Free music and audio books for children

Free audio plays, music and podcasts for children

Here you’ll find free audio plays, children’s songs, podcasts and children’s radio, selected for families. You can listen to everything directly in your browser, on your smartphone, tablet or computer, or transfer it to your hörbert.

Here’s how to find your way around:

  • Podcasts: search for audio plays, bedtime stories and educational programmes for children and listen to them right away.
  • Web radio: ad-free children’s radio such as Wolkenradio and other stations for children.
  • Downloads: trustworthy websites with free audio plays and songs to download.
  • Recordings: record favourite programmes and listen to them offline.

Tip: listening without a screen. All the content on this page also plays on hörbert, the wooden music box. Your child presses a button and listens, entirely without a display and without a subscription. Get to know hörbert

PODCASTS – just search and start listening

Our podcast search accesses an external database that contains podcasts on many different topics – not just children’s podcasts. To quickly find suitable content for kids, it’s helpful to enter specific search terms, for example: children, audio plays for children, bedtime stories, family, children’s education, Maus zum Hören, Geolino.

You can also select the desired language in the search. This is especially practical when you are looking for content in German, English, French, Turkish, Spanish, Polish or other languages – ideal for playful language learning. Once the results list appears, simply click on a podcast to open its detail page and get the direct link to the selected episode or series. From there you can start listening immediately – on any device or later with your hörbert.

Here you can discover valuable and diverse children’s podcasts that spark imagination, impart knowledge and accompany children through everyday life.

Please support: podcastindex.org

Podcast recommendations from our blog

Here you will find blog articles in which we present selected podcasts worth listening to. Short, inspiring recommendations that help you discover exciting content for the whole family.

A new podcast tip for little explorers: In the latest episode of Die Maus, “Into the Fog”, children learn how fog forms, why it feels so mysterious, and how you can even create it yourself. Informative, calmly narrated, and perfect for shared listening moments – now also easily playable as a podcast with hörbert, thanks to automatic downloads in the newest firmware update.

ad-free internet radio for children

Wolkenradio is online! The hörbert editorial team proudly presents the new ad-free web radio station for children and families. Fun, joy, knowledge and simply great music from morning to night.

Imagine a radio station truly made just for children and families – with music that is not only fun but also enriching, with lovingly curated content and no advertising. That is exactly what the new Wolkenradio from hörbert offers. It features music that empowers children, inspires parents and is enjoyed by the whole family.

WEBRADIO – just search and start listening

Our web radio search accesses a database containing many different radio stations – from classic music stations to talk formats. To quickly find child-friendly stations, it’s worth using targeted search terms, for example: radio for children, children’s music, children’s radio, children’s songs, audio plays, family radio, children’s audio play. Or if you know a particular radio station, simply enter part of its name in the search field.

As soon as the list of available stations appears, just click on an entry to open the detail page and get the direct link for playback. You can listen to the radio straight away on your smartphone, computer or tablet – or add the station to your hörbert in Browser Set Mode, so your device is always ready to play favourite music and children’s programmes.

Here you can discover safe and varied internet radio stations for children – full of music, stories and cheerful energy for every day.

Please support: radio-browser.info

Recommended websites with free content for children

We have put together a selection of trusted websites where you can find free stories, music, children’s songs, audio plays and other materials for children. Safe and valuable sources that you can explore together with your child or use for your own recordings and playlists.

Screen showing the website of the singing project Canto elementar with a yellow banner of figure silhouettes

Canto elementar – the singing nursery school

Canto elementar is a project by Karl Adamek. The older and younger generation sing together the most popular German folk songs.
Screen showing the musicfox website for GEMA-free music and sound effects

musicfox.com

Let the children sing… On musicfox.com there are instrumental music for free and without GEMA fees.
Grandmother holding a baby on her lap, a hörbert with three buttons next to them on the sofa

Free music and stories for children and adults

Here we're happy to give you tips on how to get new audio content for your hörbert easily, legally and free of charge.
Screen showing hörbert's YouTube channel with video thumbnails

YouTube

Save music from YouTube as MP3 for personal use, or listen to it on hörbert via Bluetooth and record it at the same time. Here's how it works.
Screen showing the Loyal Books website and cover images of free audiobooks

