The best free Spanish audiobooks
Not only was this a completely useless sentence for her to be learning how to say in Spanish… I’m not even sure that’s scientifically accurate!
Some Spanish language learning apps can be great, but not when they’re teaching you impertinent trash like that. I immediately told her that she needed to listen to some Spanish-language audiobooks. That way, she could hear real Spanish spoken in a real-world context. You will never hear a weird sentence like that in a real Spanish audiobook. You will hear conversations, descriptions, thoughts, and feelings. You will learn how to speak and really understand Spanish. It’s the next best thing to a full immersion study abroad program.
Nowadays, I even listen to Spanish audiobooks when I’m doing dishes or going for a long drive, just to brush up on my skills. If you don’t practice for a while, you do get rusty; so I like to keep it up. To me, it barely even feels like practice – it’s just fun. If you are thinking about learning Spanish for the first time, or you are just wanting a little bit of extra practice… I highly encourage you to check out this list of the best Spanish audiobooks (best of all, you can get them for free with an Audible trial).
We picked these Spanish audiobooks because they’re practical but also fun. We promise that if you pick one appropriate to your skill level, you will have fun, and learn a lot while reading it. If you’re finding it difficult to follow along, start with a book that you’ve read before in English, then move on to something new.
So what are the best free Spanish audiobooks for beginners?
What is the best audiobook for learning Spanish? We review the best Spanish audiobooks for beginner Spanish language learners.
| Image | Spanish Title | English Title | Description | Duration | Difficulty | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | “Los tres cerditos" | The Three Little Pigs | The classic fairy tale about three sibling pigs who set out to build their own homes. A basic children’s story that is a great way for novice students to begin practicing their comprehension skills. It also happens to emphasize the importance of resilience, foresight, and hard work in facing challenges. | 12 minutes | Beginner | Get it free |
 | Caperucita Roja | Little Red Riding Hood | A classic children’s fairy tale about a young girl who sets off to visit her grandmother, carrying a basket of treats, that is a phenomenal way for beginning students practice language comprehension. | 27 minutes | Beginner | Get it free |
 | Aladino y la lámpara maravillosa | Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp | A well-known tale from "One Thousand and One Nights." It follows the story of a young boy named Aladdin who discovers a magical lamp containing a powerful genie. It's a great audiobook to start off beginning students with easy language comprehension practice. | 47 minutes | Beginner | Get it free |
 | “Poemas de Amor” | Love Poems | 12 short poems by Rubén Darío, a well-known and highly-regarded Nicaraguan poet, and others. | 16 minutes | Beginner | Get it free |
 | Spanish Short Stories for Beginners: Improve Your Reading and Listening Skills | Spanish Short Stories | Gain a greater vocabulary that you can use immediately, every day. | 6 hours, 58 minutes | Beginner | Get it free |
 | “La Edad de Oro” | The Golden Age | A collection of short children’s stories written by the amazing Cuban writer José Martí. Martí nostalgically reminisces about the pure, innocent, and carefree nature of childhood, depicting it as a precious and golden period in life. He emphasizes the importance of nurturing children's minds, allowing them to explore, learn, and grow freely. | 1 hour, 30 minutes | Beginner | Get it free |
 | “El cuervo” | The Raven | A slightly more difficult poem that is made easier by being quite well known in English. | 1 hour, 31 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | “El principito” | The Little Prince | A Spanish translation of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry classic. "The Little Prince" is a whimsical novella that follows the encounter between a stranded pilot in the Sahara Desert and a young prince who comes from a tiny asteroid. As the prince recounts his adventures exploring various planets and meeting unique characters, he shares poignant observations about human nature and the importance of love, friendship, and imagination. | 2 hour, 38 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | “El maravilloso mago de Oz” | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | More challenging vocabulary, but the familiarity of the story will make it easier to comprehend. | 4 hours, 21 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | “Sherlock Holmes: Escándalo en Bohemia” | Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia | Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic sleuth, with a Spanish twist. | 37 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | “La lección de August: Wonder” | August’s Lesson: Wonder | A boy with a facial deformity enters a mainstream school after being