Audible 2023 Review: 7 Reasons It’s Worth It (& 4 It’s Not)

Do you love reading books but simply don’t have the time?

Does the idea of reading books sound interesting, but you want to do multiple things at once and not focus 100% on reading?

If that’s the case, then maybe audiobooks are the right format for you.

After finishing only one audiobook most people realize that written books and audiobooks are almost two distinct forms of entertainment, and neither is better than the other.

Do you love reading books but simply don’t have the time?

Does the idea of reading books sound interesting, but you want to do multiple things at once and not focus 100% on reading?

If that’s the case, then maybe audiobooks are the right format for you.

After finishing only one audiobook most people realize that written books and audiobooks are almost two distinct forms of entertainment, and neither is better than the other.
Audiobooks are a different medium to physical books, and for many they are much more immersive

Besides the actual characters and action within the book itself, with audiobooks you also form an attachment to the narrator, which in Audible’s case is always a professional voice actor.

It’s strange to describe, but when you find an audiobook you enjoy, the narrator feels like an old and trusted friend that never judges and always accepts you as you are.

That’s despite the fact that you never say anything and they do all the talking.

Finally, audiobooks are fantastic for people with generally busy schedules, but with small windows of free time such as work commuting, quick lunches, repetitive work tasks, household chores etc.

It allows them to fill in the time with something that is fun, entertaining or educational.

“Is Audible worth it?” The table below contains a short list of its pros and cons.

Audible Strong Points Audible Weak Points
30 day free trial, with 1 free credit and access to another 10,000+ free audiobooksMobile app interface is annoying (except audiobook player, which is excellent)
Audible has 250,000+ fiction audiobooks, 300,000+ non-fiction, 100,000 podcastsNo personalized suggestion algorithm for new audiobooks; few features to discover audiobooks
Affordable pricing, starting at $7.95 or $14.95 per monthYou don’t truly own audiobooks you’ve purchased
Amazing credit refund policy, can even refund finished audiobooks no questions asked!Audible not included in Amazon Prime, nor does it provide discount for Prime users
Excellent sound quality, all narrators are professional voice actors 
Bookmarks, notes, narration speed, sleep timer 
Plus Catalog: 10,000+ audiobooks that are free to listen & require no money / credits to obtain 
Audible does not have ads 
Listening time, badges and other fun stats 

How does Audible work & review

Audible is an audiobook subscription service, similar to Netflix but with some important differences.

All Audible paid subscription plans give you access to an all-you-can-eat library of 10,000 audiobooks called Plus Catalogue. Audiobooks in Plus Catalogue are entirely free to download and listen.

10,000 audiobooks sounds like a lot, but Audible has 500,000+ audiobook titles in its library, and the vast majority are not included in the Plus Catalogue.

Audible Premium Plus plans give you 1-2 credits per month (or 12-24 upfront for annual plans).

You can use a credit to buy any audiobook at a 1 credit : 1 audiobook exchange rate, regardless of an audiobook’s price.

This is very cost effective, since a credit is worth around $15, while many audiobooks cost $30-45 if bought with actual money.  Finally, any audiobook purchased with money or credits is yours to keep.

FeaturesAudible – No SubscriptionAudible PlusPremium Plus – 1 CreditPremium Plus – 2 Credits
Monthly subscription priceNone$7.95$14.95$22.95
Access to Plus Catalogue (10,000 Free Audiobooks)NoYesYesYes
Credits per monthNoNo12
Buying books outside Plus Catalogue?Money onlyMoney onlyCredits or MoneyCredits or Money

Cost of an Audible subscription, free trial and what it gives you

Audible offers a 30 day free trial which gives you:

  • 1 free credit (2 if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber).
  • Access to Plus Catalogue.

To sign-up to the free trial, you will have to submit credit/debit card details. However, you will not be billed until after the 30-day free trial is over.

If you cancel the subscription, you can still enjoy the benefits of the free trial until the end of the 30 days. When the free trial is over you receive no more credits and access to Plus Catalogue is suspended.

