Looking to download free Harry Potter audiobooks? Whether you’re a longtime fan of Harry Potter or are about to experience these books for the first time, the audiobook versions are an excellent way to delve into this magical world. And you’re in luck, as there are a few legal and free ways to listen to the Harry Potter books!
So if you’re wondering where to find Harry Potter audiobook free downloads or free copies, then read on and discover the best ways to get Harry Potter audiobooks for free!
Want to find the Harry Potter books for free? Check out these ways to get the Harry Potter books now at no cost!
1. Borrow From Your Local Library
Your local library is one of the best places to go if you’re looking for a free Harry Potter audiobook. You likely already know about this option, but it’s worth mentioning anyway before we move on to the other methods.
Harry Potter is such a popular book that I can guarantee practically every library has audiobook versions for you to borrow for free. Of course, its popularity can also work against you as you may have to wait for a while for it to become available. You’ll also find that these physical copies come on CDs, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to listen to the audiobook.
But if you have the time to wait if needed and don’t mind the CD aspect, then this is a great way to get a Harry Potter audiobook for free. And at the very least, it’s a method worth checking into to see if the audiobook happens to be immediately available in your area!
2. Borrow From the Overdrive/Libby Apps
Using Overdrive or Libby to get Harry Potter audiobooks free is one of my favorite methods on this list, so I definitely recommend it! These two apps allow you to download a variety of audiobooks and ebooks on your phone, computer, etc. at no cost. The only catch—you need to have a library card.
Both Overdrive and Libby work by syncing with your local library, so once you’ve entered your card number you can access all the online listings available at your library. This is awesome as you can download a Harry Potter audiobook online free instead of having to go to your local library! (Introverts like me are delighted by this 😉)
However, like borrowing a physical copy of the audiobook from your local library, downloading a copy from Overdrive or Libby also requires you to wait your turn. Libraries only have so many electronic “copies” that they can lend out at one time, so you may have to join a holds list in order to get free audio Harry Potter books. The time it will take to get your copy simply depends on how many people from your library are also waiting for the audiobook you’ve selected, and whether they opt to return it early or not.
Tip: Join multiple libraries in your area to search all their catalogs. I use the city library from my nearest large city (San Diego) as well as being a member of the county library and the library in the actual city I live in. With 2-3 libraries on the app, your chances of finding an available free Harry Potter audiobook copy are greatly increased!
3. Sign up for an Audible Free Trial
If you haven’t used Audible before (or haven’t used it recently), then this is the perfect way to get a Harry Potter audiobook free. Simply sign up for a free trial of Audible and you’ll be able to choose any one book that you want at no cost (simply cancel within 30 days if you decide not to continue using the service and you won’t be charged).
There are, however, some limitations of this method of getting a Harry Potter free audiobook, including 1) you cannot have had an Audible free trial in the recent past, and 2) you only get the one Harry Potter book for free (not the whole series). However, this can be a great method to use in conjunction with another method (like using Overdrive) so you can get started listening to one Harry Potter book while you wait on hold for the other audiobooks to become available.
There are two excellent versions of Harry Potter audiobooks, one read by Stephen Fry (for the UK editions) and the other read by Jim Dale (for the American editions). If you have a preference on which you listen to, Audible carries both options and you can easily choose either once you’re signed up and in the Audible interface. However, if you haven’t yet signed up and are just looking on Amazon you will see Jim Dale as the only option if you’re in the US and Stephen fry if you’re in the UK. Here are the links to Amazon Audible offerings for Harry Potter:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (audiobook free with trial)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (audiobook free with trial)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (audiobook free with trial)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (audiobook free with trial)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (audiobook free with trial)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (audiobook free with trial)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (audiobook free with trial)
4. Borrow the Audiobooks From a Friend
If you love books and audiobooks in general or Harry Potter in specific, it’s likely you are also friends with someone who shares these interests. So there’s always a chance that one of your friends has purchased the Harry Potter audiobooks and might be willing to lend them to you!
Although obviously this requires some human interaction and a bit of luck or chance, Harry Potter is a pretty ubiquitous series and your odds are likely quite good in being able to find them with one of your friends. So if you want to listen to Harry Potter audiobooks free, then you can reach out to a few friends in particular or maybe just shout out on Facebook or other social media that you’re looking for a copy. It can’t hurt to try, right?
5. Ask a Friend for Access to Their Overdrive/Libby Account
Similar to borrowing a physical copy of the audiobooks from a friend, you could also check if a friend (who has access to different libraries than you) would let you borrow their Overdrive or Libby accounts. It’s possible libraries in other places would have a copy available in their online lending library even if yours doesn’t.
To do this, you’d simply enter your friend’s library card number just as you do for setting up your own accounts in the apps. And then after you have finished with the audiobook, you can delete their library account from your app and it will return sole control to the owner. If you have a friend (or family member) who’s kind enough to share their account with you, this can be a great way to get Harry Potter audiobook downloads free!
What To Do if You Need Harry Potter Audiobooks Right Now
If you have tried the above methods and nothing is available at the moment but you need Harry Potter right now (don’t worry, I get it!)…then what is there to do? At this point, you’re best off just going ahead and signing up for a month of Audible (or maybe asking someone to gift you a month of Audible 😉) so you can get the Harry Potter audiobook download on demand.
Why do I recommend getting it on Audible instead of somewhere else? Because the subscription for one book costs just under $15, as opposed to the normal cost of buying the audiobook at $29.99. That’s about half off! And with Audible, you get to keep and listen to your audiobook forever even when you cancel your membership. So all in all, it’s not a bad deal! It’s not the same as getting free audiobooks of Harry Potter, but if you need it right away then this is a great way to get it for less than you would pay elsewhere.
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