Best MP3 to Audiobook Converters Online Free

By Ivan Scott Updated on 2023-11-24 / Update for Audiobook Tips

Q: I have a mass of MP3 files ripped from audiobook CDs that I'd like to play on my media players, such as iTunes. But MP3 format can't keep chapters and there is no way to bookmark my MP3 books. So, my question is whether there are some ways to convert MP3 files to audiobooks encoded in M4A or M4B audiobook format. As a consequence, I can listen to audiobooks more easily.

With the popularity of audiobooks, there are more and more audiobook converters developed and created by software developers. MP3 to audiobook converter is one of them. Today, we will introduce 4 effective ways to convert MP3 to audiobook for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, and Online with several audiobook converters and iTunes.

convert mp3 to audiobook

Part 1. How to Create Audiobook from MP3 in iTunes

When it comes to converting MP3 files to audiobooks, iTunes should be taken priority. As a media player, media library, Internet radio broadcaster, and file manager, iTunes has a wide range of fantastic features. For example, it enables you to burn audiobooks to CDs, sync media files, and convert audio files.

In brief, iTunes can be regarded as a free MP3 to audiobook converter, which is capable of directly converting MP3 to Apple audiobook format M4B or M4A ( (M4A & M4B use the AAC codec). Here, we walk you through the detailed steps to change MP3 into audiobooks with the assistance of iTunes.

How to Make Audiobook from MP3 in iTunes

Step 1. On iTunes, click on 'File' > 'Add File to Library' to upload your MP3 files to iTunes. you can find them in the 'Music' > 'Recently Added' catalog.

add mp3 files to itunes library

Step 2. Choose an MP3 audio file and right-click on it.

Step 3. From the popup, select 'Get Info' to get detailed information about the MP3 file. Under 'Options', enable the 'Remember playback position' and 'Skip when shuffling' playback options.

change itunes playback option

Step 4. On the 'Options' section, change 'Music' to 'Audiobook' from 'Media kind'.

change itunes media kind

Step 5. Your audio files will be displayed in the 'Books' > 'Audiobooks' section under the navigation bar of iTunes.

Tips: Using this method, your audio file will still be in MP3 format, which is only available for iTunes. If you want to play your MP3 as an audiobook on other players, you will need to follow the steps below to convert MP3 to M4B audiobooks.

How to Turn MP3 to Audiobook to M4A/M4B via iTunes

Step 1. First, add MP3 files to the iTunes library by clicking the 'File' > 'Add File to Library'. Or, directly drag and drop them into the main interface of iTunes.

Step 2. Click on 'Music' under the navigation bar and select 'Recently Added' to locate all imported MP3 files.

recently added music

Step 3. Hit on the 'Edit' from the top menu navigation bar and choose 'Preferences' from the dropdown list.

Step 4. Switch to the 'General Preferences' and hit the bottom 'Import Settings' button to open a new window.

Step 5. From the 'Import Using', select the 'AAC Encoder' option. Then click 'OK' to confirm it.

itunes aac encoder

Step 6. Select an added MP3 file from the left sidebar. Then click on 'File' >'Convert' > 'Create AAC Version' to export MP3 to the AAC files, which are encoded in M4A format.

create aac version

Step 7. Right-click the M4A files and choose 'Show in Windows Explorer' to locate the destination folder that stores files on your computer. There, you can modify the M4A to M4B files manually.

modify m4a to m4b via show in windows explorer

Step 8. Now, all MP3 audiobooks are converted to M4B audiobooks with chapters. You can import them to iTunes or other players to play with chapters. Besides, all added files will display in the 'Audiobook' section automatically now. Afterward, you can transfer the created iTunes audiobooks on iPhone and other Apple devices. If you want to play them on Android, you can refer to: How to Play iTunes Audiobooks on Android.

Part 2. How to Convert MP3 to Audiobook Free

If you are looking for a free way to create an audiobook from MP3, you can't go wrong with the two free MP3 to audiobook converter presented in this section. Read on to find out more about them.

1. Audiobook Binder (iPhone)

Audiobook Binder is a free tool compatible with iOS devices to convert your audiobooks from MP3 to M4B format. It allows you to change the cover artwork, as well as adjust the audio encoding properties such as mono/stereo, and sample rate. Once encoded, it automatically adds the M4B audiobook file to the iTunes media library.

How to Convert MP3 to M4B Audiobook for Free Using Audiobook Binder

audiobook binder convert mp3 to m4b

Step 1. Download and install AudioBook Binder on your iPhone.

Step 2. Run it and select the 'Files' tab.

Step 3. Click the lower '+' icon or use drag-and-drop action to add MP3 files to this app.

Step 4. Tap the bottom 'Bind' button to start converting MP3 audiobooks to M4B.

2. MortPlayer Audio Book (Android/iPhone)

MortPlayer Audio Book is a dedicated audiobook media player for various platforms, including Android, iPhone, online, and more. It supports a wide range of media types such as MP3, Ogg Vorbis, M4A, 3GP, MIDI, and Wave. No need to convert MP3 to M4B, MortPlayer Audio Book can be used to listen to MP3 audiobooks on iPhone or Android directly with ease.

play mp3 audiobook on mortplayer audio book

Part 3. Top 2 MP3 to Audiobook Converter Online

Suppose you don't hope to install extra apps on your device, you can look into the following two online MP3 to audiobook converters. Both of them enable you to convert MP3 files to audiobooks and play those audiobooks on MP3 players or other devices without restrictions:

Top 1. Media.io MP3 to M4B Online Free Converter

Media.io serves as a free audiobook converter online that allows users to convert various audio and video files into a variety of formats. Plus, it is dedicated to other services such as compressing files, editing videos, and more. With a lot of input and output formats, this online gadget is a convenient tool to modify or optimize media files.