Amazon Prime subscribers get 2 credits instead of 1 during the initial free trial. This is the only benefit Prime users have in Audible, and after the free trial will receive the same benefits as non-Prime Audible users.

Audible Subscription Cost What an Audible subscription gives you
Audible Plus ($7.95 per month)Unlimited listening to Plus Catalogue (10,000 free audiobooks). No Credits.
Audible Premium Plus ($14.95 per month)1 credit per month ($14.95 per credit)
Audible Premium Plus – 2 credits ($22.95 per month)2 credits per month ($11.5 per credit)
Audible Premium Plus Annual- 12 credits ($119.95 first year, $149.95 after that)12 credits upfront ($10 per credit). No extra monthly credits.
Audible Premium Plus Annual- 24 credits ($229.50 a year)24 credits upfront ($9.5 per credit). No extra monthly credits.

Tips to reduce Audible costs

  • Wishlist audiobooks and wait for them to come on sale (Black Friday, Easter holidays, Christmas etc.).
  • A credit is worth around $15, so use money to buy audiobooks cheaper than $15, and use credits for audiobooks above $15.
  • Audible discounts 1-2 audiobooks every day during a daily deal.
  • Cancelling your subscription will often trigger a -25% to 50% discount incentive to restart the membership.
  • Take advantage of Audible’s refund policy and return even finished audiobooks to get your credit back.
  • You can save $5-10 on every book by buying the Kindle book first, and then the Audible version as an add-on.
  • Keep an eye out for 2-books-for-1-credit sales.

Audible is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, Mac & Kindle devices

A final mention is that Audible comes with a feature called Whyspersync. This works with Kindle devices, and keeps your place whenever you switch from Kindle to Audible and vice versa.

Unfortunately, you usually need to buy the book twice, one for Audible and one for Kindle, in order for the feature to work.

If you don’t have a Kindle, check out this Kindle review and see if Kindle is worth it for you.

7 reasons Audible is worth it

Audible has 500,000+ audiobooks, both fiction and non-fiction

Audible has 500,000+ audiobooks in its library, which is the biggest of any audiobook subscription service.

About 50% of all titles are fiction – meaning mystery, sci-fi, romance, adult & mature, fantasy books etc.

The other 50% is non-fiction, such as history, health, biographies, business and careers, science audiobooks etc.

Finally, Audible also comes with a library of some 100,000+ podcasts, complete with downloadable episodes.

Plus Catalogue and exclusive Audible Originals

Plus Catalogue is the all-you-can-eat library of 10,000 audiobooks that all Audible subscribers have access to.

You don’t have to pay any credits or money to download audiobooks the Plus Catalogue, and can listen to as many as you want.

You can recognize if a book is in the Plus Catalog by the INCLUDED tag in its description.

Plus Catalogue also includes Audible Originals. These are in-house productions by Audible Studios, and are often narrated by Hollywood actors such as Collin Farrell or Bryan Cranston and have the best possible audio quality and even some interesting sound effects.

These Originals are exclusive to Audible (you can’t find them on any other audiobook service) and are all included for free in the Plus Catalog.

Incredibly easy to refund audiobooks and get back credits spent

Audible has a no-questions asked refund policy, where you can refund an audiobook and get back the credit you spent on buying the audiobook.

The refund policy is so generous, you can refund even audiobooks you’ve listened in full.

You can do this around 5-6 times in a 2 month period. After that the refund button will be grayed out.

It’s still possible to get a refund even in this case, you just have to contact Audible support.

Authors narrating their own books & excellent audio quality

Audible has very strict audio quality guidelines for publishing audiobooks on the service.

Audiobooks must essentially be silent, with the exception of the narrator. Meaning no accidental pops, clicks or other distracting sounds.

The narrators themselves must also be professional voice actors.

One exception to the “professional voice actors” rule are audiobooks narrated by their own authors. Examples include Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman or Stephen King narrating dozens of his books such as Salem’s Lot or Needful Things.

 Adjustable narration speed, sleep timer, bookmarks and numerous reviews

The Audible mobile interface

The audiobook player interface is really, really good and offers a ton of useful features such as:

  • Adjusting narration speed (from 0.5x to 3.5x speed).
  • Bookmarks + the ability to write notes at certain moments in the audiobook.
  • Chapters.
  •  Sleep timer (meaning the audiobook player stops running after X amounts of time).

