How to create an audiobook from your book: four routes compared
Updated
Narrate it yourself, hire an ACX narrator, use Audible's virtual voice, or produce a multi-voice audiobook with AudioForge. What each route costs.
To create an audiobook from your book, you choose one of four routes: narrate it yourself, hire a narrator through ACX (Audible's self-publishing service), create a virtual voice audiobook from your Kindle eBook, or produce a multi-voice audiobook with an AI production tool such as AudioForge. They differ in cost, how much control you keep over the performance, and which stores will sell the result.
AudioForge is a production tool that turns a manuscript into a multi-voice audiobook, with a distinct voice for every character. It is one of these routes, and not always the right one, so this guide sets out what each route costs and where each one wins.
Below: the four routes side by side, what each costs for a typical novel, how Audible's virtual voice works, and how to produce a multi-voice audiobook step by step.
What are your options for creating an audiobook?
You can create an audiobook in four ways: narrate it yourself, hire a narrator on ACX, use Audible virtual voice, or produce it with AudioForge. The deciding question is who performs the book.
| Route | Who performs | Where you can sell | Often suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Narrate it yourself | You | Most audiobook stores, including Audible via ACX | Memoir and non-fiction where your voice is the draw |
| Hire a narrator on ACX | A professional narrator | Audible and Amazon through ACX | Authors who want a human performance on Audible |
| Audible virtual voice | Amazon's computer-generated voices | Audible, Amazon and Kindle+, US only | Kindle authors who want an Audible listing with little work |
| AudioForge (AI production) | AI voices you cast and direct, one per character | Stores that accept AI narration, such as Spotify and Kobo, plus your own site | Dialogue-heavy fiction and serials |
No route is best for every book. A quiet literary novel and a 300-chapter LitRPG serial need different things.
Stores are also starting to build AI narration tools of their own. As of October 2026, Spotify's Audiobook Creation Tools turn an EPUB into an audiobook read by a digital voice you choose and publish it to Spotify, for US authors writing in English, up to five audiobook projects per account. Spotify's tool page says the first five are free. Spotify's help page describes choosing one digital voice for the book, and virtual voice lets you change voice per chapter; neither page describes casting a separate voice for each character.
What does each route cost?
An audiobook of a 90,000-word novel costs anywhere from nothing upfront to nearly $10,000 or more, depending on who performs it.
Length drives the price. A finished hour is one hour of the final, edited audiobook, and narrators charge per finished hour. The common estimate is about 9,300 words per finished hour, so a 90,000-word novel comes to roughly 9.7 finished hours.
For that example book, a hired narrator costs about $970 to $9,700 or more, narrating it yourself costs $300 to $700 plus your time, and virtual voice and AudioForge cost $0 upfront; the deciding factor is who performs:
| Route | Typical rate | Estimated cost for a 90,000-word novel |
|---|---|---|
| Hire a beginner narrator | About $100 per finished hour | About $970 |
| Hire an experienced narrator | About $200 per finished hour | About $1,940 |
| Hire an expert narrator | $300 to $1,000+ per finished hour | About $2,900 to $9,700+ |
| Narrate it yourself | $300 to $700 of equipment, plus 3 to 5 hours of work per finished hour | $300 to $700, plus about 29 to 48 hours of your time |
| Audible virtual voice | No fee during the beta | $0 upfront |
| AudioForge | Free for a limited time while it grows with its first authors | $0 upfront today |
The narrator rates come from Author's Republic's guide to per-finished-hour rates, and the self-narration figures from ScribeCount's guide to narrating your own audiobook. AudioForge's pricing, when it arrives, will be pay-as-you-go by the word with no subscription. ACX's own time estimates for recording, editing and review are set out in how long it takes to record an audiobook.
You can also avoid an upfront narrator fee on ACX with a Royalty Share deal. Royalty Share is an ACX contract in which the narrator takes no payment upfront and splits net royalties with you instead, which requires exclusive distribution through ACX, according to ACX's royalty page. The same page sets the royalty: since May 26, 2026, titles in ACX's new model earn 50% for exclusive distribution and 30% for non-exclusive, while legacy titles earn 40% and 25% until that model ends at the end of 2026. Under Royalty Share the exclusive royalty is split equally, so you and the narrator each get 25% in the new model or 20% in the legacy one.
