As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and plan details change — please confirm on the official page before subscribing.
Audible is the better CarPlay app for people who mainly listen to audiobooks.
Spotify wins if you want music, podcasts and the occasional audiobook in one app. The split comes down to what your library looks like.
30-day free trial · Cancel anytime
Both apps are CarPlay-compatible, both resume where you left off, and both show up on your dashboard within seconds of plugging in. The real difference is the catalogue you’re drawing from and how the app treats a book-length listen. Audible is built around audiobooks. Spotify treats them as one more content type inside a music app.
If you only finish two or three books a year, Spotify’s inclusion in a subscription you already pay for is hard to argue with. If you listen most days, Audible’s library and controls are worth the separate cost.
What each app actually does on CarPlay
Audible’s CarPlay interface is deliberately narrow. You get your current book, a Continue Listening row, your library, and a search field. Playback controls are large, the chapter scrubber works with the rotary dial or touchscreen, and the speed control (0.5x to 3.5x on most titles) sits one tap deep. There’s no store, no recommendations carousel, no browsing for new titles while parked. That restraint is the point.
Spotify’s CarPlay screen is the same one you use for music. Your audiobooks live in a shelf inside Your Library, alongside Liked Songs, playlists and podcasts. Playback works, chapters appear as tracks in some titles, and progress syncs across devices. The friction shows up when you want to jump to a specific chapter or change speed without leaving the now-playing screen.
Which app has the bigger audiobook catalogue?
Audible’s catalogue runs into the hundreds of thousands of titles and includes most new releases on the same day as the print edition, plus Audible Originals and exclusive narrations you can’t get elsewhere. Spotify’s audiobook library is smaller and, more importantly, access is metered. Premium subscribers get a set number of listening hours per month included, and the meter only applies to audiobooks, not music or podcasts. Go over and you’re buying top-ups.
That model works if you listen in short bursts. It bites if you’re midway through a 30-hour history book and the hours reset before you finish. We’ve broken down the catalogue differences in more detail in our guide to which audiobook catalogue stays more up to date.
If exclusives matter to you — author-read memoirs, full-cast productions, series that don’t appear anywhere else — the Audible side is deeper. Our comparison of exclusive audiobook content on both platforms covers the specific gaps.
How the two apps handle syncing and resume across devices
Both sync. The difference is how aggressively each one does it.
Audible writes your position to the cloud constantly — mid-sentence, not at chapter breaks. Start a book on your phone at the kitchen table, get in the car, and CarPlay picks up within a second or two of the app launching. Finish a chapter, get out, open the app on your iPad that evening, and you’re in the right spot. Whispersync for Voice also keeps Kindle and Audible positions aligned if you read and listen to the same title.
Spotify syncs audiobook position across devices too, but the handoff is slightly slower in practice, and if you switch to a podcast mid-drive and come back, you’ll occasionally land a few seconds off. Nothing broken, just less precise.
If you drive a car without CarPlay and rely on Bluetooth alone, sync quality is the whole experience. Audible’s tighter position tracking means fewer “wait, where was I?” moments when you get back in.
Data use, downloads and offline listening in the car
Both apps let you download for offline playback, and both respect those downloads on CarPlay. This matters more than people expect — long drives through patchy signal are exactly when you don’t want buffering.
Audible downloads are per-title and stay on your device until you remove them. A typical 10-hour audiobook runs somewhere in the 150–300 MB range depending on bitrate and format. Spotify downloads work the same way, but audiobook downloads count against your device storage the same as music, and the app is more aggressive about clearing cached content when space runs low.
If you’re on a metered plan or tethering, streaming a full audiobook uses far more data than streaming music for the same duration. Download before you leave.
Voice control, Siri and steering wheel buttons
Siri handles both apps, but with different levels of control. “Hey Siri, play my audiobook” opens Audible and resumes the last title. “Skip forward 30 seconds” works in both. Chapter-level commands are more reliable in Audible because the app exposes chapter metadata to the system.
Physical controls behave the same in either app — steering wheel skip buttons move you forward or back by the interval set in the app, usually 30 seconds. If you prefer 15 or 60, that’s a settings change on your phone, not in the car.
