Hoopla is the audiobook platform our editors recommend most often to readers who want to stop paying monthly subscription fees for audiobooks. The platform partners directly with participating public libraries to provide instant-checkout streaming and download access to audiobooks, ebooks, comics, music, and movies. Unlike the Libby-and-OverDrive library lending model (which uses per-copy library licensing and produces the long waiting lists that frustrate library audiobook users), Hoopla uses a per-checkout licensing model that means no waiting lists and that every available title can be borrowed instantly.
The trade-off is the monthly borrow cap that each participating library sets, typically between four and twelve total checkouts per month across all media types. Most readers find this cap comfortable for normal audiobook consumption (one or two audiobooks per month) but restrictive for heavy listeners. The catalog skews toward the major publishers and includes most current bestsellers but is thinner on independent and small-press titles than Libro.fm. The Hoopla streaming app is functional rather than elegant and the offline-download experience requires the mobile app rather than the desktop browser.
Recommended as the first audiobook platform any library cardholder should try, before committing to any paid monthly subscription. Compare to Libro.fm (paid, supports independent bookstores), Libby (free library Kindle and OverDrive), and Audible (paid, deepest catalog). Most serious readers we know use Hoopla and Libby together for free library audiobooks and supplement with a paid subscription only for titles unavailable through either library platform.