OverDrive Inc. has a long history of providing free content to the public. In 1986, they entered the industry by distributing CD-ROM products. Since 2000, the company has solely focused on electronic content. Today they distribute music, videos, eBooks, and audiobooks. OverDrive Inc. works with more than 5,000 publishers and 30,000 libraries. They help people find content through their local library. To use OverDrive Inc., you just log onto their website and enter your location. From there, they will show you locations in your area you can pull online material from. These locations include schools and libraries. Once you find a provider in your area, you can begin to search for books. You can also work backwards and look for audiobooks on their website, and then see if they are available to rent through a local library. Because you are essentially renting an audio or ebook from the library, you will probably have to place items on hold and wait for them to be ready to borrow. You enter your email and are notified when the book is available. Most libraries will not tell you how long the wait is.

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The Good

Impressive stats
Free to rent
High app rating

OverDrive Inc. has several impressive stats, and there are several reasons why the experts at TBC would recommend them:

They have more than 2 million premium digital titles
They work with 5,000 publishers
They work with 300,000 libraries
They have content available in over 64 languages
High-rated iOS and Android apps (4.5/5 stars)

The most important thing to note about OverDrive Inc. is that content is free to rent. Although you can't keep any of the material you listen to, you do have access to popular and old titles to rent whenever you want. OverDrive Inc.'s Android and iOS app have an average rating of 4.5/5 stars. Listeners like that they can download content without having to connect to the internet, that it's simple and clean to use, and the features.

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The Bad

Titles vary by location
Limited selection

Even though OverDrive Inc. publishes that they have more than 2 million titles, the titles you can access vary by location. On top of that, the number of audiobooks available is only a fraction of that number. Our location had just over 8,000 audiobooks available for renters. Overall, this is a lot less than competitors, but about the same as other free services. While the site is aesthetically pleasing and generally easy to use, there is a learning curve. You have to figure out which libraries in your area offer the widest selection. Even then, there are many books they advertise on their site that may not be available in your area.

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The Bottom Line

OverDrive Inc. is perfect for people who want to rent audiobooks for free. It also helps if those people live near, and have access to, a library with a large collection of content. If you plan on renting books through this service, you will have to wait for material to become available, just like you would have to at a library. If you are the type of person who want books instantly, and wants to keep books afterward, OverDrive Inc. is not for you.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

4.5

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43 Reviews

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63%

4 grade

28%

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2 grade

1 grade

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Tiffany Phoenix, AZ

I LOVE OverDrive! It is easy to get Audiobooks and you don't have to worry about the hassle of running to the Library to pick up a copy. No more worrying about discs being scratched and skipping so you miss part of the story. It automatically returns the title when it is due and they have a great variety. Their App is very user friendly. I have also read some of their ebooks. As long as you have a current library card this company is a great resource of both reading and listening to books for free!

4 years ago

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Brielle Spencer Pleasant Grove, UT

Great for students! Who’s selection an d free! Don’t have to worry. Get what I need and helps with school!

3 months ago

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Toni Montuori

OVERDRIVE is awesome! It connects you to your public library and you can read or listen to free books to your Hearts content. It’s a free app, it’s safe, easy to navigate and did I say AWESOME!

9 months ago

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Molly Keogh Ogden, UT

I listen to about 20 audiobooks a year mostly through Overdrive. Easy to use and listen to books on the way to work. Best part is that through my local library, this is a free service. Their selection could be a little bigger but considering it doesn't cost anything you can find just about any book you need.

2 years ago

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Audrey Mitchell Managua, MN

I love using OverDrive to listen and read books online. They had it set up to reserve books from multiple libraries which makes it easy to find books and podcasts. It is hard because sometimes the books are unavailable and you have to be put on a waiting list which I don't understand why that is necessary.

2 years ago

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Suzan Herskowitz Winchester, VA

I like Overdrive. I found it difficult to navigate at first and the app even harder to navigate. I started using Libby as an app and that is very user friendly. I wish the search function was more robust. I wish my library had a better selection of books (less romance and more NYT and Wash Post bestsellers for example). I wish they had more than 1 copy of an electronic Kindle book. The 6 month waits are ridiculous. I realize that this is not an OverDrive issue though but the consortium's issue.

3 years ago

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Alex Lewis Salt Lake City, UT

I love using OverDrive! It has been a game changer for me because now I can get audiobooks straight to my phone which means I can listen to them while I drive and it's all completely free! I can also get books to my Kindle for the times that I just want to read instead of listen. The app is very user friendly and easy to learn. They've had almost every single book I have looked up and I always get it in a timely manner. It's a must have for me!

4 years ago

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Nicole Sohm Herriman, UT

OverDrive is awesome! You can do all your reading for free. If the book you want to read isn’t available they will just put you on a waitlist and email you when it’s in stock!

2 years ago

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Kimmi Riverton, UT

I have used this in conjunction with my local library. It is easy to check out books. They automatically are returned if you choose not to return them earlier. I wish there were more books offered.

2 years ago

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AlisaD Salt Lake City, UT

Favorite app to use to listen to books. Great variety of things to read.