The narration speed function in particular is amazingly well done. It’s so good, that at lower playback speeds (0.8x to 1.4x) narrators still sound entirely natural and believable. You wouldn’t be able to tell the audiobook was sped up/down unless somebody pointed it out to you.

A useful feature is the preview function, where you can listen to an audiobook for 5-10 minute before purchasing.

Finally, almost every audiobook on Audible has hundreds of star ratings and dozens of written reviews. It’s part of the benefit of having a giant userbase that reads a lot and leaves lots of reviews.

Audible does not have ads

Audible does not have any sort of ads. You’ll never have to worry an ad will take up valuable space within the app, or that your listening experience will be interrupted by a 2-for-1 burger promotion at your local restaurant. 

It’s just you, the audiobook, and the narrator that keeps you company without any other distractions.

Listening time, badges, and stats

Audible has a neat feature that logs how much time you’ve spent listening to audiobooks in total, as well as a per day and per month breakdown.

Another feature is the “badges” you can earn while using the app. These badges are handed out whenever you complete a certain challenge.

There are no practical benefits to completing challenges and acquiring badges. It’s just a light-hearted, fun feature that can draw a smile with how silly some challenges are worded.

4 reasons Audible is not worth it

The mobile app interface is annoying to use

With the exception of the audio player (which is fantastic), the Audible user interface is a chore to use.

Slow page load speeds, useful features hidden behind several layers of menus, half the app is dark themed while other is light themed etc.

One particularly annoying feature is how hard it is to find even important settings such as: Wishlist, Payment Options, Purchase History etc.

Overall, the user interface isn’t bad enough to be a deal breaker, but it’s bad enough to be annoying.

Searching for new audiobooks is tedious

Audible has a suggestion algorithm that recommends new audiobooks based on whatever you’ve been listening.

It works decently well at first, but it usually ends up suggesting the same 15 books over and over again.

On top of the repetitive suggestions, Audible also has a very bad search engine to find new audiobooks.

The search function works well if you type in near exact terms such as “harry potter” but completely breaks down if you search for something more complex such as “books like harry potter”:

Even if the search function does work for you, you’ll experience a lot of friction navigating back and forth between different audiobook listings just to find the next book to read.

Overall, searching for new books within Audible involves lots of menus, excessive tapping and scrolling, slow loading times etc. Combined they all make for a really tedious browsing experience.

In fact, in my day to day use I vastly preferred using Goodreads or Google to discover new books, and then buying them directly on Audible.

You don’t really OWN the audiobooks

With any digital media whether it’s digital copies of movies, music you buy from iTunes, ebooks you buy from Amazon, or audiobooks from Audible, you don’t actually “own” the item even if you paid for it. You are actually buying a license to use the file.

Thus, if a publisher or author removes their audiobook from Audible, then that audiobook disappears from the cloud library in your account and you can’t listen to it again, even if you paid for it.

The only exception is if you downloaded the audiobook to your device before it was removed. Audible won’t touch audiobook downloads already on your device so those are safe (until you run out of storage space).

To Audible’s merit, however, their customer support will always refund credits if this happens to you.

To be fair, this lack of ownership over digital products isn’t isolated to Audible. It’s a feature of the digital economy and you’ll encounter the same problem with every other such platform, be it Apple iTunes, Steam (video games), Google Play etc.

Audible is not included for free in Amazon Prime

Unfortunately, Amazon Plus subscribers don’t get access to Audible for free, as they do with Amazon Prime Video.

You can argue this is nitpicking, but it would have been nice if Amazon at least allowed you to add Audible as an add-on to Prime at a discounted rate (like an extra $6-7 to your monthly Prime subscription).

As it currently stands, the only benefit Audible gives to Amazon Prime subscribers is that they get 2 credits instead of 1 during their free trial period. That’s pretty much it.

Maybe in the future Amazon will bundle up the two subscriptions together, but until then separate subscriptions is how it has to be.

Is an Audible subscription worth the money?