Loyal Books

A large quantity of audio plays in various languages is offered here free of charge and is available for download.
Screen showing the audio archive on the Deutschlandfunk website

Deutschlandfunk

Offers audio plays on a wide variety of topics, which can be downloaded free of charge or streamed via Bluetooth.
Screen showing the website DieKurzgeschichte.de with audio story categories for children

dieKurzgeschichte.de

Hours of listening pleasure with stories recommended for children up to 12 years of age.
Screen showing the music box page of the children's website Auditorix for downloading music

www.auditorix.de

Auditorix is a seal of approval for audiobooks. An initiative of the Landesanstalt für Medien NRW. Also with music downloads.
Screen showing the LibriVox website for free public domain audiobooks

Librivox.org

Free public domain audiobooks in various languages.
Screen showing the Internet Archive home page and its collections

The Internet Archive

Non-profit online library with free English audiobooks for children, such as Alice in Wonderland, Heidi or The Jungle Book.
Screen showing the Gratis-Hörspiele website and preview images of new audio plays

Gratis-Hoerspiele.de – High-quality professional productions as well as fan projects

For over 10 years, Gratis-Hoerspiele.de has been collecting free and legal audio dramas and audiobooks, including well-known children's audio dramas available for download.
Screen showing the children's section of the ARD Audiothek with radio plays and advent calendar

SWR2 Playroom

Free audio plays for children from SWR in the ARD Audiothek, for streaming and as MP3 downloads, from Pumuckl to Ohrenbär.
Screen showing the vorleser.net website with the slogan "Hören was zu dir passt!"

Vorleser.net – Listen to Literature

Classics for listening: fairy tales and stories by Grimm, Andersen, Hauff, Busch and many more, read aloud free of charge.
Screen showing the children's audiobook website Ohrka "Huge for children"

Ohrka.de – the high-quality audio portal for children

The non-profit audio portal for children: free, ad-free audio plays and over 100 fairy tales, read by Anke Engelke, Katharina Thalbach and many more.
Screen showing the website "Die Seite mit der Maus" with the mouse, the duck and the elephant

KiRaKa / wdrmaus.de

Screen showing an audio play website with covers of the latest audio plays

Hoerspielprojekt.de

RECORD AND SAVE – favourite content always at hand, even offline

hörbert doesn’t just let you play music, stories and broadcasts – you can also record them so you can listen later, offline and on any SD card. You can record anything that’s currently playing – for example internet radio, content streamed via Bluetooth, or other audio sources.

Thanks to the built-in microphone, you can also create your own recordings with hörbert. It’s perfect for capturing special moments: bedtime stories, family messages, first attempts at singing, or your child’s own made-up tales. You can listen to the recordings again at any time – at home, on the go, or before bedtime.

hörbert makes sure that meaningful sounds aren’t lost. They stay with you for a long time – safely stored and available whenever you want them.

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Listen to free audio plays, without a screen

On a smartphone or tablet, the next click is never far away: videos, games, adverts. That’s why many parents want a device that can do just one thing: play stories and music.

That’s exactly what hörbert is for. Colourful buttons instead of a display, everything on this page can be listened to on it, and you don’t need a subscription. Buy it once, no ongoing costs:

Frequently Asked Questions About Free Audio Plays for Children

Where can I find free audio stories for children?

On this page we’ve collected sources for free audio plays, podcasts and children’s radio. Under “Downloads” you’ll find websites where you can download audio plays and children’s songs free of charge. Under “Podcasts” you can search specifically for audio plays and bedtime stories.

Can I download the audio plays for free?

Yes, many providers offer audio plays and songs as MP3s for free download. You’ll find the links in the “Downloads” tab. Podcasts and web radio, on the other hand, are usually listened to directly as a stream.

How do the audio plays get onto hörbert?

You transfer downloaded MP3 files to the memory card in your web browser without any other software. You can also add web radio stations in the browser Set Mode. And hörbert can even record whatever is currently playing. Here’s how

Do I need the internet or a subscription for this?

You need the internet for downloading, updating podcasts and playing web radio. Whatever is on hörbert’s memory card will then play offline too. You don’t need a subscription for hörbert.