Libro.fm Audiobooks
reviews and complaints

I have been listening to audiobooks on Libro.fm for several months and find the application intuitive and very customer oriented. It is such a joy to find a company and application in the book industry so focused on building a partnership with independent booksellers.

Their referral program and readership campaigns make Libro.fm a solid alternative to Audible. I have been a long-time Audible customer, and after they were purchased by Amazon, I have been looking for a replacement. I am happy to say I will be canceling my other audiobook subscriptions and relying entirely on Libro.fm. I will also be suggesting that my customers make the change.

I love using Libro.Fm because I get to support my favorite local bookstore. I find the app easy to use and like that I can get book recommendation lists from my local bookstore, too. I’m also glad they added functionality on Apple Watches so I don’t have to be next to my phone to control the audio.

Libro.fm developers, if you’re reading this can you please create a widget for the iPhone Home Screen? I like having larger widgets because they grab my attention (like Spotify or Libby, where I can see what ebook I’m currently reading) and I will gravitate toward the app more often! (Sometimes I forget the app exists even though I have a subscription lol!)

In addition to supporting independent book stores - yay! - the Libro.fm app is very user friendly ( says this tech illiterate ). However, I wasn’t compelled to write a review until my experience with their excellent customer service last evening. I’d ordered what I’d thought was the next in a long series of books, but realized as soon as I hit play that I’d already listened to this one. I emailed the company explaining my mistake and requesting a return. Within thirty minutes I received a reply, from the co-founder and CEO no less, accepting the return and reinstating the credit I’d used. This unusual level of responsiveness along with their mission to support indies is why I highly recommend Libro.fm!

I adore this company, as soon as I heard I could support real people in my local area instead of Bezos I was in. It feels like I am making a difference. However, the app is not very user friendly. It won’t do background downloading, at least not for me. It also doesn’t allow you to start listening before the download is complete, which would be nice since there is nothing else you can do until the download is complete if you want it to continue instead of pause. These features would make this app so much more appealing. I would just download the mp3 onto my pc and then cloud sync but that is just as painful. Truly the only thing better about an Android is the file transfer ability and the ease of use with this company.

UPDATE 5/3

As the devs promised, this application has now been updated with more functionality! We can now browse titles and add to our library, straight through the app. There might be more features I haven’t discovered yet, but this was my primary source of grousing. I’ve updated to shift my rating to 5 stars.

Support your local bookstores!

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I love using Libro.fm and I’ll never go back to a competitor! I actually love the look and feel of the app, but in 2021, it needs to have more function. We shouldn’t have to buy our books on a PC; we should be able to browse and purchase through the app. We should also be able to sync progress across devices.

These features would make Libro so much more competitive in the market!

This business has a great idea that I love. I plan to use it despite the shortcomings. Audible, alternatively, is a terrible organization that changes it’s policies, but the functionality is great. It is the antithesis of Libro.FM, which is all heart and no follow-through. Pause on Screen Lock If you want an audiobook to go with you on the train or on a walk, then come back later. They’re not there yet. My wife wants to abandon the service for this one piece alone, and I can’t argue. Confusing Lack of Features Too lazy to write more. Just fix please.

Edit:
Force closing the app got it working again. This is clearly an unresolved bug, but I read another review that explained the same problem. The developer’s response was: ok great, moving on.

I really love Libro.fm. because it lets me buy audiobooks without supporting amazon and my money goes to local, indie bookstores! Also, they have managed to keep the prices really close to audibles, which must be tough given the hold audible has on the market. The app itself is sufficient. It would be much improved if one could search for titles and purchase them in the app. I also think that the recording quality or producing might not be as good as audIble—I hear the readers swallow or other background noise more often (is it just me? Maybe I heard it in early and cannot unhear saliva between sentences now?) But I am so glad for an audible substitute that allows me to buy from my fave local bookstore that other features would be icing on the cake.

The four stars are largely on the strength of the Libro.fm business model. I love the lack of DRM and owning the book rather than licensing it. Supporting local bookstores is icing on the cake. Bravo! I have issues with the app as a player however.

The developers make use of white text on a teal background for several player screens. For some people’s visual acuity– mine for example– this yields less contrast than needed. I can’t read those screens under less ideal conditions.

The player cannot ‘scrub’ back and forth on the timeline. I like to listen to an audiobook at night to fall asleep. Subsequent searching for where I last remember the story is very frustrating, being limited to track selection and the skip ahead/back buttons. The lack of this control feature makes the player unique among media players I have encountered.