If you love books, but have a busy schedule with no time to read or prefer audio content, then Audible is absolutely worth your money because audiobooks sound intimate and personal, narrators feel like old, trusted friends and Audible has the biggest library, awesome return policies and excellent prices.

Audible alternatives

Audiobooks.com

Audiobooks.com is the closest alternative to Audible. Unfortunately for them, they seem to come very close to Audible in every feature but aren’t able to beat them at nearly anything, except a more generous free trial.

Audiobooks.comAudible
250,000 audiobook library500,000 audiobook library
30 Day Free Trial with 3 free audiobooks30 Day Free Trial with 1 free audiobook
$14.95 / $27.90 / $38.85 per month$7.95 / $14.95 / $22.95 per month
1 / 2 / 3 credits per month to redeem any audiobook0 / 1 / 2 credits per month to redeem any audiobook
Choose 1 free audiobook out of a selection of 15-20 ; Can spend 1 credit to read hundreds of free audiobooks in a certain categoryAll plans have 10,000 free audiobooks
No refunds allowedCan refund a book multiple times to recover credit

Overdrive

Overdrive is an entirely free platform that connects ~50,000 libraries and lets you borrow audiobooks, ebooks, magazines and more for free.

To use Overdrive you will need either a library card or a Student ID to create an account and start borrowing books.

If you aren’t a student and don’t have a library card, then you can go to your local library, create a free card and use it to make an Overdrive account.

Disadvantages of Overdrive:

  • Fewer audiobooks than Audible.
  • App is harder to use and not as intuitive.
  • You must return audiobooks.
  • You have to wait for some audiobooks to be returned before getting them.

LibriVox

LibriVox is a collection of around 25,000 audiobooks that are in the public domain and read by volunteers.

It costs nothing to create an account and begin listening to audiobooks on LibriVox. That being said, most of the books there are “old”, meaning they’re published around 1930 or older and they are read by volunteers.

This means the quality isn’t quite there, both in terms of recording equipment and also narrator skill, but the audiobooks there are free and you might just be lucky enough to stumble across a volunteer with actual narrating skills and decent recording equipment.


Audible FAQ

Audible FAQ
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Audible library and book selection

How many audiobooks does Audible have?

Audible has a library of over 250,000 fiction audiobooks, and more than 300,000 non-fiction audiobooks and more are added daily. This includes both old, classic books as well as the newest releases.

Does Audible have every audiobook, are there titles Audible does not carry?

Audible has by far the biggest selection of audiobooks, however there are a few titles not on Audible that are carried by some of its competitors such as Kobo or Audiobooks.com.

Does Audible have a good book selection?

Audible has a selection of over 500,000 audiobooks in every category that includes classic and famous books, to audiobooks that are self-published by new authors. In any case, you will never run out of good audiobooks to read on Audible.

Does Audible have Science books?

Audible has an entire category dedicated to science books, with close to 20,000 titles that cover everything from biology, chemistry, history, philosophy, astronomy and many more.

Does Audible have erotica?

Audible has an entire category dedicated to erotica audiobooks, and currently has over 20,000 titles that are both fiction and non-fiction.

Does Audible have comics, manga or anime?

Audible has comic books, manga and anime but only in audiobook form, so no images or text. Hundreds of stories from DC Comics and Marvel are included in the Audible library.

Does Audible have Harry Potter audiobooks?

Audible has every Harry Potter book, including the Jim Dale narrated version. Each book can be acquired by using a credit or purchasing directly, with the price ranging from $29.99 to $44.99.

Does Audible have yoga classes?

Audible has hundreds of audiobooks about Yoga, including Yoga philosophy as well as audiobook guides for those who want to learn. Unfortunately, the books offer only audio so no visual aids and images to help you learn the poses.

Does Audible have video books?

Books on Audible come only in an audio format, and do not offer any kind of visuals such as videos or pictures.

Does Audible have 3D or binaural audiobooks?

Audible does have a few 3D or binaural audiobooks among its library, most of them being meditations books such as Binaural Beats Bundle 2 in 1.

Does Audible have speeches?

