Audiobooks help readers finish more books – Storytel

Audiobooks help readers complete more books by fitting reading into everyday routines, according to Storytel’s 2026 Story Report.

The report found that 53% to 71% of audiobook listeners across five European markets (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland and Bulgaria) said they had finished more books since they started using audiobooks. 

Storytel linked this to the format’s flexibility: 55% to 68% of audiobook users said they began listening because they could do other things at the same time, making multitasking the top reason in every surveyed market. Across the five markets, the leading reasons people turn to books are to relax and unwind and to escape into another world. Getting inspired and learning new things also ranked among the most common motivations.

The 2026 Story Report was commissioned by Storytel and conducted by Trackit Insight, an independent Stockholm-based research agency. The survey was carried out through online panel interviews in April 2026 among 5,077 respondents aged 18–79, with around 1,000 respondents per market and nationally representative samples.

Audiobooks are often used during everyday activities, turning routine moments into reading time. Across the five markets, 34% to 54% of audiobook listeners said they listened while doing household chores, making it one of the two most common listening situations in every country. In Norway, 57% of listeners said they listened while travelling and 54% while doing household chores. In Sweden, 48% listened while walking. In Finland, household chores were the leading audiobook moment, cited by 48% of listeners, while in Poland the figure was 43%. In Bulgaria, the most common situation was listening when alone, cited by 41%.

The report also shows that audiobook listening is strongest among younger and middle-age adults. Across the surveyed markets, the highest shares of audiobook listeners were generally found among people aged 25–34 and 35–44. Finland recorded the highest overall peak, with 46% of people aged 18–24 and 25–34 saying they had listened to an audiobook in the past six months. In Sweden, the highest figure was among 25–34-year-olds at 44%, while in Poland and Bulgaria, the same age group also led, at 37% and 38% respectively. In Norway, the highest share was among 35–44-year-olds, at 37%.

As for gender differences in Scandinavia, women were more strongly represented among audiobook listeners. Women accounted for 60% of daily or weekly audiobook listeners in Sweden, 63% in Norway and 67% in Finland. In Poland and Bulgaria, however, audiobook listening was more evenly distributed across genders: women accounted for 50% of daily or weekly listeners in Poland and 56% in Bulgaria. Storytel notes that in Poland and Bulgaria, audiobooks achieved something physical books had not — more equal listening across genders.

Stronger reading and listening habits were related to higher self-reported wellbeing. The report describes a “dose-response” relationship across all five markets: the more people read or listened to books, the higher their reported wellbeing. Between 84% and 93% of daily or weekly audiobook listeners said audiobooks contributed to improving their wellbeing. At country level, daily or weekly audiobook listeners reported the highest self-rated wellbeing in every surveyed market: 75% in Sweden, 77% in Norway, 82% in Finland, 84% in Poland and 67% in Bulgaria. In Finland and Poland, daily or weekly audiobook listeners reported wellbeing levels 19 percentage points higher than non-listeners.

Screen-time fatigue also appears in the report. Across the five markets, 52% to 59% of respondents said they felt they spent too much time on screens. Among audiobook listeners, 60% to 80% agreed that audiobooks were a good tool for reducing screen time. For parents, the report found that 63% to 79% of audiobook-listening parents considered audiobooks a vital alternative to screen time for children.

Genre preferences varied by country, but crime and thrillers dominated in most markets. Crime/Thriller was the top audiobook genre in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Poland, cited by 47%, 54%, 47% and 49% of listeners respectively. Bulgaria was the exception, where fiction ranked first at 46%, followed by Crime/Thriller at 37%.

Storytel indicated that platform usage typically reaches its annual peak during summer, when more people turn to books and audiobooks during holidays and travel.

The findings come amid broader growth and expansion in the audiobook market. Nielsen BookScan data presented at the London Book Fair showed that audiobooks were the fastest-growing format in the UK in 2024, with general fiction, crime and self-help among the leading genres. At the same event in March 2026, Audible CEO Bob Carrigan said the company was focusing on expansion into new markets, new subscription models, AI-assisted audio production and full-cast audio projects. Audible also announced expansion into 11 new markets, including Sweden, Poland, Ireland, Turkey, Egypt and Abu Dhabi, as it looked to “find new listeners and retain them.” Carrigan noted that Audible’s catalogue included up to 1 million audiobooks, compared with tens of millions of printed books, arguing that “audio hasn’t even caught up with text yet.” According to internal Audible data and Nielsen research, around 29% of listeners began reading more after discovering audiobooks, while up to 30% were consuming more books overall. Among young adults aged 18–33, 43% said audiobooks had increased their enjoyment of reading.

Storytel Group is a Stockholm-based storytelling company operating in streaming and publishing. Its streaming division includes Storytel, Mofibo and Audiobooks.com and offers more than 1.8 million audiobook and ebook titles in 55 languages to more than 2.7 million subscribers.

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Images: Storytel, The 2026 Story Report.