Free is not one product
"Free audiobook app" mixes three different things: loans from a public library, volunteer human narration of public-domain books, and text to speech that reads a file or a classics shelf. CocoReader is the third kind. It is not the best free narrated audiobook app — Libby and LibriVox win that.
| App | Role | Sourced claim |
|---|---|---|
| Libby | Borrowed digital audiobooks with a library card. | Borrow digital audiobooks with a library card (help.libbyapp.com). help.libbyapp.com |
| LibriVox | Volunteer-narrated public-domain books. | Volunteer-narrated public-domain audiobooks (librivox.org). librivox.org |
| Apple Books + Speak Screen | Built-in reading app plus iPhone spoken content. | Speak Screen is built into iPhone and can read the screen of another app, including Apple Books. Apple Support |
| ElevenReader | Free-tier TTS plus a catalogue of audiobooks. | Free option with a monthly text-to-audio hour cap; thousands of free audiobooks (elevenreader.io/pricing, 10 Nov 2026). elevenreader.io/pricing |
| Speechify | Limited free-tier TTS. | Free option: speeds up to 1.5x and 10 robotic voices (speechify.com/pricing, 10 Nov 2026). speechify.com/pricing |
| Sandbook | Free on-device TTS plus a classics shelf. | Free; no subscription or account. 262 free classics on the shelf (sandbook.app, 10 Nov 2026). sandbook.app |
| CocoReader: Book to Audiobookour app | Text-to-speech for 1,500+ free classics and files you own. | 1,500+ free classics you can download in the app. Import EPUBs that aren't copy-protected, PDFs, text files, web articles and photos of printed pages on iPhone. EPUB on Mac. Not supported: Word documents (DOCX), MOBI, Kindle formats (AZW, AZW3, KFX), RTF, HTML files, copy-protected EPUBs, and Kindle books. Voices are synthetic, not a human audiobook store. CocoReader |
Library apps
Libby
Libby is the right pick if your library lends digital audiobooks. You need a library card. Loans open in Libby (or, for some US libraries, on Kindle). They will not import into CocoReader.
Source: help.libbyapp.com.
Public-domain narration
LibriVox
LibriVox is volunteer-narrated public-domain audiobooks. The voice is human, the catalogue is whatever volunteers have recorded, and you do not need a library card.
Source: librivox.org.
Apple Books + Speak Screen
Apple Books has public-domain titles, and Speak Screen can read the screen. Speak Screen is built into iPhone and costs nothing, but it is a screen reader, not a library of files you import. See Apple Support: Spoken Content.
Text to speech plus classics
ElevenReader
ElevenReader's pricing page (10 Nov 2026) lists a free option with a monthly text-to-audio hour cap and thousands of free audiobooks. It is a catalogue-plus-TTS product, not a library loan app.
Source: elevenreader.io/pricing.
Speechify
Speechify's pricing page (10 Nov 2026) lists a free option with speeds up to 1.5x and 10 robotic voices. People looking for a cheaper listen-aloud path often land here, then look at library apps, LibriVox, or an on-device reader.
Source: speechify.com/pricing.
Sandbook
Sandbook's site (10 Nov 2026) says the app is free, with no subscription or account, and lists 262 free classics on the shelf. Voices run on the device.
Source: sandbook.app.
CocoReader: Book to Audiobook
CocoReader is best for Import EPUBs that aren't copy-protected, PDFs, text files, web articles and photos of printed pages on iPhone. EPUB on Mac. It also has 1,500+ free classics you can download in the app, from Standard Ebooks. The voices are synthetic. Not supported: Word documents (DOCX), MOBI, Kindle formats (AZW, AZW3, KFX), RTF, HTML files, copy-protected EPUBs, and Kindle books.
More on the classics shelf: Standard Ebooks on iPhone. For files you already have, see how to listen to an EPUB on iPhone and the best EPUB to audiobook apps table.
Human narration vs synthetic voices
Libby and LibriVox play recorded human performances. CocoReader, Sandbook, Speak Screen and the Speechify / ElevenReader TTS modes read text with a synthetic voice. If you want a narrator performance, start with a library loan or LibriVox. If you want a file you already own read aloud, use a TTS app.
Limits
- CocoReader is English only and needs iOS 26.2 or later (a Mac early version is available, EPUB only).
- Libby needs a library card and does not send loans into CocoReader.
- This page does not state a CocoReader price.