Top 10 Audio Story Platforms That Help Writers Earn, Grow, and Get Heard Worldwide

Let’s start today’s blog with a question.

Remember the very first day, when you wrote your first writing piece or thought of becoming a writer. What was the first thought that got into your mind?

Okay, I’ll share mine. When I wrote my first eight-line poem, before I even started writing officially, I wanted to live forever in every heart through my words. I know that many writers share the same dream.

In the modern world, writing opportunities are booming. Many writing platforms have evolved that help writers to share their stories and reach millions of readers, listeners, and viewers. Anything a writer writes, whether it is a blog, an article, a short story, a complete novel, or a feature film. For every writing pattern, a platform is available that pays writers for their work. That’s why I’m here with a new format of writing that is evolving increasingly with time, the Audio story format.

If I say, “Imagine your stories being heard by millions, not just read.”

How do you feel?

Excited? I know, it sounds very interesting.

I am also an audio scriptwriter, and my audiobooks/stories are reaching a huge number of listeners through audio platforms, like KUKU FM and Diamond Nib FM. So I’m here with my new blog.

Here, we’ll discuss the top 10 audio story platforms that help writers earn, grow, and get heard worldwide.

Let’s dive into it.

Top 10 Audio Story Platforms Every Writer Should Try to Work With (India + Global)

1. Pocket FM

Pocket FM is one of India’s largest audio entertainment platforms that works in indian languages. Their primary language is Hindi, but they also work in other regional content. Pocket FM claims to have 200 million listeners globally. Average daily listening time per user is ~115 minutes.

Pocket FM constantly looks for new stories, series, and writing talent, so writers can pitch their stories to them. They are renowned for their fiction, romance, thrillers, and emotionally charged dramas. They pay per episode or project, and some top stories earn hundreds of thousands of rupees.

How writers can join Pocket FM:

Scriptwriters can connect them through their official email or partner program.
Writers can also connect with their writers or literary agents.

Earning: Writers can earn ₹10,000–₹1,00,000 per series. That is completely based on their performance. Payment is project-based (fixed fee) and performance-based (based on the count of listens).

A storyteller and writer of fiction/serials who can write episodic audio scripts is best suited for Pocket FM.

2. Kuku FM

KUKU FM is another renowned audio platform known for its fiction, historical audiobooks, biographies, and long episodic series. It has grown impressively over the years. In terms of reach, Kuku FM has over 122 million downloads for its audio app alone. On the engagement side, users reportedly spend around 100 minutes per day on Kuku’s platforms.

It is enriched with many genres and works primarily with Hindi content, but also accepts regional languages. They need both fiction and non-fiction content, so writers can easily pitch their audio stories of different genres. KuKu FM fairly paid their writers for their punctual work.

How writers can join KUKU FM:

Writers can pitch their content via the official email or website of KUKU FM.
Writers can also connect with any studio or agent that connected with KUKU FM.

Earning: Any writer or storyteller can earn ₹1000–₹15,000 per episode. It may vary, depending on experience, and the decided amount per word.

Flat-fee payments per series or per script.
Chapter, and per-episode model in some cases.

Writers comfortable with both fiction and non-fiction can easily apply to join their writer’s group. Also, writers should be adaptable to long and short writing formats.

3. Pratilipi FM

Pratilipi FM is India’s fastest-growing storytelling platform for Indian regional Languages, including English. It is known for its horror, fantasy, romance, audio series, audiobooks, fictional drama, and podcasts. It’s a part of Pratilipi’s larger content ecosystem, which also includes web novels, comics, and adaptations.

According to available reports, Pratilipi’s overall ecosystem crossed 30 million+ monthly active users in India. Audio episodes on Pratilipi FM reach thousands to lakhs of plays, depending on the genre and popularity. This means the exposure potential for an audio storyteller is massive.

How writers can join Pratilip FM:

Method 1: Apply on their Website
Method 2: Apply From the App
Method 3: Connect through their team or agent

Earning: Standard Episode Writing Fees: ₹800 – ₹3,000 per episode, 10–20 min episodes.

Exclusive Original Series Fees: ₹20,000 – ₹1,50,000 per full series (depends on length and popularity)

Writers report ₹2 – ₹8 per 1K listens, depending on premium audience exposure. A series with 1 million listens can realistically make a writer ₹15,000 – ₹40,000+.