I love using Libro.fm to support my local bookstore. I don’t mind that you have to buy your books from the website (not the app). The app is great for listening and pretty intuitive and user-friendly. I only have a few small tweaks I’d make: one is that the slider can be very difficult to move forward/backwards when trying to adjust where you’re at in the book. I have to tap about 5-10 times before it actually recognizes my finger and moves when I drag. This isn’t a phone issue, as I don’t have this issue with any of my other listening apps. My other complaint is less about the app and more about the business. I wish the monthly credit would be in my account when I wake up on the 1st of the month, instead of at 11:45am. I always wake up so excited that it’s the 1st and I can get a new book, and then I have to wait until 11:45 to actually get my credit. It would be nice if it hit your account at 4am or something. Otherwise, a wonderful app and company!

I love this independent audiobook seller! Thank goodness there’s such a fantastic option outside of the monopoly that shall not be named. Thank goodness Libro.fm has ways to give back to our independent brick and mortar stores.

I appreciate so much about this book cellar in general, but I will focus on the phone app. I love that I can access my wish list, shop, and buy books on the app. I’m so glad there’s a way to speed up the reading and that I can change the amount of time for play back and fast forward. it’s also nice to be able to see my purchased books split up various genres.

To make this review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, though, is for the car mobile option to override the lock screen (like map apps do). Furthermore, I would love to be able to set a bookmark on the car mobile screen; otherwise, what’s the point in having a car mobile function? As it stands now, I might as well have my lock screen on because it already does what the car mobile screen does. Finally, it would be great for the bookmark option to have room to take notes (not just a title).

I love Libro.fm and will continue to use them despite the sometimes clunky app. Mostly my issues are lack of functionality. I listen on an iPad usually and there is no landscape view. My iPad holder is horizontal so I end up reading sideways or turning my head… it all seems odd because I think the app should just change orientation like other apps.

I also tend to read the hard copy of a book interspersed with listening. The lack of chapters or track titles in the “tracks and bookmarks” section is very frustrating for that. I may be on chapter 19 in the book but that doesn’t equate to track 19 in the audio/app.

Both audible and Libby allow portrait/landscape view switching with device orientation and skipping to sections based on Chapters and/or Section Titles.

Lastly, I can’t seem to change the order of my books along the top of the app. I wish this was a simple click and drag to reorder function. I find the organization fairly clunky as to how to view books.

All that being said, the company, supporting local bookstores, reliability of the app, in-app purchases, and selection are all great!

I listen to a good number of audiobooks and often check them out of my library using the Libby app. But for more obscure books or ones I think I’ll want to come back to I love having Libro as an option that supports indie bookstores. However, the lack of chapter titles is definitely a drawback in navigation, especially for re-listening to essay collections. I saw that in the new release it said chapter titles would now be available but can’t get them for any of the books I own, even when the Libby version shows chapter titles are available. I’ve emailed about this and they are looking into it so I hope I will be able to get chapter titles soon. The other feature I requested is the ability to re-order bookmarks. Currently they appear in reverse order of when you made the bookmark, so even if I want to make my own chapter titles using bookmarks, I have to work from the end of the book to the beginning if I want to make the chapters appear in order. The ability to reorder bookmarks would at least help with that. Overall I like Libro.fm and appreciate their responsiveness to emails. And I love having an alternative to the bully [protected]@n for audiobooks. Hopefully these feature improvements will be coming soon.

I’m new to Libro.fm and enjoying supporting my local bookstore instead of contributing to the black hole of Amazon. However, there’s one feature in Libro that really bothers me: the use of “tracks” as opposed to “chapters.” Upon listening to my first audiobook, this wasn’t a big deal to me other than just being somewhat displeasing aesthetically. However, upon starting my second book, I’ve come across a situation where some chapters in the print book are comprised of 2 or more tracks in the audiobook. As someone who enjoys a hybrid of audio and print for certain books, this makes being able to pick up my print book where I left off in my audio book even more inconvenient than it already is when the chapters do align, (when I just have to find the page I was on while listening). It also makes it more inconvenient to pick up my audiobook where I left off in my print book, as it’s unclear what “Track” I may be on since the numbers are skewed and not in direct alignment with the chapter numbers (another reason it would be nice to have chapter names if included in the book as published).
Maybe this is a super niche issue, but it is a genuinely upsetting feature in the app for me, let alone it’s just experientially and aesthetically a downer when other apps have made it clear that it’s not an uncalled for ask.
Also I’m only on my second book with Libro.fm, and as I said, the first book didn’t have the multiple tracks per chapter issue, so maybe it’s an isolated issue with this book. But either way, would love to see Libro.fm embrace the use of chapter numbers and titles in the future!

