Yes. For adults, listening to an audiobook is a perfectly good way to read a book. In a 2016 study, people who listened, read an e-book, or did both at once understood the text equally well, both right afterwards and two weeks later. The differences show up with dense material, with studying, and with children who are still learning to read. Below: what the research actually found, when print is the better pick, and whether audiobooks count toward a reading challenge.

Is listening “real” reading?

Most of the argument is about the word. Strictly speaking, reading means decoding letters, so listening isn’t that. But when someone asks “have you read it?”, they usually want to know whether you know the story, the characters and the author’s ideas. On that count, an audiobook gets you the same thing.

Not everyone agrees. In an NPR/Ipsos poll from 2025, 40% of American adults said listening to audiobooks is not a form of reading. That’s a lot of people, though not a majority. Adults over 65 and men were more likely to say so.

What research says about comprehension

The study everyone cites is Rogowsky, Calhoun and Tallal (2016). They randomly split 91 adults into three groups. Each group got the same passage from a non-fiction book, in a different format:

Group Format Comprehension right after Comprehension two weeks later
1 listened to the audiobook no significant difference no significant difference
2 read the e-book no significant difference no significant difference
3 read and listened at the same time no significant difference no significant difference

No format came out ahead. One caveat: the readers read on a screen, not on paper, so the study says nothing about print books.

A very different kind of research points the same way. A team at the University of California, Berkeley scanned people’s brains while they read and listened to the same stories. In their 2019 paper in the Journal of Neuroscience, they report that the meaning of words is represented in the brain in almost the same way, whether it arrives through the eyes or the ears.

Does reading along with the audio help?

Some people play the audiobook and follow the text on screen at the same time. A 2023 meta-analysis by Clinton-Lisell pooled 30 studies on this. Reading while listening gave a tiny edge over reading alone, and only when the researchers set the pace. When people read at their own speed, there was no reliable difference.

So if you enjoy reading that way, go ahead. If you don’t, you aren’t missing anything. The author notes it may help struggling readers and language learners, but there aren’t enough studies yet to say for sure.

When reading beats listening

An audiobook has one weak spot: the narrator keeps going even when your mind drifts. On a page, your eyes jump back to the last sentence on their own. Print or e-books tend to work better when:

  • the text is dense, full of numbers, names and definitions, like a textbook or a book about money;
  • you’re studying or want to use what you read later (see how to remember what you read);
  • you take notes and want to mark quotes;
  • you listen on the go, in noise or while doing something else that also needs your attention.

With children, it’s simpler. Beth Rogowsky, who led the 2016 study, told NPR that kids who are still learning to read should spend time actually reading, because listening doesn’t practise decoding text. Audiobooks can be an extra, not a replacement.

When audiobooks win

  • Your hands are busy and your head is free: walks, washing up, folding laundry, long drives.
  • Books written to be heard: memoirs read by the author, poetry, plays, reporting with many voices.
  • Tired eyes after a day in front of a screen.
  • Getting back into reading after a break. An audiobook can be an easier first step than 400 pages in print. More ideas in how to get back into reading.

Do audiobooks count toward a reading challenge?

That’s your call, not science’s. Most people running challenges count a book once they’ve taken in the whole thing, in any format. Settle it at the start so nobody feels someone is “cheating”.

Rules that work well:

  • Books challenge: an audiobook counts like any other finished book.
  • Pages challenge: log the page count of the print edition, since the recording has no pages.
  • Minutes challenge: the fairest unit when one person listens and another reads. An hour is an hour.

Ready-made prompts, including some an audiobook ticks off easily, are in reading challenge ideas and the 2027 reading challenge list.

How to log audiobooks in Talemi

Talemi, the app we’re building, has no separate audiobook mode. You can still add the book to your shelf and log progress the way that suits you:

  • in pages, converting chapters to the print edition’s pages;
  • in minutes, typing in how long you listened or starting the reading timer, which keeps counting even after you close the app.

Minutes go into your stats and into minute-based challenges with friends. We compare the two in pages or minutes: which to track, and the apps themselves in our guide to picking a reading tracker app.

Want every format to count? See how Talemi works and join early access.

FAQ

Do I remember less when I listen? Not according to the 2016 study: two weeks later, listeners remembered as much as people who read the e-book. You’ll get more out of dense material when you read at your own pace and can go back a sentence.

Does listening at 1.5x speed count? Yes, as long as you’re keeping up. If you can’t say what happened in the last chapter, slow down.

Can I read and listen at the same time? Sure. The 2023 meta-analysis found no big gain from it, but no loss either, so pick whatever you enjoy more.

Does an audiobook count as a book read? For most readers, yes. In a challenge with friends, just agree on it before you start.

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