Today, audiobook listeners can find many audiobook services out there to choose from. However, many of them work based on a flat-fee subscription model. Chirp is a special audiobook provider that offers discounted quality audiobooks and no membership fees. It is a great option for budget-conscious listeners.
Is Chirp audiobook worth it for audiobook enthusiasts? What are the pros and cons? If audiobook enthusiasts don't know if the Chirp app is for you, just keep reading! With this Chirp Audiobooks app review, I’m here to introduce everything you should know about the Chirp Audiobook service.
Chirp Audiobooks Review: Pros & Cons
Obviously, the biggest advantage of Chirp audiobooks lies in its cost-effective approach. Besides, Chirp stands out from other audiobook services in many key ways, offering a unique experience for audiobook lovers.
The benefits of Chirp
1 No subscription fees: Chirp doesn't require a monthly subscription or minimum purchases.
2 Affordable price and deals: Chirp offers quality audiobooks often priced at 4, and sometimes as low as 99 cents. In addition, most of the books on Chirp are on a deal sale. You can find many limited-time deals every day on the Chirp website.
3 Strong background: Chirp is run by the same editorial team that runs BookBub, which is highly experienced in the audiobook field and has millions of subscribers.
4 Daily emails: Chirp's team curates daily recommendations and feature deals in daily emails to users who subscribe to its newsletter.
5 No commitments: The audiobooks you purchase are yours to keep forever. Users don’t need to return or listen to the books within a specific time frame.
6 User-friendly platform: It is very easy to purchase audiobooks on the Chirp website, and listen to them in the Chirp app, through a web browser on the Chirp website or through a smart home device like Alexa.
7 Free audiobooks: Chirp offers a selection of free audiobooks. The free audiobook catalog is regularly updated, you will find different new titles every day.
The downsides of Chirp
1 Limited country: Chirp is only available in the U.S. and Canada.
2 Limited listen devices: Chirp does not provide a desktop version, users can only listen to audiobooks using the Chirp mobile app or through a web player.
3 Limited-time pricing: Chirp deals are limited time. If you want to purchase specific audiobooks on Chirp, you have to wait for books to be discounted. Otherwise, you have to purchase it at full price.
4 Less audiobook library: Compare with other audiobook service, Chirp does not have a larger library of audiobooks.
Chirp Mobile App Review (iOS & Android)
As for now, the Chirp app is only available on Android and iOS. It is for managing and listening audiobooks purchased from the Chirp website. You can easily find the Chirp app from Apple App Store and Google Play.
Download Chirp for iOS Download Chirp for Android
Pros:
1. Easily stream purchased audiobooks or download them, so you can listen to Chirp audiobooks offline in the Chirp app.
2. It supports sleep timer feature, that allows you to stop playing the audiobook after a set time.
3. It supports navigation by chapter, so you can easily find and jump to specific chapter of an audiobook.
4. Variable speed playback allows you to adjust the speed of the audio when you listen to the audiobooks.
Cons:
1. The Chirp mobile app won't let you browse and buy audiobooks. You have to purchase the audiobooks from the Chirp website in advance.
2. The Chirp app won't let you create custom collection in the library.
3. The Chirp app won't let you return the audiobooks you don't like.
4. The Chirp app is not always stable, audiobooks aren’t playing correctly sometimes.
5. If you use a VPN program with the Chirp app at the same time, you many encounter the “unable to connect to the internet” error.
6. The Chirp app doesn't support Casting or AirPlay.
7. The Chirp app doesn’t support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to listen to Chirp books in car.
8. The downloaded audiobooks in the Chirp app have a DRM protection.
Bonus Tip 1: How to run Chirp app on PC/Mac?
The answer is yes, thanks to Android emulator, it is very easy to run the Chirp app on a Windows or Mac computer. Since Chirp does not have a desktop version, if you want to use the Chirp app as you would on a smartphone, an Android emulator and Chirp for Android APK are two essential tools you have to use. It simulates an Android device on a computer, allowing users to run the Chirp app without a physical Android device. The Chirp app in the emulator offers all the features of the mobile version, including listening to audiobooks, downloading audiobooks, and more.
Android Studio is the recommended Android emulator to run the Chirp app. It is compatible with both Windows and MacOS. Simply follow the guide to create a virtual device and install the Chirp apk in the emulator. You don't need to repeat the same configuration procedure the next time you want to use it. Later, you can directly stream your favorite audiobooks or download Chirp audiobooks on PC/Mac through the Chirp app in the emulator.
Bonus Tip: How to listen to Chirp audiobooks offline without the Chirp app?
Because of the DRM protection, you can only stream directly or download the audiobooks using the Chirp app, this is massively inconvenient. Is there a way to play Chirp audiobooks offline on any other music players? Fortunately, there does exist a better way to help you listen to Chirp audiobooks offline without the Chirp app. Here, we’re willing to introduce Epubor Chirp Converter, it is a magical tool that allows you to convert your Chirp audiobooks to M4A audio files, so you can locally back them up on your computer.
As we mentioned before, you can easily run Chirp app on your computer and download the audiobooks from your Chirp library with the assistance of Android emulator. After your Chirp audiobooks are downloaded, just launch Epubor Chirp Converter, and the downloaded book will be automatically detected and show up in Epubor program. Next, you can move the books you would like to convert to the right area, and click the "Start Conversion" button. The DRM removal process will begin, and your Chirp books will be converted and saved as DRM-free M4A files on your local computer.
After the conversion is finished, the converted Chirp audiobooks in M4A format will be saved to your local computer. You can easily back them up forever. In addition, if you want to play your favorite audiobooks using another audio player, you can also transfer the converted books to your preferred device or convert the Chirp books to MP3 or other formats.
Final Thoughts
Based on my own experience with it, Chirp is a great option for most audiobook lovers and many budget-conscious listeners who don't like subscription models. But overall, I think listening to Chirp audiobooks using the Chirp app is not a perfect option due to its drawbacks. If you want to get rid of the limitation of the Chirp app, Epubor Chirp Converter is an excellent tool you should not miss out on. Let's start giving it a try now!
Nancy Hello, my name is Nancy! I’ve been always a book enthusiast, and I love reading very much. As an editor for Epubor, I’m glad to share all my favorite books, audiobooks, and tips to read E-books all I know.