One thing worth knowing: Apple has been pushing CarPlay updates that give audiobook apps better chapter navigation and richer now-playing screens. Both apps have benefited, and Audible in particular has leaned into the format. There’s a decent overview of the trend at Headlines Orbit’s piece on audiobook apps and CarPlay, and BGR’s roundup of CarPlay apps built for audiobooks is worth a look if you want alternatives beyond these two.
30 days free · Keep your first audiobook even if you cancel
Audible vs Spotify on CarPlay: side-by-side
| What you’re comparing | Audible | Spotify |
|---|---|---|
| CarPlay app design | Built for audiobooks first | Music app with an audiobook shelf |
| Catalogue size | Hundreds of thousands of titles | Smaller, growing library |
| How you pay for books | Credits from a membership, or buy outright | Listening hours included with Premium, top-ups after |
| Exclusive titles | Originals, author-narrated, full-cast | Limited |
| Offline downloads | Yes, per title | Yes, counts against device storage |
| Chapter navigation | Native chapters, easy to scrub | Varies by title |
| Playback speed control | Wide range, easy to reach | Available but less prominent |
| Cross-device resume | Very tight | Good, occasional small drift |
| Music and podcasts | Separate apps | Same app |
Which one should you actually use in the car?
✅ Audible is the better pick if…
You finish more than a handful of books a year, want the widest catalogue, need reliable chapter navigation and speed control while driving, and don't mind a separate membership.
❌ Spotify is the better pick if…
You already pay for Premium, listen to music and podcasts more than books, and your audiobook habit fits inside the included monthly hours.
You don’t have to choose one. Plenty of listeners keep Spotify for music and podcasts and Audible for books, and both apps coexist on the same CarPlay home screen without conflict. The only real cost is managing two subscriptions, which is worth it if you’d otherwise run out of Spotify hours mid-book.
If you’re weighing the two on other grounds — free samples, narration quality, membership value — we’ve covered those separately in our comparison of which app gives more free samples and our breakdown of narration quality across both memberships.
Common questions about audiobook apps and CarPlay
Does Audible work with CarPlay?
Yes. Audible has a dedicated CarPlay app that shows your current book, Continue Listening, library and search. Playback controls, chapter navigation and speed adjustment all work from the dashboard.
Does Spotify support audiobooks on CarPlay?
Yes, but they live inside the main Spotify app rather than a separate one. You’ll find your audiobooks under Your Library, and playback controls work the same as for music.
Can I listen to audiobooks on CarPlay without a data connection?
Yes, if you’ve downloaded the title first. Both Audible and Spotify support offline playback, and downloaded titles show up on CarPlay normally. Download at home before a long drive if you’re going through areas with weak signal.
Which app uses less data for audiobooks?
Streaming an audiobook uses more data than streaming music for the same listening time, because the bitrate is higher and the files are longer. Both apps let you download in advance to avoid using mobile data at all.
Do steering wheel skip buttons work with audiobook apps on CarPlay?
Yes. The skip forward and back buttons on your steering wheel move you by the interval set in the app’s settings — usually 30 seconds by default, adjustable to 15 or 60 on your phone.
Can I run Audible and Spotify at the same time on CarPlay?
You can have both installed and switch between them, but only one can play audio at a time. Pausing one and starting the other works normally, and each app remembers where you stopped.
Which is cheaper for audiobook listeners — Audible or Spotify?
It depends on how much you listen. Spotify’s audiobooks come included with a Premium subscription you may already have, but hours are capped each month. Audible is a separate membership that gives you credits toward books you keep. Current pricing for both is on their plan pages.
30 days free · Keep your first audiobook even if you cancel
[spai_verdict]
If your commute is long enough that you finish a book every month or two, Audible’s credit system gives you permanent ownership and the deepest audiobook catalog, and its CarPlay app is polished enough to be a genuine one-tap experience. If you already pay for Spotify Premium and only dip into audiobooks occasionally, the included listening hours are hard to beat because they cost you nothing extra. The good news is that the two are not mutually exclusive — install both, let Audible handle the titles you want to keep, and let Spotify cover the impulse listens. Either way, set your skip interval before you pull out of the driveway, and your commute will start feeling a lot shorter.
[/spai_verdict]
[spai_disclaimer]Pricing, catalog sizes, and included listening hours change frequently. Check Audible and Spotify directly for current plan details and CarPlay compatibility before subscribing.[/spai_disclaimer]