3 months ago

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Boston Whipple Provo, UT

I have really enjoyed using OverDrive. There are some titles not available but I have been able to add several libraries and can usually find the books I want. I like that there you can listen at double time and I have listened to dozens of books without any issues.

3 years ago

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zoe Pleasant Grove, UT

overdrive is easy to use and has a wide variety of books. The audio is good. The only thing i don’t like is that you have to wait until the person before you finishes the book. sometimes there is a huge waiting list

2 years ago

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ltrain8796 Orem, UT

Having books to read on the go is amazing and the best part about them is being able to connect my library card and share books through my local library to increase the amount of content I have access to.

2 years ago

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Nichole Hiatt Eagle Mountain, UT

The selection of books on OverDrive is one of the best I've seen for online audio and ebooks. The website is very user-friendly and easy to navigate.

2 years ago

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Jani Crawley New York, NY

Love OverDrive and have used it for years. Great way to get free library ebooks and audio books on my phone or ipad. Platform is a little hard to figure out initially, but then it is very easy.

3 years ago

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Rebecca Provo, UT

I love OverDrive! It is an easy way to keep up on reading all my favorite books while doing work and home assignments and chores! :) I have read some of my favorite books using OverDrive.

4 years ago

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Robyn Rhoton Alpine, UT

I work as a librarian and we use OverDrive in our school. I find the app easy to use and to teach the students. The system works well even if you use several different libraries. The cost of the books is similar to that of other systems but I still try to shop the sales.

4 years ago

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Abby Nelson Provo, UT

I love this app! Being able to check out books from the library at home in this app is fantastic!! It saves me time, gives me more access to books. It's brilliant really.

3 years ago

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Kevin Damian ,

The app has saved me so much time and effort comparing to other ebook services. Very handy and user friendly!

1 year ago

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Sage Loveland Kihei, HI

I love using overdrive for listening to audio books! It is very user friendly and works great with your local library.

2 years ago

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Ken Francis Provo, UT

It has been a very useful free service. It isn't super user friendly and there aren't as many books as I'd like but it's good for being free.

2 years ago

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Paula Henrie Pleasant Grove, UT

Overdrive inc. is such an amazing business. You get the access to read book for no charge! All you need is a library card or a student ID.

3 years ago

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Sara Jane Crestwood, KY

We use overdrive through the public library. Great service! The iPhone app makes it very convenient.

3 years ago

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Marilyn Greer Saint George, UT

I love OverDrive because I can listen to books for free but it takes a long time to get the books I want and the website is difficult to use.

3 years ago

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Diana Melnyk

I use Overdrive all the time through my local library! I love the ease of getting a book to read without leaving the house!

3 years ago

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Larry Hawker Las Vegas, NV

I really enjoy your service. What a great idea. And it helps support local libraries. I also really like the ability to speed up the reading. Keep up the innovation!

4 years ago

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Carolee AhPing Heber, UT

I like overdrive because it's free through the library. They have a decent selection and they notify you when books become available. Not bad for free!

4 years ago

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SnowballH Salt Lake City, UT

We’ve used Overdrive for several years. My family loves listening to audiobooks from them on road trips!

2 years ago

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Bill Nelson Salt Lake City, UT

Many titles to choose from. Can be used on any platform. Convenient to use. 5 stars

2 years ago

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Darbles32 Managua, MN

Overdrive is so awesome I used it through my library and was able to listen to so many books for free !

2 years ago

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S Logan, UT

Fairly easy to use. The interfaces recently updated and was helpful love listening to books

2 years ago

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L. Fowler Pleasant Grove, UT

I like using this with my library, but I can never seem to get the books I want because they are always checked out.

3 years ago

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Aubrey Rentschler Salt Lake City, UT

I love that I can get a library book without even leaving my house. I just wish they had more books available.

4 years ago

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Madge Easton Orem, UT

After I got overdrive set up with my city library it was a snap to use. I have listened to a few books and was surprised at how many book were available to listen to.

3 years ago

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Justin Ashby Portland, OR

I feel like it is fairly clunky. Although the end result seems to work, I never really feel confident navigating the service at all. It's certainly nice that it's free!

4 years ago

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Nathan Johnson Palmyra, PA

Great app. I use it to borrow & download audio books from my local library. Works seamlessly.

3 years ago

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A Craw Draper, UT

Very easy to check out and in books. Really enjoy the flexibility of the platform.

3 years ago

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jasmin Springfield, VA

so simple to navigate and great to use! keep it up!

3 years ago

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Sadie Scoville Pleasant Grove, UT

This is so complicated to use and it takes forever to login. Every time I want to check out a book they only have about 2 options and then I can never read on overdrive.

3 years ago

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Brooke Hester Gilbert, AZ

Love how easy it is to find the books and super good books too.

3 years ago

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Cathy Gordon West Chester, OH

I love being able to download audible books from my library!!

4 years ago

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CAROLE SCOVILLE Pleasant Grove, UT

Overdrive it's so complicated to use and it's so hard to login. All the books that I want to read are always checked out. I do not like it at all.

3 years ago

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Noelle Pleasant Grove, UT

Love this audiobook company. So easy to find things too.

4 years ago

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