One price, every book
Premium is $4.99 a month or $49 a year, and it opens all 1,100+ books. Many audiobook services sell a monthly credit that buys a single title, or include a set number of listening hours each month. Classics are long: The Brothers Karamazov runs about 34 hours, more than two months of a typical hours allowance. Compendium has no credits or hour caps, and books stay in the library.
Built for the classics
General audiobook stores are built around new releases, and the classics are easy to lose among them. Compendium carries only classics: philosophy, classic and literary fiction, gothic and horror, adventure, mystery, poetry, drama and history, over 10,000 hours in all.
Hear it and read it
Every chapter shows its full text while it plays, and the sentence being read is highlighted as you go. Switch between listening and reading at any point without losing your place. With most audiobooks, the text is a separate purchase or not available at all.
One consistent voice
Free volunteer recordings of the classics exist, but the reader can change from book to book and sometimes from chapter to chapter, and sound quality varies with it. Every Compendium book is narrated in full in one consistent voice, with a choice of narrator, Nathaniel or Amelia, on selected titles.
No ads
There are no ads on the free tier or on Premium, and nothing plays between chapters.
Start free
The first chapter of every book plays free with no account. A free account keeps one full book from a starter shelf of classics. Premium starts with a 7-day free trial, and you can cancel anytime.
When Compendium isn't the right fit
If you want this year's bestsellers or celebrity-read memoirs, a general audiobook store is the better choice.