Kithara
At a glance
| Kithara | Listen Audiobook Player | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Android 8.0 and later | Android |
| Price | Free; Pro is a one-time purchase | Paid app, one-time ($1.99 in the US), no ads, no in-app purchases |
| Local files | Yes, any folder you pick | Yes, one folder per book |
| Server libraries | Audiobookshelf and kithara-server: stream and download | Plex and Audiobookshelf: downloads books into the local library |
| Position sync across devices | Through your server, for every book | Optional cloud sync through Firebase, for the 5 most recent books |
| Free public-domain catalogue | LibriVox built in: search, stream, download | LibriVox downloads in the app |
| Chapters from the file | chpl atoms, QuickTime tracks, ID3 CHAP, .cue sheets | Embedded chapters for most codecs |
| Playback speed | 0.5x to 3.5x, pitch preserved, skip silence | 0.5x to 6x, trim silence |
| Sound controls | Clear speech filter and up to 12 dB of boost (Pro) | Boost, pitch, noise reduction, levelling, equaliser and balance, per book or for all |
| Sleep timer | Countdown or end of chapter, fade-out, shake to extend | Yes, with shake to reset and custom sounds |
| Bookmarks and notes | Bookmarks; notes pinned to a moment and a cast list that hides who comes later (Pro) | Bookmarks searchable across books, shareable as audio clips |
| Listening history | Stats by day, week, month and year, streaks, 56 achievements, year in review (Pro) | Position history |
| Transcripts | On-device Whisper, read-along and search (Pro) | No |
| Android Auto | Yes, with voice search | Yes |
| Home-screen widgets | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Automation | No | Tasker and Llama intents |
Checked against each app's own listing and documentation in October 2026. Apps change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Where Listen is the better choice
- You want to shape the sound. Equaliser, pitch, noise reduction, levelling and balance, set for one book or all of them. Kithara has a clear speech filter and boost, and stops there.
- You listen fast. Listen goes to 6x; Kithara stops at 3.5x.
- Your books are on Plex. Listen can download from a Plex server. Kithara speaks to Audiobookshelf and kithara-server, not Plex.
- You automate your phone. Tasker and Llama can drive Listen through its intents.
- You want to pay once, a little, for everything. One low price unlocks the whole app; there is no second tier.
Where Kithara is the better choice
- You stream from your server. Kithara plays straight from Audiobookshelf or kithara-server and downloads only what you choose. Listen's server support copies books into its local library.
- You switch devices a lot. Kithara keeps your place, finished state and bookmarks in step through your own server, for every book, with no third-party cloud. Listen's sync covers the five most recent books, through Firebase.
- You want to find a line again. On-device transcripts let you read along and search a whole book for a phrase.
- You like to see how you listen. Stats, streaks, achievements and a year in review, all recorded from the day you install.
- You want to try it first. Kithara's free tier is a complete player with no time limit; Pro is optional.
The bottom line
If your books are files on one phone and you care most about how they sound, Listen is hard to beat for the price. If they live on a server, you move between a phone and a tablet, or you want transcripts and stats, Kithara is built for that. Both play the same DRM-free files, so trying Kithara costs nothing.