Experienced Writers in romance, thriller, drama, suspense, or horror should join Pratilipi. It is a multilingual platform, so writers get another advantage.

4. Storytel

Storytel is a Swedish audio platform that has a global reach in 25 countries. It has a massive catalog of 1.6 million titles in more than 40 languages, including English, Hindi, Swedish, etc. Here, users pay a monthly fee to access audiobooks/ebooks as they want.

Instead of paying a fixed amount per book listened, Storytel uses a per-hour-listened model. Storytel focuses on long-form narrative (novels, non-fiction) and serialised titles. It supports both audiobooks and e-books, so writers can benefit from both formats.

Storytel’s 2024 sustainability report states that they’ve paid out almost 7 billion SEK in royalties to more than 1,600+ publishers.

How writers can join Storytel FM:

Visit Storytel’s Publisher Support page. They have a dedicated portal for publishers/rights-holders.
Negotiate a Content Distribution Agreement (CDA). Submit Your Content. Provide audio files or manuscript rights; Storytel may help produce or license content.

Earnings: Many agreements are “revenue share,” meaning author payment depends on how much Storytel pays their publisher, and how the publisher, in turn, pays the author.

In some markets, the royalty for publishers is approximately SEK 1.83 per hour listened (depends on the agreement and country) under certain deals.

According to The New Publishing Standard, in one quarter, Storytel’s payout was around SEK 4.32 per listened hour, which meant roughly SEK 2.16 (50%) went to the publisher in their reported model.

Authors of full-length books, whether fiction or non-fiction, if you have a manuscript or published book or plan to create one, Storytel is a very good fit for audio.

5. Audible

Audible is the world’s largest audiobook platform, connecting writers, narrators, and listeners globally. It is reported that in 2025, an impressive 696 million monthly active users (MAUs) worldwide. Out of this vast listener community, about 276 million users are premium, paid subscribers.

In terms of global dominance, Audible holds an estimated 38%–39% share of the worldwide paid audiobook service market. Here, writers can publish audiobooks via ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange) and earn up to 40% royalties. It is best suited for authors, short episodic scriptwriters, and long-format storytellers.

How writers can join Audible:

Writers can connect through the ACX website. There, they can upload their manuscript/rights, choose a production method, and select distribution.

Earning: If you publish via ACX, exclusive distribution ~40% royalty.

Non-exclusive = ~25% (or 30% in newer models) royalty.
The new model 2025 mentions up to 50% in some cases.

It is best suited for authors, short episodic scriptwriters, and long-format storytellers. Authors with a published manuscript/book or ready to produce one. You’d need your audio rights and ideally narration/production.

6. Spotify

Spotify is a global audio platform with hundreds of millions of monthly users. It allows you to create, upload, and distribute your own storytelling podcast or audio show. It is the platform for writers or authors who want to build their own audio series and publish using Spotify for Podcasters. As of mid-2025, Spotify reported 696 million monthly active users with about 276 million Premium subscribers.

Spotify also curates audio drama playlists for genres of short episodic series (20–40 minutes) — thrillers, sci-fi, horror, and comedy dramas. They also work in quick stories (5–15 minutes) that work for commuting/mobile listeners. Their longer-form audiobooks and serialised novel readings are increasingly featured.

How to join Spotify:

Writers via Spotify for Creators: upload show, meet eligibility, set up monetisation.

Earnings: Writers can monetise through sponsorships, collaborations, or premium episodes.

For podcasts: Monetisation via ads, subscriptions, and listener support.
Eligibility: At least 10,000 streamed hours in the last 30 days, 2,000 unique listeners in the last 30 days, and 12 episodes published for some programs.

If you already have readers, convert them to listeners.

7. Apple Podcasts

Apple’s podcast network gives storytellers global visibility and a dedicated audience. It is one of the most important platforms in the podcasting world. As of 2025, it hosts around 2.6 million podcast shows, with more than 95 million episodes. Its estimated monthly listener base is ~28.5 million according to some sources.

Apple Podcasts is quite suitable for audio storytelling, including fiction podcasts, dramatised audio stories, and narrative serials. While it is widely used for non-fiction content (news, true crime, business, wellness), there is room and an audience for scripted audio stories. It is a perfect place for English writers.

