Kobo Writing Life
Accepts a synthetic narration if you label it
Rakuten Kobo’s own help centre says it accepts AI-narrated audiobooks. Credit the narrator as a synthesised voice, not as a person.
Checked October 2026. kobo.com/writinglife
Market
Kobo is an international bookshop owned by Rakuten, with a particularly strong readership in Canada and a presence in many other countries. It is not a specialist audiobook club.
The Audio Publishers Association reported US audiobook revenue of $2.43 billion for 2025. It does not publish how much of that belongs to Kobo, so this page does not invent a share.
Audiobook upload on Kobo Writing Life was still being switched on account by account in 2026. If you do not see an audiobook tab, Kobo asks you to email and request it.
Contact
Files they prefer
Kobo’s upload guide accepts .mp3 only. One file must be 200 MB or smaller, and the whole book 2 GB or smaller.
A Listening Room download is already MP3 at 44.1 kHz and 192 kbps, with opening credits, intro pages, chapters, and closing credits as separate files. That shape fits Kobo’s published file rule.
Name the narrator contributor exactly as Kobo asks: “Synthesised voice - male”, “Synthesised voice - female”, or “Synthesised voice - unspecified”. You also need an author contributor. Do not put Leo, Eve, or any other voice name in the narrator field as if a person had read the book.
Kobo’s AI article was updated on 24 September 2026. Their audiobook FAQ, updated 18 September 2026, says the same thing in shorter form.
Money
À-la-carte sales: 45% of the list price when the price is at least $2.99 USD, £1.99, €1.99, or the local equivalent Kobo publishes. Below that threshold the rate is 35%.
Token or subscription downloads: 32% of the list price. Kobo Plus minutes are paid on the same basis as Kobo Plus ebooks.
Kobo does not ask for exclusivity. You can sell the same files elsewhere.
You set the price. Kobo suggests looking at length and at what similar audiobooks cost. Payment is monthly once you pass their threshold, combined with ebook earnings.
What else to know
The audiobook tool is not on every dashboard yet. Email Kobo with the title, author, and a short summary if you need it switched on.
All Kobo audiobooks are in the token subscription as well as sold outright. You cannot opt a title out of that.
Library sales are a separate Kobo arrangement (they publish 50% of the library price on OverDrive-style sales). The AI help page does not promise that a synthesised-voice title will be offered to libraries. Ask before you count on Libby.
Say in the description that the book is narrated by a synthetic voice. The Listening Room credits already do this.