How Much Does It Cost to Make an Audiobook? (2026)
A 60,000-word audiobook usually costs about $1,000 to $2,600 to make when you hire a narrator per finished hour, at the $150 to $400 an hour most narrators charge. With royalty share it can cost as little as $350 up front, because your narrator is paid from sales instead. Recording it yourself means about $900 to $1,700 in gear, plus a lot of hours.
Below is where every dollar goes: how narrators price their work, how to work out your book's length, what editing and mastering add, what doing it yourself really takes, and a worked example for a real book, line by line.
How audiobook narrators charge: per finished hour
Narrators price their work per finished hour, often written PFH. A finished hour is one hour of the final, edited audiobook a listener hears. It is not one hour in the booth. ACX, Audible's audiobook marketplace, says it takes most producers 5 to 7 hours to produce one finished hour of audio. That includes recording, retakes, editing, proofing against the manuscript and mastering. That is why $200 an hour sounds high next to a normal hourly wage and isn't.
Rates depend on the narrator's experience and how in demand they are. Authors Republic, a large audiobook distributor, puts the usual range at $150 to $400 per finished hour. The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) says $250 is a common floor for experienced professionals and $400 to $450 is common at the top. Newer narrators often start lower.
| Narrator level | Per finished hour | 6.5-hour book |
|---|---|---|
| Newer narrator | $50 to $150 | $325 to $975 |
| Experienced narrator | $150 to $250 | $975 to $1,625 |
| Top narrators, union rates | $250 to $400 or more | $1,625 to $2,600+ |
Ranges from Authors Republic ($150 to $400) and ALLi (a $250 floor for experienced pros, $400 to $450 common). Some quotes include editing and mastering, some don't. Always ask.
Two things change the price more than anything else:
- Length. You pay for every finished hour, so a 100,000-word novel costs about 70% more than a 60,000-word one at the same rate.
- What the rate includes. Some narrators quote for narration only and charge separately for editing and mastering. ACX's own guide to paying for an audiobook describes about $200 per finished hour for narration plus about $200 for post-production when they're done by different people. Ask before you compare two quotes.
How long will my audiobook be?
Divide your word count by 9,300. That is the rule of thumb both ACX and Authors Republic use: about 9,300 words make one finished hour, at a normal reading pace of around 155 words a minute.
- 30,000 words: about 3.2 finished hours
- 60,000 words: about 6.5 finished hours
- 90,000 words: about 9.7 finished hours
- 120,000 words: about 12.9 finished hours
Nonfiction with lists, tables or footnotes can run a little shorter or longer, and a slower, dramatic read runs longer. Once the book is recorded, the narrator bills on the real finished length, not the estimate. Put in your own word count and rate here:
An estimate. Your narrator's actual rate and the book's final length set the real price. Books under an hour are billed as one hour. You can pay the narration over time with Klarna or Affirm, or in parts.
Want every step and cost on one page? Get our free Author Audiobook Checklist: what to budget, the three ways to pay, how to choose a narrator and what happens after you publish.
The Author Audiobook Checklist
What it costs, how to choose a narrator, the three ways to pay, and what happens after you publish.
What else costs money besides the narrator?
The narrator is the biggest bill, but not the only one. Here is what else goes into a finished, published audiobook:
- Editing and mastering. Removing mistakes and breaths, matching levels and meeting the stores' technical rules. Often included in a narrator's rate. If not, budget $50 to $200 per finished hour.
- Proofing. Someone listens along with the manuscript and marks every missed or wrong word. Skipping this is how mistakes reach listeners.
- A square cover. Audiobook stores need a square cover, and most book covers aren't. A designer may charge for the change. We do it free.
- Distribution. Getting the book into stores and libraries. Some distributors take a share of sales only, some charge a fee.
- A retail sample. A few minutes from early in the book that stores play before someone buys.
- Your time. Finding and managing a narrator, checking every chapter and fixing files a store rejects. On a do-it-yourself marketplace, all of that is your job.
What royalty share costs
With royalty share you pay the narrator nothing up front. Instead, the narrator earns part of every sale for a set number of years. You give up part of your income later to save money now.
On ACX, royalty share means you and the narrator each take half of your royalties for seven years, and the book has to stay exclusive to Audible, Amazon and Apple Books that whole time. No libraries, no Spotify, no Kobo. We wrote about that trade-off, and how to share royalties without it, in royalty share without Audible exclusivity.
On Academy Voices, royalty share splits what we receive from stores 40% to you, 40% to your narrator and 20% to Academy Voices, for 10 years. Then the narrator's share comes back to you. The book goes to nearly 50 retailers, libraries and streaming services.
One honest warning: royalty share works best on shorter books. A narrator on royalty share is betting their time on your sales, and on a 10-hour book that is a big bet. On our own site, long royalty-share books get far fewer auditions than books that pay per finished hour. A 5-hour book offering $50 an hour drew 11 auditions. If your book is long, pay per finished hour, or use Royalty Share Plus and add a payment to the narrator. For the full math, read royalty share vs per finished hour.
What it costs on Academy Voices
Posting your book and hearing auditions is free. You pay a one-time $350 production fee once the narrator you choose signs the contract. That fee covers casting, checking every file, mastering and publishing your audiobook everywhere, including our own store. The narrator's pay is separate and goes to the narrator, all of it.
