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Audiobook Production and Distribution

Services that turn a book into an audiobook and sell it: narrator marketplaces, AI narration and distributors to Audible, Apple, Spotify and libraries. Each has a BookBird Author Score from what its own site confirms, what it costs and how many people search for it.

Prices and data checked October 7, 2026 · Author Score computed by a published formula, not paid for

The short answer

  1. ACX 8.9 No upfront fee
    Authors whose ebook is on Amazon and who want Audible distribution
  2. Author's Republic 8.0 No upfront fee
    Authors wanting a narrator marketplace and wide distribution beyond Audible
  3. ElevenLabs 7.7 Free plan; paid from $6 a month
    Authors wanting fast, low-cost AI narration with multi-voice casting
  4. Voices by INaudio 7.0 No upfront fee
    Authors with a finished audiobook who want wide, non-exclusive distribution
  5. Google Play auto-narration 6.7 No upfront fee
    Nonfiction authors already selling the ebook on Google Play

All audiobook services, scored

6 of 6 shown · How the Author Score works

  1. 1

    ACX

    Audible's marketplace for producing audiobooks and selling them on Audible, Amazon, Apple

    Audiobook production

    8.95/6 author jobs
    No upfront feeThe platform takes a share of sales
    2.9K−6%searches a month
    web
  2. 2

    Author's Republic

    Audiobook production marketplace and wide, non-exclusive distributor

    Audiobook production

    8.04/6 author jobs
    No upfront feeThe platform takes a share of sales
    1K+30%searches a month
    web
  3. 3

    ElevenLabs

    AI voice platform that narrates manuscripts and publishes to ElevenReader and partners

    Audiobook production

    7.74/6 author jobs
    Free plan; paid from $6 a monthFree plan + paid plans
    260+129%searches a month
    web
  4. 4

    Voices by INaudio

    Non-exclusive distributor of finished audiobooks to retail, library and education channels

    Audiobook production

    7.03/6 author jobs
    No upfront feeThe platform takes a share of sales
    1.6K−27%searches a month
    web
  5. 5

    Google Play auto-narration

    Free AI narration that turns Google Play ebooks into audiobooks

    Audiobook production

    6.73/6 author jobs
    No upfront feeThe platform takes a share of sales
    no search data
    web
  6. 6

    Kindle Virtual Voice

    KDP beta that turns eligible Kindle ebooks into computer-narrated Audible audiobooks

    Audiobook production

    6.73/6 author jobs
    No upfront feeThe platform takes a share of sales
    no search data
    web

Prices in USD from each vendor’s own site, checked October 7, 2026. Searches: US Google searches a month for the product’s name, with the change over 12 months. Score out of 10, by one published formula; nobody pays to be listed.

How to choose an audiobook service

A human narrator or an AI voice?

ACX and Author’s Republic connect you with human narrators. ElevenLabs, Kindle Virtual Voice and Google Play’s auto-narration use computer voices: much cheaper and faster, and in Amazon’s and Google’s case free, but listeners and some stores treat them differently. Kindle Virtual Voice is still an invite-only beta for US KDP authors.

How do you pay the narrator?

On ACX you can pay a narrator per finished hour, or split royalties with them instead of paying up front. A royalty share costs nothing at the start, but you give up half of what the audiobook earns.

Exclusive to Audible, or wide?

ACX pays more if the audiobook is exclusive to Audible, Amazon and Apple: under the model it introduced on May 26, 2026, 50% exclusive against 30% non-exclusive (the old 40% and 25% end at the end of the year). Voices by INaudio, the service that used to be Findaway Voices, and Author’s Republic distribute to many more stores and libraries, and both say the author keeps 80% of the royalties they receive.

Our guides to publishing audiobooks on ACX, audiobook formats and abridged vs unabridged audiobooks cover the steps around the narration.

How the BookBird Author Score works

Built for self-published authors, from facts anyone can check: each vendor’s own pages, read on October 7, 2026, and US Google search volumes (Google Ads data via DataForSEO). Nobody pays to be listed, and no score is adjusted by hand. We did not test the apps by writing a book in them; the score measures what they do for an author, what they cost and how widely they are used.

  • Author jobs, 50 points. Each category has a list of jobs an author needs that kind of software to do. A job counts only when the vendor’s own pages say the product does it; a job they do not mention earns nothing, and the product page says which ones.
    • Audiobook production: human narrators, aI narration, distribution to stores, royalty share or pay up front, non-exclusive option and royalty rate stated.
  • Cost, 25 points. What one year costs a single author on the cheapest plan with a USD price. A one-time licence is spread over 3 years. A free plan, or a platform that takes no upfront fee, earns all 25; the dearest product in the category keeps 5.
  • Adoption, 25 points. How many people in the US search Google for the product by name each month: 20 points on a log scale against the most searched product in the category, and 5 for the trend, comparing the last three months with the first three of the year.

The score is the points earned divided by the points that could be checked, on a 10-point scale. A part with no data (no USD price, no search volume) is left out rather than guessed. How long a product has existed is not scored: few vendors state it. Review sites are not used: for most of these products the profiles rate the whole company or hold a handful of reviews.

Audiobook productionAuthor jobs /50Cost /25Adoption /25Score /10
ACX41.72522.28.9
Author's Republic33.32521.48.0
ElevenLabs33.325197.7
Voices by INaudio252519.67.0
Google Play auto-narration2525—6.7
Kindle Virtual Voice2525—6.7

Questions

What is the best way to make an audiobook as a self-published author?

For Audible with a human narrator, ACX is Amazon’s own route. For an AI voice at no cost, Kindle Virtual Voice (by invitation) and Google Play auto-narration. For wide distribution of a finished audiobook, Voices by INaudio or Author’s Republic.

What happened to Findaway Voices?

Findaway Voices was bought by INaudio in 2025 and now runs as Voices by INaudio; findawayvoices.com redirects there.

Can I sell an AI-narrated audiobook on Audible?

Through Kindle Virtual Voice, yes: it publishes computer-narrated audiobooks of eligible Kindle ebooks to Audible, for US authors invited to the beta.