previously homeschooled | 8 hours, 25 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | La Vuelta Al Mundo en 80 Dias | Around the World in 80 Days | A classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne in which characters must travel around the world in 80 days | 6 hours, 54 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | Padre Rico, Padre Pobre | Rich Dad, Poor Dad | A thought-provoking personal finance book that contrasts the financial lessons learned from two father figures in the author's life: his own dad (Poor Dad) and the father of his best friend (Rich Dad). Good Spanish vocabulary that will also instill some financial lessons. | 6 hours, 24 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | El Alquimista | The Alquemist | Andalusian shepherd boy Santiago travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids | 4 hours, 47 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | Más allá del invierno | In the Midst of Winter | Interweaving stories that examine the timely issues of human rights and the plight of immigrants and refugees. | 9 hours, 36 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | La casa de los espíritus | The House of the Spirits | A saga of the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family (blending magical realism with political upheavals while exploring themes of love, power, and the supernatural.) | 17 hours, 1 minute | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | La reina del sur | The Queen of the South | An international bestseller turned must-watch drama on USA Network. A thrilling novel that follows the journey of Teresa Mendoza, a young Mexican woman who rises to power in the world of drug trafficking. | 17 hours, 40 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | Dispara, yo ya estoy muerto | Shoot, I'm Already Dead | The gripping story of two families struggling to overcome their own destinies. Set across different periods and locations, the story follows the lives of two Jewish families—the Zucker and the Teixidor—spanning generations, from the late 19th century to the present day. | 29 hours, 22 minutes | Intermediate | Get it free |
 | “Don Quijote” | Don Quijote | A great choice for advanced Spanish students, as it’s a true classic and an important facet of Spanish culture | 1 hour, 14 minutes | Advanced | Get it free |
 | “Lazarillo de Tormes” | Lazarillo de Tormes | A popular episodic novel of a roguish hero in 1500s society. The story is narrated in the first person by Lázaro de Tormes, a young boy born into poverty, and it recounts his life journey through various masters and situations. | 2 hour, 7 minutes | Advanced | Get it free |
 | Moby Dick | Moby Dick | Herman Melville’s story of sailor’s obsession with a whale is a challenging read, made slightly easier if you’re familiar | 1 hour, 47 minutes | Advanced | Get it free |
 | “Como agua para chocolate” | Like Water for Chocolate | A mixture of common words and complex sentences to hone Spanish skills in this magical realist novel set in early 20th-century Mexico. It follows the life of Tita, the youngest daughter of the De La Garza family, who is forbidden to marry as tradition dictates she must care for her mother until her death. | 5 hours, 49 minutes | Advanced | Get it free |
 | The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People | A top recommendation for speakers of any language, but why not practice your Spanish while you’re improving yourself? | 1 hour, 23 minutes | Advanced | Get it free | |
 | 100 Years of Solitude | A groundbreaking 1967 novel by renowned Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family | 17 hours, 29 minutes | Advanced | Get it free | |
 | Love in the Time of Cholera | A classic novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez first published in Spanish in 1985. A captivating novel that spans over 50 years, exploring the themes of love, passion, and the passage of time. Set in a Caribbean coastal town, the story revolves around the theme of unrequited love. | 15 hours, 29 minutes | Advanced | Get it free |
What is the best free way to learn Spanish? Audiobooks!
Listening to free Spanish audiobooks is one of the best ways for beginners to learn Spanish. Here’s why we recommend that all Spanish learners check out these free Spanish audiobooks to kickstart their vocab skills:
You can go at your own pace
Pick an easy audiobook if you’re just getting started, or something slightly more challenging as you build your foundation of Spanish vocabulary. Plus, you can pause anytime you like and look up a word in the Spanish-English dictionary.
You can hear and see words that you are learning in an engaging and real-use context
It is extraordinarily helpful to hear a native speaker use words in a natural Spanish context. This will help you to identify frequently paired words and basic phrases, as well as begin to understand how overall sentences are structured. Where do verbs go concerning pronouns? When and how are words conjugated? You will begin to get a natural feel for to composition of a sentence as it would be spoken in the real world.