If Audible is where your readers buy, ACX requires human narration, either yours or a narrator's, unless ACX has authorized otherwise. Who handles editing, proofing and mastering on each route is set out in what audiobook production involves.
How does Audible's virtual voice work?
Audible virtual voice is Amazon's program that turns an eligible Kindle eBook into a computer-narrated audiobook sold on Audible.
According to KDP's help pages, you choose from Amazon's voices, can set a different voice for each chapter, and preview and edit the narration before publishing. The audiobook is clearly labeled as virtual voice, Amazon's computer-generated narration, priced between $3.99 and $14.99, and pays a 40% royalty on individual sales.
Creating one is free during the beta. The limits are set out in the eligibility rules: the program is invite-only, distribution is US only, and the eBook must already be live on KDP. Kindle Unlimited became Kindle+ in October 2026, as Written Word Media reported, and if the eBook is in KDP Select the audiobook joins Kindle+ automatically, according to KDP's Kindle+ page. Amazon also keeps ownership of the audio file, which we cover in what authors give up with Audible virtual voice.
How do you produce a multi-voice audiobook?
To produce a multi-voice audiobook with AudioForge, you turn each chapter into a script, cast a voice for every character, then generate and export the audio. The four steps are the same ones shown in the help center:
- Add a chapter. Paste or upload it. Each chapter becomes its own audio file.
- Check the script. Every line is tagged with who speaks it and how it should be delivered. Lines the parser could not attribute are flagged so you assign the speaker yourself.
- Cast your voices. Pick a voice for the narrator and each character. Casting is saved for the whole book, so a character sounds the same in every chapter.
- Generate and export. The lines are stitched, with your pauses, into one MP3 per chapter. If a line sounds wrong, fix it and regenerate only that line.
You own the finished audio and can sell it wherever AI narration is accepted. Check each store's rules in where you can publish an AI-narrated audiobook before you choose. If your readers are mainly on Audible, remember that ACX requires human narration and prohibits unauthorized AI recordings.
The bottom line
Choose the route by who should perform your book and where your readers buy. A human narrator through ACX is the path to a standard Audible release and costs roughly $1,000 to $10,000 or more for a novel, while Audible's virtual voice is the low-effort option for US Kindle authors invited to its beta. If you want a distinct voice for every character and files you own, produce your first chapter with AudioForge for free today, following the steps in the help center, and hear your own book before you commit.
FAQ
How do I turn my book into an audiobook?
You can turn your book into an audiobook in four ways. Record it yourself, hire a narrator through ACX, create a virtual voice audiobook from your Kindle eBook, or produce a multi-voice audiobook with an AI production tool such as AudioForge. The right one depends on your budget, how much control you want and which stores you need.
How much does it cost to make an audiobook?
For a 90,000-word novel, about 9.7 finished hours, a narrator typically costs roughly $970 to $1,940 at beginner to experienced rates, and $2,900 to $9,700 or more for an expert. Narrating it yourself means about $300 to $700 of equipment plus roughly 29 to 48 hours of work. As of October 2026, virtual voice and AudioForge are free to create.
Can I make an audiobook for free?
You can make an audiobook with no upfront fee in five ways as of October 2026. Record it yourself, use a royalty share deal on ACX, use Amazon's virtual voice if you are a US Kindle author in its beta, use Spotify's Audiobook Creation Tools if you are a US author writing in English, or produce it with AudioForge, which is free for a limited time while it grows with its first authors.
Can I sell an AI-narrated audiobook on Audible?
You generally cannot sell an AI-narrated audiobook on Audible if you made it outside Amazon. ACX requires human narration unless it has authorized otherwise, and it prohibits unauthorized AI or text-to-speech recordings. Amazon's own virtual voice audiobooks, created from an eligible Kindle eBook, are sold on Audible and clearly labeled as virtual voice.