You choose how to pay your narrator:
- Per finished hour. You set the rate, from $50 an hour. You keep 80% of sales when we distribute it.
- Royalty share. No narrator fee. The 40/40/20 split above.
- Royalty Share Plus. The same split, plus one payment to your narrator for the whole book, from $50, which you set. It brings more experienced narrators to audition.
Already have a finished audiobook? We publish it everywhere for a one-time $150 publishing fee, and you keep 80% of what we receive.
| How you pay | Up front | Narrator fee | Your share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per finished hour, $100/hour | $350 production fee | About $650, after you approve the finished book | 80% |
| Royalty share | $350 production fee | None | 40% for 10 years, then 80% |
| Royalty Share Plus | $350 production fee | One payment you set, from $50, after you approve the finished book | 40% for 10 years, then 80% |
| You already have the audio | $150 publishing fee | None | 80% |
Shares are of what reaches Academy Voices after the store and distributor take their part. You own your audiobook under every option.
A worked example: a 60,000-word novel
Here is one book, priced line by line on Academy Voices, paying a narrator $100 per finished hour:
- Length: 60,000 words divided by 9,300 is about 6.5 finished hours.
- Narrator: 6.5 hours at $100 is about $650. You pay it after you approve the finished audiobook, and all of it goes to your narrator.
- Production fee: $350, once, when the narrator signs.
- Editing, mastering, checks, square cover, distribution: included.
- Total: about $1,000.
The same book on royalty share costs $350 up front. At $150 an hour the narrator's fee would be about $975, so about $1,325 in all. At $250 an hour, about $1,975.
Timing: about 4 to 6 weeks to record after you approve the sample, for books under 50,000 words. Longer books get a timeline agreed up front. Stores then take from a few days to several weeks to put it live.
Can I pay for my audiobook over time?
Yes, on Academy Voices. When you pay your narrator, you can choose Klarna or Affirm at checkout, if approved, and pay it back over time. Your narrator is still paid in full. Or, after you approve the 15-minute sample, you can split a narrator payment of $300 or more into 2 to 5 parts of at least $100, and pay each part before it's recorded. The $350 production fee is paid by card.
We haven't found another audiobook service that lets authors spread out the cost of narration. For a lot of authors, that is the difference between making the audiobook this year or not at all.
What it costs to narrate it yourself
Narrating your own book saves the narrator's fee, but it isn't free. A first home setup runs about 800 to 1,500 euros (roughly $900 to $1,700) if you already own a computer: a microphone, an audio interface, headphones and, most important, sound treatment for a quiet room. A closet full of clothes helps. A bare room with hard walls doesn't.
The bigger cost is time. At 5 to 7 hours of work per finished hour, a 6.5-hour book is 30 to 45 hours of recording, editing and checking. The files also have to pass the stores' technical rules for volume, peaks and background noise, and a book that fails gets sent back.
Self-narration works best for nonfiction, memoir and books where your own voice is the point. For fiction with dialogue and several characters, most authors are better served by a trained narrator. If you do record it yourself, we can still publish it for the $150 fee. Just check our submission standards first.
Is it worth making an audiobook?
Audiobooks keep growing. The Audio Publishers Association reported $2.43 billion in US audiobook sales for 2025, up 9% on the year before. Listeners who never pick up a print book will find yours in audio.
Whether it pays off for your book depends on what you spend and where it sells. Three ways to keep the risk low:
- Start with your best-selling book, or the first book in a series.
- Keep the book wide. Libraries, Spotify, Kobo and Apple add up. See where to sell your audiobook besides Audible.
- Choose the payment that fits your cash today: royalty share or pay over time if money is tight, per finished hour if you expect strong sales.
Questions authors ask about audiobook costs
How much do audiobook narrators charge per hour?
Most charge $150 to $400 per finished hour, meaning per hour of the final audiobook. Newer narrators often charge less. On Academy Voices you set the rate, from $50 an hour, and narrators audition knowing your offer.
How many words are in one finished hour?
About 9,300. Divide your word count by 9,300 to estimate your finished hours.
Can I make an audiobook for free?
Not quite. Royalty share removes the narrator's fee, but someone still pays for editing, checks and distribution, in money or in your time. On Academy Voices, royalty share costs a one-time $350.
Who owns the audiobook?
On Academy Voices, you do, whether you pay per finished hour or share royalties. Check this before you sign anywhere. Some deals give the producer rights to the audio.
How long does it take to make an audiobook?
With us, about 4 to 6 weeks of recording after you approve the sample for books under 50,000 words, longer for bigger books. Then stores take a few days to several weeks to list it.
Is every narrator a real person?
Yes. Every Academy Voices audiobook is performed by a real person, in their own voice. That's what our Certified Human Voice badge means.
Ready to price your own book? See how it works, post your book for free and hear auditions from real narrators before you pay anything. You can also browse our narrators.
Narrator rates are from Authors Republic, ALLi and ACX, and Academy Voices prices are from our own site, as of October 2026. We'll update this post if they change.
The Author Audiobook Checklist
What it costs, how to choose a narrator, the three ways to pay, and what happens after you publish.
