BookBeat: audiobooks and e-books paid for by the hour

Shopping at BookBeat? See all current BookBeat discount codes and deals, checked regularly.

BookBeat is an audiobook and e-book streaming service that Swedish publisher Bonnier set up in 2015. Instead of the one-credit-per-book model, you pay for a monthly allowance of listening and reading hours and use them on any title in a library of over a million books. It suits commuters, people who listen while cooking or walking the dog, and households where several people want their own books on one account.

You listen in the BookBeat app for iOS and Android, and you can download books to listen offline. Each book shows how many hours it will use, and you can see your remaining hours in the app.

There is no contract. You can change plan or cancel whenever you like, and the account becomes a paid subscription only when the free trial ends. BookBeat focuses on books rather than podcasts or audio dramas, so if you mainly want those, another app may suit you better.

What's worth a look

• Basic plan: 20 hours a month for currently £7.99, enough for two or three average audiobooks.
• Standard and Premium plans: 40 hours for £12.99 a month or 100 hours for £19.99 a month. You can switch plans at any time.
• Family account: up to four extra profiles for people in the same home, each with their own hours and bookshelf, for £4.99, £7.99 or £9.99 a month per profile depending on the plan.
• Gift cards: digital gift cards for each plan from £7.99, emailed with a code. You don't need an account to buy one.
• The library: recent titles on the UK homepage included Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley and The Divorce by Freida McFadden, along with romance, children's books and biographies.

Current offers

• 45 days of BookBeat free, the offer already on our BookBeat page. Check the terms when you sign up.
• BookBeat's own homepage currently offers new users a 30-day free trial with 20 hours to spend however you like. After that, the subscription continues from £7.99 a month unless you cancel.
• Family profiles from £4.99 a month each, once your free trial has ended.

How to save more

• Start on Basic and see how many hours you really use. If you regularly run out, move up a plan, as Standard gives you twice the hours for £5 more.
• Share through a family account instead of paying for separate subscriptions. Each extra profile costs less than a second Basic plan.
• Set a reminder before your free trial ends. If you cancel before the last day, you won't be charged.

Products, prices and offers checked on the store's own website on 3 Oct 2026. Prices and stock can change.

Ad: affiliate links. If you buy through links in this article we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. BookBeat didn't pay for this article or check it before we published it. How we make money.