Kobo Plus adds audiobooks in France

Rakuten Kobo has expanded its Kobo Plus subscription service in France to include audiobooks, as announced on October 16, 2026. The new plan allows users to access both ebooks and audiobooks for 14.99 euros per month, compared to 9.99 euros for digital reading only.

Subscription pricing and content

The updated Kobo Plus subscription includes access to more than two million ebooks and 500,000 audio titles, though the number of French-language titles is not specified. Both the ebook-only and combined plans offer a 14-day free trial with no long-term commitment.

Listening time limit and unclear terms

A restriction appears on Kobo’s commercial page: the combined plan includes 30 hours of listening per month. This limit was not mentioned in the press release, and the terms for accessing content after this limit is reached are not clearly defined.

Audiobook popularity in France

The expansion of Kobo Plus comes as audiobooks gain popularity in France. According to the 2026 barometer by the SNE, Sofia, and SGDL, 10 million French people listened to at least one audiobook in 2025, with 48% of them having a subscription to a reading or listening platform.

Kobo Plus history and French market

Kobo Plus was launched in France with Fnac in November 2021, initially offering more than 500,000 digital references, including 50,000 in French. At the time, audio content was not included due to reluctance among French publishers toward streaming. Today, the service includes audiobooks from popular authors like Pierre Lemaitre, Guillaume Musso, and Freida McFadden.

Access methods for audiobooks

Listening to audiobooks on Kobo Plus is available through the Kobo Books app on iOS and Android devices, as well as on compatible Bluetooth e-readers. However, not all Kobo e-reader models support audiobook playback.