This is an exceptional account of the American response to the COVID-19 Pandemia. It is an account to the facts that occurred from the beginning of the pandemia to the miracle of scientists developing a vaccine and hence the immunization of the population as the best strategy to stop the pandemia. It was a painful learning curve for all over the world, from the desperation of facing an unknown lethal infection, to the progress in learning its spread and how to control it; from facing a lethal infection in medical guards and hospitals, to accepting that only early intervention could lead to save thousands of lives.
However, this is not a story of triumph, it is a desperate account on how the tragedy worsened in front of our eyes, while irresponsible decision- making politicians tried to ignore the evidence of what appeared as the most plausible actions to make and spread disinformation without scruples. Despite of the palpable public inefficiency, countless medical leaders and health professionals in USA worked against the official mandates, educated the population and local leaders, and contributed to the validation of the various vaccines that are none far from miracle technologies.
Taking into account that some facts of the political and the medical response may not be entirely accurate, the narrative of this book still seems overall very accurate and consistent with my perception of what happened in more than the last 2 years since January . Justice remains to be served, as it seems inconceivable that more than 1 million perished to COVID-19 in USA; with probably half of those deaths could have been spared with adoption of preventive measures already in place.

Doesn’t work. Can’t get books. Wasted more than three hours. I am going to sleep a nervous wreck. Kept saying I didn’t have enough space to download and when I tried to order third audiobook, it sent the wrong book. Worst app ever.

If everything worked properly this would be great. In car play mode, it frequently freezes or just won’t start playing. If you keep trying, it will often reset to the beginning of a chapter. It’s a total mess and extremely frustrating. This is with or without the sync enabled.

I understand that copyright and license law in the age of digital downloads is hard to navigate. Supporting local bookstores is a really great mission. But I’m SO TIRED of paying overpriced memberships that get me one audiobook a month. “It’s not Amazon” is just about the only compliment I can give.

LOVE the service. This is such a great idea and a good website, but the app is bad. Keeps failing to download things or other weirdness. My download was just not displaying at 140% and it’s just general weirdness. To be clear, love the service, bur might try downloading the audiobooks to my computer and moving them to my phone in other ways.

I like using Libro to support indie bookstores as opposed to Audible. However, while Audible is virtually flawless, Libro inadvertently and repeatedly skips back to chapters I’ve already listened to once it’s stopped and restarted. This has happened repeatedly and I’m only on my first listen. After I finish the two titles I purchased, I’m cancelling my membership and going back to Audible.

I love the service Libro FM provides but their app is pretty terrible especially if you’re used to listening to audiobooks on an app like Libby.

It would be a lot easier to use if they

1. Included track/chapter names (as of right jow I have to use the bookmark function to create them).
2. Allowed user the user to view the full length of the book to allow for easy navigation and progress tracking.

Basically they just need to do what Libby’s doing. Really hoping to see some improvements made in the near future.

I pay quarterly for the app but I can’t find books or get to a website from the App on my iPad. Can you provide instructions?

Listened to a book and wanted to get another one.
However, I can’t find it. I find this AP slow and hope I can find the list of books.

I downloaded this app yesterday after buying the monthly membership and now can’t listen at all. It crashes every time I open it. Even tried restarting my phone and nothing worked.

Why doesn’t this company ever answer questions at [protected]@libro com! Why isn’t this company available for listening on a MacBook? Why has it taken me three months to finally download the book I wanted? Because I am eight impaired and no one ever offered support. One star for you!

I’m thrilled to be able to support my local bookstore with my audiobook purchases, but this app is very basic and needs improvement. The use of tracks instead of chapters is annoying, and I would like to be able to purchase books directly from the app. The other audiobook app I use is Libby for library books, and it is much better than this one.

I'm a big supporter of independent book stores and really eanted to like Libro. I downloaded The Vegetarian and very much enjoyed listening to it. But now I can't search for any other books. I can only toggle between The Vegetarian (the only thing listed in my library) and my settings without a search tool in sight. I've tapped every visible vestige of anything on either screen to no avail. Too bad for such a promising start.