Does Listening to Audiobooks Count as Reading?

Yes. Comprehension and retention research comparing reading and listening generally finds the two comparable for most people and most books — the difference is which sense the story enters through, not whether it's actually being processed and understood. The "audiobooks aren't real reading" position is a cultural habit inherited from how reading used to be taught, not a finding about how your brain handles a story.

Where the argument comes from

The skepticism mostly traces back to how reading is taught in school — as decoding text on a page — which makes silent reading feel like the "default" and everything else feel like a substitute. But comprehension isn't really about decoding symbols; it's about building a mental model of the story, and that process works essentially the same way whether the words arrive through your eyes or your ears.

What the research actually shows

Studies comparing reading comprehension to listening comprehension for the same material generally find them broadly comparable for most readers under normal conditions. There are edge cases — dense nonfiction with charts or footnotes translates awkwardly to audio, and skimming/re-reading a specific passage is easier on the page — but for most fiction and narrative nonfiction, the format doesn't meaningfully change what you take away from the story.

Where audiobooks genuinely lose ground

Not comprehension — attention. Audiobooks are far easier to consume while doing something else (driving, chores, a run), and heavy multitasking is where retention actually drops, for either format. If you finish an audiobook and remember almost nothing, the likely cause isn't the format, it's that you were doing three other things at the same time.

Should it count toward your reading goal?

That's a personal call, and there's no wrong answer — some readers lump every format into one number, others like seeing physical, ebook, and audio broken out separately just for the curiosity of it. What actually matters is picking a rule and being consistent, not which rule you pick. See how many books you should read a year for more on why the number matters less than people think anyway.

Frequently asked

Is listening to an audiobook the same as reading?

Cognitively, comprehension and retention are broadly similar between listening and reading for most people and most books — the difference is the input channel (ear vs. eye), not whether the story is actually processed and understood. The "it's not real reading" argument is mostly a cultural habit, not a comprehension finding.

Should audiobooks count toward my yearly reading goal?

That's entirely your call, and a reasonable one either way — some readers count everything together, others like tracking formats separately just to see the split. What matters is being consistent with whatever rule you pick, not which rule you pick.

Do you retain less from an audiobook than a physical book?

Not meaningfully for most people under normal conditions — research comparing reading and listening comprehension generally finds them comparable. Retention drops for either format when you're multitasking heavily, which is more of a factor with audiobooks simply because they're easier to consume while doing something else.