ACX on the BookBird Author Score
Author Score · audiobook production · #1 of 6
Best for: Authors whose ebook is on Amazon and who want Audible distribution
88.9 of 100 points = 8.9 out of 10. How this score is calculated
Author jobs, from ACX’s own pages
- Yes: Human narrators
- Not stated: AI narration (not stated)
- Yes: Distribution to stores
- Yes: Royalty share or pay up front
- Yes: Non-exclusive option
- Yes: Royalty rate stated
ACX pricing
The platform takes a share of sales. There is a free plan. The plans as ACX’s own site listed them on October 7, 2026, in US dollars:
- ACX account: Free (author pays the narrator, not ACX)
- Pay-for-Production: price in USD not confirmed
- Royalty Share: Free (no upfront fee; royalties split with the narrator; exclusive distribution required)
- Royalty Share Plus: price in USD not confirmed
Royalty: exclusive 50% (new model) or 40% (legacy); non-exclusive 30% (new) or 25% (legacy). New model from May 26, 2026; legacy ends at year-end.
What ACX offers
From ACX’s own pages, checked on October 7, 2026:
- Narrator marketplace with auditions and direct offers
- Pay per finished hour, split royalties, or a hybrid
- Upload your own finished audio instead (DIY)
- Human quality review; titles can go live about ten days after submission
- Distribution to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books in 9 marketplaces
- Audio Lab checks files against submission requirements
- Sales dashboard and promo codes (US and UK)
- Monthly payments; 7-year distribution term
Runs on: web. Launched: 2011.
Who ACX suits, and what its pages do not say
Best for: Authors whose ebook is on Amazon and who want Audible distribution.
Not confirmed on ACX’s pages when we checked: aI narration. That is what the vendor states, not a test; a feature can exist without being described, and the score only credits what is.
About 2,900 people a month search Google in the US for “acx audiobook”, down 6% over the past year (Google Ads data via DataForSEO).
ACX alternatives
| Software | Score | Price from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author's Republic | 8.0 | No upfront fee | Authors wanting a narrator marketplace and wide distribution beyond Audible |
| ElevenLabs | 7.7 | Free plan; paid from $6 a month | Authors wanting fast, low-cost AI narration with multi-voice casting |
| Voices by INaudio | 7.0 | No upfront fee | Authors with a finished audiobook who want wide, non-exclusive distribution |
| Google Play auto-narration | 6.7 | No upfront fee | Nonfiction authors already selling the ebook on Google Play |
| Kindle Virtual Voice | 6.7 | No upfront fee | KDP authors invited to the beta who sell in the US |
Compare: All audiobook production · All software for authors
ACX questions
How much does ACX cost?
No upfront fee. ACX lists 4 plans; the full list is under Pricing above.
What does ACX run on?
web, according to its own site.
How the score is computed: the formula, step by step. Prices and features were read from ACX’s own site on October 7, 2026; nobody pays to be listed.