Is there a good app for bookmark and take notes in audiobooks?
Too Expensive: 31 apps already serve this, and 27 data points mined from real user reviews across 2 sources show where they fall short. The job is solved but priced beyond a segment. Undercut with a cheaper tier.
Data refreshed September 7, 2026 · scores recompute weekly as new reviews are mined, so re-check before you build.
Like music, the value is a licensed catalog, and Audible (Amazon) dominates distribution and publisher deals. A solo dev can't license the major publishers. The only sliver is public-domain audio (LibriVox, Project Gutenberg) — a real but much smaller, different product.
Moat: the licensed catalog is the product · why: Audible/Amazon dominate audiobook distribution · commercial catalog requires publisher licensing · only unencumbered source is public domain (LibriVox/Gutenberg)
What users complain about
The most common complaints behind apps that try to bookmark and take notes in audiobooks, mined and clustered from real reviews:
| Complaint area | Type | Mentions | What a user said |
|---|---|---|---|
| mark audiobook as read/listened | missing-feature | 1 | the ability to mark an audiobook as read (listened to) |
| audiobook listening time limit | price | 1 | only got 15 hrs of audio listening time a month and got a pop up to spend an additional 12.99 |
| treat folder of files as one audiobook | missing-feature | 1 | no option for the player to use the whole folder as one audiobook |
| limited audiobook library, requires separate app | missing-feature | 1 | The audiobook library is limited... you need to use a separate app to have a better experience |
| audiobook redirects to Kindle instead of staying in-app | ux | 1 | When I try to get an audio book and it refers me to kindle, it's never an audio book |
| show series number for audiobooks | missing-feature | 1 | wished it would tell you what number the audiobook is when it’s multiple In series |
| audiobook chapter navigation missing | ux | 1 | audiobooks dont go my chapter it's just a long audio |
| cloud-synced book notes/metadata | missing-feature | 1 | не хватает для него библиотека в виде шаблона либо чего-то подобного заметкам в Obsidian |
| audiobook narration quality | bug | 1 | Sounds like a chipmunk. Can't even understand the middle of the book |
| audiobook playback position tracking too sensitive | ux | 1 | too easy to move forward or back in the track and hard to find where you actually were |
| cannot play audiobooks | bug | 1 | This thing won't let me listen to anything |
| no Listen & Read combined option for most books | missing-feature | 1 | why most book don’t have an option to Listen & Read |
Apps that already serve this
| App | Rating | Ratings | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audible: Audiobooks & Podcasts | 4.9 | 5,587,915 | Free |
| AudioNote™ | 4.2 | 118 | $12.99 |
| Smart AudioBook Player | 4.9 | 195,549 | Free |
| Audiobooks by AudiobookSTORE | 2.9 | 1,541 | Free |
| Voicenotes AI Notes & Meetings | 4.8 | 6,590 | Free |
| Notability: AI Notes & Planner | 4.8 | 455,997 | Free |
| Notebooks: Write and Organize | 4.7 | 1,056 | $17.99 |
| ElevenReader: Read Books Aloud | 4.7 | 10,187 | Free |
Should you build it?
The job is solved but priced beyond a segment. Undercut with a cheaper tier. Opportunity here scores 56 out of 100 — a function of demand, how crowded the field is, and how badly the existing apps perform. Use the live map to compare it against adjacent tasks.
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