Buy for One Credit” or “Buy for $X.XX.”

Further, any audiobook you purchase is yours to keep, even after returning the Kindle Unlimited ebook.

How Can I Borrow The Free Audible Narration For My Prime Reading Book?

If you have a Prime subscription, you have access to Prime Reading, a rotating selection of about 1,000 titles that you can read for free.

Moreover, some of these books come with a free Audible Narration that you can borrow and download for free.

To see if a book comes with Audible Narration, look for the Prime headphone logo.

Further, you can borrow these free audiobook companions on the Amazon website or from certain Kindle devices.

With that, simply click or tap on “Read and Listen for Free,” and your ebook and audio narration will start to download.

Finally, it’s important to remember the free Audible Narration will be returned when you return the ebook.

To know more, you can also see our posts on Amazon Kindle warranty, Amazon eBook return policy, and if Amazon Prime includes Audible.

Conclusion

Audible Narration is a great way to upgrade your purchased or borrowed ebooks.

Not only will you be able to read or listen to your book wherever you go, but you’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that you got a great deal on your audiobook.

However, free Audible Narration isn’t available for every book, but when it is (i.e., when you see “Audible Narration Ready”), make sure to take advantage of the unbeatable savings!

Photo of author

Marques Thomas

Marques Thomas graduated with a MBA in 2011. Since then, Marques has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Marques is also the head writer and founder of QuerySprout.com.

Leave a Comment