You are more likely to continue to be motivated if you utilize learning resources that are personally relevant.
When you pick a Spanish audiobook on a topic that is interesting to you, you are far less likely to get bored or discouraged. Want to hear mysteries? Want to hear romance? Want to hear action? There’s a Spanish audiobook for it all. The more you practice, the better you will do in the long term; so the more you can look forward to your learning time, the better!
Another great aspect of learning Spanish with audiobooks is that you can listen whenever you have a few spare minutes, making the best use of those pockets of time during the day that would have otherwise gone to waste. Coffee break, lunch break, walking to the train, doing dishes, vacuuming, these are all great times to listen! You can even use audiobooks to learn Spanish in the car!
Generally speaking, audiobooks are a great way for beginners to learn because:
Audiobooks are extremely inexpensive (often free).
Even the best free Spanish audiobooks will be insanely useful for a beginner learner. Amazon offers 2 free audiobooks with an Audible trial, so get two paid audiobooks first, then move on to the free ones if you like.
Audiobooks are easy to carry around.
Regardless of whether or not you prefer the feel and weight of a physical paperback book resting in your hands or the soft crinkle of a turning page, there’s no arguing with the convenience of audiobooks. You can’t deny that it’s way easier to carry around one thousand audiobooks in your back pocket than even ten regular books in your backpack. Nowadays, mobile devices have enough memory to hold more audiobooks than ever, so you rarely have to work about filling up your free space.
Audiobooks will last you forever.
Furthermore, an audiobook will never wear out, lose a page, get wet, get creased, or get French fry grease on it (your phone might). In most cases, you can back up your audiobook library so you can keep it even if you somehow lose your device.
That’s plenty of options to get a beginner language learner started! So, select a free Spanish audiobook book that is not only compatible with your personal learning style and current skill level, but that fits your interests. *Free Audiobooks with Audible trial via Amazon. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
How can audiobooks be beneficial for a beginner learning Spanish?
Audiobooks can be incredibly beneficial for beginners learning Spanish in several ways:
Listening Comprehension: Audiobooks expose beginners to native or fluent speakers’ pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm, aiding in developing listening comprehension skills. This exposure to authentic language use helps learners get accustomed to the nuances of spoken Spanish.
Vocabulary Acquisition: Hearing words and phrases in context helps beginners understand vocabulary usage and meaning. Audiobooks often provide contextual clues that aid in vocabulary retention and understanding.
Accent and Pronunciation Improvement: Listening to native speakers helps beginners mimic and improve their own pronunciation and accent. It allows them to practice speaking along with the audiobook, aiding in the development of accurate pronunciation.
Enhanced Language Fluency: Continuous exposure to spoken Spanish through audiobooks can improve fluency. Hearing different sentence structures and conversations contributes to a more natural understanding and usage of the language.
Convenience and Accessibility: Audiobooks offer flexibility in learning since they can be accessed and listened to anytime, anywhere—during commutes, while exercising, or as part of daily routines. This accessibility makes it easier for beginners to incorporate language learning into their busy schedules.
Cultural Understanding: Many audiobooks incorporate cultural elements within the storytelling. Beginners not only learn the language but also gain insights into the cultural context and nuances of Spanish-speaking regions.
Retention and Engagement: Listening to stories, dialogues, or engaging content in audiobooks enhances retention compared to traditional memorization methods. The narrative format makes learning more enjoyable and engaging, aiding in better retention of language concepts.
Multi-Sensory Learning: Combining auditory input with visual aids or printed text, if available, reinforces language learning through multiple sensory channels, which can strengthen memory retention.
Overall, audiobooks provide a comprehensive learning experience for beginners in Spanish, offering opportunities to improve listening skills, expand vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and enhance overall language fluency in an engaging and accessible format.
What is the best app for free Spanish audiobooks?
In our opinion, the Amazon Audible app is bar-none the best option. You can get any of the Spanish audiobooks on this page for free with an Audible trial.
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