However, Media.io will take a lot of time to complete the converting process with the limitations on file size and number of conversions per day. Also, if you want to download the converted files, it requires you to register and log in on its website, which may leak your privacy.

mediaio mp3 to m4b converter online

How to Convert MP3 to M4B Audiobook Using Media.io

Step 1. First, from the 'Convert' section, select the former format as MP3 and the later format as M4B. Alternatively, drag and drop the MP3 files to the online tool's interface directly.

Step 2. Click on the 'Choose Files' button to choose and add the MP3 files you want to change to M4B. The added files will load and display automatically on the website.

Step 3. Hit the bottom 'CONVERT' button to convert MP3 to M4B free.

Step 4. Once converted successfully, you can opt to convert more files or hit the 'Download' button to get the M4B files for offline listening.

Top 2. SafeAudioConverter Online

SafeAudioConverter is another MP3 to M4B audiobook converter online we'd like to introduce. Resemble Media.io, it also boasts an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. This online audio converter also supports uploading multiple formats and converting them to local files in various formats. Better than Media.io, this audioconverter endows you the opportunity to customize the audio quality for your files, including changing the bitrate, sample rate, and audio channels. But its downside is the audio quality is limited up to 256kbps.

safeaudioconverter mp3 to m4b audiobook converter

How to Convert MP3 to M4B Audiobook Using Media.io

Step 1. On the online converter's website, hit the 'Upload Your Audio' button.

Step 2. Drag & drop your MP3 audio files to the designated area. Or, tap on the 'Browse on your device' button to add your files.

Step 3. Adjust the bitrate, sample rate, or audio channel for your added files.

Step 4. Once completed, hit the lower 'Convert' button to kick off the conversion.

Step 5. Then click on the 'Download' button to keep it offline forever.

Part 4. How to Convert MP3 to Audiobook with Chapters for Windows/Mac

To make the MP3 conversion process easy and stable, we will introduce the top-rated and sought-after AudFree MP3 to Audiobook Converter. It supports inputting a plethora of files, including special M4P files, AA/AAX files, and most common audio files. Its innovative decryption technology helps you convert those uploaded files to local files in many common formats such as M4A, M4B, FLAC, WAV, etc. It is also a professional Audible converter that can convert Audible to MP3.

To your surprise, for better playback of audiobooks, it allows you to split large audiobooks into chapters and adjust the audio quality, playback volume, pitch, speed, etc. to suit your needs. What's more surprising is that it will retain the lossless audio quality and ID3 tags of audiobooks. You can enjoy a great sound quality that can reach 320kbps, 512kbps, etc. This way, you can play the converted audiobooks smoothly on the desired media player without any playback problems.

AudFree MP3 to Audiobook Converter

audfree audiobook converter
  • Convert MP3 files to audiobook M4A, M4B, etc.
  • Convert audiobooks to MP3, WAV, AAC, M4A, FLAC, M4B
  • Keep original audio quality, ID3 tags, and chapters in output audios
  • Split large audiobooks into small segments by chapters
  • Convert Audible AA/AAX books, iTunes audiobooks and Apple Music

How to Change MP3 to M4A/M4B Audiobook with Chapters

Please click on the Download button above to install AudFree Audio Converter on your Windows or Mac computer. Then follow the tutorial below to turn MP3 into audiobooks with chapters.

Step 1Drag MP3 Files to AudFree Auditior
add mp3 files to audfree auditior
AudFree Audiobook Converter provides two ways to add files. On the one hand, drag and drop MP3 files to the main interface of the converter directly. On the other hand, click the second 'Add Files' button to load your MP3 files.
Step 2Customize Output Format as M4A/M4B for Audiobook
set output format as m4a or m4b
Click the lower-right 'Audio' icon to open the Format Settings window, in which you can customize the output format for the added audio files as M4A, M4B, or other audio formats. Beyond that, you can reset the bitrate, sample rate, audio channels, and more output parameters for your files to enhance the quality. Besides, you can click the 'Edit' icon next to each audio to split the audiobook into chapters.
Step 3Convert MP3 Files to Audiobook Losslessly
convert mp3 to audiobook
Simply press the 'Convert' button at the bottom right. Then the MP3 to Audiobook Converter will batch convert MP3 files to M4A or M4B audiobooks with chapters. You can find audiobooks in the targeted folder by clicking the bottom File icon. Later, you can play those converted audiobooks on any device or player at any time without iTunes.

Part 5. Conclusion

If you want to convert MP3 to audiobook, all of the above MP3 to audiobook converters will be useful to you. By the way, our top choice for this task is AudFree Audio Converter. Because it can convert MP3 to M4A and M4B without any quality loss and allows you to customize output quality. It entitles you to rich additional features, such as splitting audiobooks into chapters, editing ID3 tags, etc. Afterward, you can play these converted audiobooks on any device you like.

Ivan Scott

Ivan Scott

Staff Editor

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Ivan Scott, an audiobook enthusiast with a passion for writing. He keeps up with information and tech skills related to iTunes and Audible audiobooks, and shares them with readers.
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AudFree Auditior

30X convert Apple Music, iTunes podcasts, audiobooks and Audible books. to MP3, etc.