Writers who can craft investigative storytelling or mystery narratives are likely to find a good audience. Podcasts about personal development, mental health, spirituality, or life coaching are performing very well here.

How to join Apple Podcasts: Via Apple Podcasts Connect, upload RSS feed, set up the show, and optional subscription content. Writers who can produce regular episodes and manage podcast hosting/distribution.

Earning: Monetization typically via show subscriptions, sponsorships, ads, and more.

Writers interested in creating fiction podcasts, episodic serials, sci-fi dramas, horror, and romance can leverage Apple’s large, committed listeners. The subscription model also gives room for premium, paid fiction content.

8. Headfone

Headfone is an Indian audio-OTT platform. It has around 3 million MAUs, per its announcements. On average, each active user spends 52 minutes per day on the app. The platform claims to have 800,000 content pieces. Headfone is a platform for fiction audio stories, dramas, horror, thrillers, and romance. Mainly audio-dramas / serialised storytelling. Their model supports episodic shows.

Currently, it supports Hindi language, but soon, it will expand into other languages, English, Bengali, and more genres, fantasy / sci-fi.

How to join Headfone:

Through Headfone, “onboards creators,” writers, voice artists, and sound engineers collaborate on audio shows.
Instead of doing everything in a studio, writers can submit scripts, and voice actors record remotely.

Earnings:

Content monetisation via subscriptions or paid episodes / shows.
Potential revenue share + payments for popular / well-performing shows.

Writers who write horror, thriller, romance, or suspense drama with episodic scripts are a good fit for this platform.

9. Google Play Books (Audiobooks section)

Google Play Books is Google’s e-book and audiobook distribution service. It’s a global platform available in 75 countries. According to a heuristic evaluation, Google Play Books has around 2.5 million active users.

Google Play Books is not like Pocket FM, Kuku FM, or Pratilipi FM. It focuses on formal audiobooks, not episodic audio stories. It is great for authors, not ideal for episodic storytellers. It is a multilingual platform that is on over 1 billion Android devices worldwide. It has millions of audiobook buyers each year and a growing demand for self-help, spirituality, thriller, romance, mythology, and biography.

How writers can join Google Play Books:

Authors publish through: Google Play Books Partner Center.

Earnings: Google Play offers:

70% royalty in most countries
52%–70% depending on region and pricing.

There is no subscription revenue model, unlike Audible. You earn every time someone buys your audiobook or ebook.

Writers of novels, short stories, or genre fiction can self-publish via Google Play Books. Self-help, business, memoir, or educational books do well, especially because Google search can surface your book. If you have audio versions of books, you can distribute them via Google Play Books.

10. Scribd

Scribd is one of the world’s top digital reading + audiobook platforms, with over 80 million users. It’s excellent for fiction and non-fiction. The Scribd platform offers audiobooks, audio series, e-books, podcasts, and more.

Their audiobook section is extremely popular among younger readers and long-format listeners.

How Writers Can Publish on Scribd:

Writers cannot directly upload to Scribd. You must publish through aggregators / distributors that deliver your audiobook or ebook to Scribd’s library.

Approved distributors include:

Draft2Digital
Findaway Voices (for audiobooks)
StreetLib
PublishDrive

These platforms send your book or audiobook to Scribd.

Earning: Writers do not earn per sale on Scribd. You earn from the Revenue-share model.

Based on:

How many users read/listen
Completion rate (how much was consumed)
Scribd’s monthly payment pool
Writers typically earn $1.50–$4.00 per completed read/listen, depending on region & length.

If you are a fiction writer of mystery, romance, thriller, horror, fantasy, or a non-fiction writer of self-help, motivation, business, or spirituality, this platform is waiting for you.

Final Words

Your Story Deserves a Voice — Literally!

Writers, this is your time. Start turning your stories into audio. Thousands of listeners are ready for your characters, your emotions, your world.

Pocket FM, Audible, Spotify, Google Play Books, Kuku FM — every platform has a different audience waiting for you.

Choose the right audio platform that suits your writing pattern. So whether you dream of being the next big storyteller on Pocket FM or launching your voice on Spotify, start today. Because someone, somewhere, is waiting to hear your story.