Pick the voice, hear it on your text
Browse the catalog, choose a narrator, and get a sample built from your own pages before anything is finalized.
A freelance audiobook narrator usually costs $2,000 to $4,000 a book, billed per finished hour, plus weeks of auditions and a recording schedule that is not yours to control. Audiobookery gives you the same decision - which voice tells your story - without the hiring process: pick a voice, hear it read your own pages, approve it, done.
You post your manuscript on a marketplace like ACX, or ask other authors for a referral. Narrators audition with a short sample, you compare voices, negotiate a per-finished-hour rate or a royalty split, and then wait for the recording, edit and proofing passes - typically six to twelve weeks for a full-length novel. It works, and a skilled narrator can be worth it. It is also slow, and the price is fixed whether the book sells ten copies or ten thousand. If a chapter needs a rewrite after recording starts, you are usually paying for a second pass on top of the first.
Browse the catalog, choose a narrator, and get a sample built from your own pages before anything is finalized.
Chapters detected, numbers and abbreviations rewritten to be spoken - the difference between a page and a performance.
From the Creator plan, each character keeps a distinct, stable voice from the first chapter to the last.
Levels mastered chapter by chapter to retail spec, with music matched to your genre.
Named chapters, your cover, and a store-ready package. One chapter off? We redo that chapter, not the book.
You keep 100% of your rights and your royalties, on every store you choose to sell on.
| What matters | Freelance narrator | ACX marketplace | Audiobookery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost per book | $2,000-4,000 | Per finished hour or royalty share | From $129, or $29/month |
| Time to finished audiobook | 6-12 weeks | Weeks of auditions first | About an hour once approved |
| You approve before full production | Sometimes | Audition only | Always, on your own pages |
| Multi-voice cast | Extra narrators to hire | Extra narrators to hire | Included from Creator |
| Your rights | Yours | Depends on the deal | Always yours |
A subscription gives you 500 pages of finished audiobook every month, for as many books as you like, on a 12-month commitment with two months free when billed yearly. Publishing once? Pay $129 for a single audiobook, no commitment. A page is 275 words, and we never count your books, only your pages, so a short story and a long novel both fit the same plan.
A freelance human narrator typically charges $2,000 to $4,000 per book, billed per finished hour of audio, plus weeks of scheduling and revisions.
Marketplaces such as ACX, narrator directories, or referrals from other authors. You post the manuscript, review auditions, and negotiate a rate or royalty split.
You are not hiring a freelancer or waiting on auditions. You choose a voice from our catalog, hear a sample recorded from your own pages, and approve it before we produce the full book.
Our Premium voice option is built for acted emotion and scene-aware delivery, priced per book or as a monthly allowance, well under the cost of a freelance narrator.
Always. You own the master files and set your own retail price - there is no exclusivity clause and no revenue share to negotiate.
Compare with an ACX alternative or see the full production service.