Do audiobooks count as reading?
For building a reading habit, yes. Listening to a book gets the story or ideas into your head through a different channel, and research finds the two channels work similarly on average, with a few specific exceptions worth knowing.
The strongest summary comes from a meta-analysis of 46 studies with 4,687 participants. It found no reliable overall difference between reading comprehension and listening comprehension (Clinton-Lisell, 2022). The same analysis found a small advantage for reading when readers set their own pace, and a clearer advantage when tests asked for inferences rather than simple recall of facts.
What does the research say about listening versus reading?
Three kinds of studies are useful here.
- Comprehension comparisons. In one experiment, 91 adults were randomly assigned to an audiobook, an e-text or both at once, using the same non-fiction chapter. There were no significant differences in comprehension right away or two weeks later (Rogowsky, Calhoun & Tallal, 2016). That is one study with one text, so it is a data point, not a verdict.
- Brain imaging. Researchers recorded brain activity while a small group of participants listened to and read the same stories. The way meaning was represented across the cortex was highly similar for both (Deniz et al., 2019). That shows the brain processes the meaning in similar ways. It does not show that learning or memory outcomes are identical.
- Attention. In a study of 235 university students, mind wandering was most frequent when listening to a recording and least frequent when reading aloud, and memory for the passages was weaker after listening (Varao Sousa, Carriere & Smilek, 2013). The recording played at a fixed pace, which fits the finding that reading does better when people can control the pace.
Where are listening and reading actually different?
The differences come down to control and attention, not to whether one is "real."
|
Reading print or ebook |
Listening to an audiobook |
| Who sets the pace |
You, word by word |
The narrator, unless you change speed |
| Going back |
Glance up the page |
Rewind and search |
| Doing something else at the same time |
Hard |
Easy, such as walking or driving |
| Best for |
Dense ideas, study, annotating, rereading |
Stories, memoir, commutes, chores |
| Main risk |
Not finding time to sit down |
Drifting off without noticing |
The practical conclusion: audiobooks are excellent when your hands and eyes are busy and the book is not too dense. Print or an ebook is better when you need to stop, reread or take notes.
How to decide which format to use
Use this quick decision aid for each book or situation.
- Do you need to remember details or study it? Choose print or an ebook, where you can reread and highlight.
- Will you be moving or doing chores? Choose audio.
- Is it a dense or unfamiliar subject? Lean toward print. Self-paced reading is where reading showed an advantage.
- Is it a story or memoir you want to enjoy? Either works. Pick whichever you will actually open.
- Do you drift during audio? Slow the speed, pick a narrator you like, or switch to reading along with the text.
A worked example: one week with two formats
Maya wants to read more but has a 25-minute commute each way and tired evenings.
- Weekday commutes: she listens to a memoir, about 50 minutes a day in total.
- Weeknights: she reads a paper novel for 10 minutes in the same chair after dinner, phone in the kitchen.
- Saturday morning: a longer 30-minute print session with coffee.
- Sunday: she logs both books in her tracker and notes what she remembers from each.
Neither format replaces the other. The evening paper session keeps a fixed reading cue in her day, and audio adds extra book time she would not otherwise have. This is the same setup used on day 10 of the 30-day reading habit plan, where a second format fills waiting time without replacing the main session.
Do audiobooks help you build a reading habit?
They can, as long as they add to your reading time rather than replace the cue you are trying to build. A habit grows from repeating the same action in the same situation. If audio is always tied to your commute, the commute becomes a reliable cue for listening. That is a real, repeatable slot in your day.
The risk is using audio as a way to skip the sit-down session entirely, then finding that the paper book never gets opened. A simple rule helps: one main session with a book at a fixed cue, and audio for extra time. Log both, and note the format, so you can see the mix at the end of each week.
When should you not rely only on audiobooks?
- When you are studying for a test. The inference advantage for reading suggests print for material you need to understand deeply.
- When you are learning to read or improving reading skills. Audiobooks build listening and vocabulary but do not practice decoding text.
- When audio becomes background noise. If you often cannot say what happened in the last chapter, you may be listening while doing something too demanding.
Next steps
If you want a steady reading habit that includes audio, keep one main session with a physical or ebook at a set cue and use audiobooks for extra time. The reading habit guide explains choosing the cue, and how to focus while reading a book covers keeping your attention in either format. You can build a reading plan that includes both formats, or browse the reading topic hub.
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