Audible has tens of audiobooks that contain extensive collections of speeches, some historically famous, others less so. Audible also has numerous self-improvement audiobooks for public speaking.

Does Audible have business books?

Audible has a Business & Career category with over 50,000+ audiobooks, divided into multiple subcategories that cover career advice, sales, business development, management, leadership and more.

Does Audible have light novel audiobooks?

Audible has a wide selection of light novel audiobooks in different genres such as harem or litRPG, and written by Japanese authors like Ly Yurimoto or western ones such as Marcus Sloss.

Does Audible have any books on the occult?

Audible has a special “Occult” category with close to 4,000 audiobooks centered around occult topics such as demonology, supernatural, magic studies.

Does Audible have scholarly books?

Audible does have academic scholarly books, however they don’t have a category of their own and are mixed together with popular knowledge audiobooks in non-fiction categories like Business, Science, etc.

Does Audible have a good selection of physics books?

Audible has over 1,200 audiobooks in its Physics section, which cover topics ranging from astronomy to particle physics and are authored by scientists such as Neil deGrasse Tyson or Michio Kaku.

Does Audible have or offer textbooks?

Audible does not have physical textbooks you can read, but it does include a Study Guides & Test Preparation category that contains 600 audiobook version of textbooks you can read to prepare for various tests.

Does Audible have GED textbooks?

Currently, Audible has a dozen or so audiobook versions of GED study guides, practice questions and some content review.

Does Audible have college textbooks?

Audible does have some college textbooks in audiobook form, however these are few and far between. You may not be able to find your exact college textbook, but it might be possible to find similar alternatives.

Does Audible have radio dramas?

Audible has an entire section dedicated to radio or audio dramas, titled Audible Original Dramas. Audible radio drama audiobooks stand out through their better audio quality and use of famous actors as narrators.

How often does Audible get new books and change its lineup?

Audible usually adds new audiobooks to its lineup on a weekly basis, but this can vary depending on time of year or other circumstances.

Does Audible Have [book]

Does Audible have Game of Thrones?

Audible does have the A Song of Ice and Fire series, which the Game of Thrones TV series is based on, as well as a few more books based in the same Universe, but not directly connected to the main story.

Does This Man trilogy come on Audible?

Audible has the entire This Man Trilogy, and it can be read for free with an Audible Plus subscription.

Does Audible offer the Little House on the Prairie books?

Audible carries all the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and these can be read for free with a monthly Audible Plus subscription.

Does Audible have The Book Thief?

Audible does have “The Book Thief” audiobook by Markus Zusak, and it can be read for free with a monthly Audible Plus subscription.

Does Audible have Warriors by Erin Hunt

Audible does have all the “Warriors” series books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and these can be read for free with a monthly Audible Plus subscription.

Does audible have The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings?

Audible has all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, including The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and most other books in the Lord of the Rings Universe.

Does Audible have Librarians or Archivist

Audible does have all the “Librarian Chronicles” series books by Christy Sloat, and these can be read for free with a monthly Audible Plus subscription.

Foreign language books and language learning audiobooks on Audible

Does Audible have language learning books with lessons?

Audible has an entire section dedicated to language learning audiobooks with over 14,000 titles that cover dozens of languages including German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Italian, French and many more.

Does Audible have different foreign language books?

Audible offers tens of thousands of audiobooks narrated in languages such as Spanish, French, Japanese, as well as many different foreign language books that have been translated into English.

Does Audible have audiobooks in Spanish?

Audible has a library of over 10,000 fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in the Spanish language. Audible also comes with Spanish language learning books as well as books written by Spanish authors translated to English.

Does Audible have Italian language books?

Audible has a library of over 10,000 fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in the Italian language. Audible also comes with Italian language learning books as well as books written by Italian authors translated to English.

Does Audible have French language books?

Audible has a library with over 10,000+ fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in the French language. Audible also comes with French language learning books as well as books written by French authors translated to English.

Does Audible have German books too?

Audible has a library with over 40,000+ fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in the German language. Audible also comes with German language learning books as well as books written by German authors translated to English.

Does Audible have books in Japanese?

Audible has a library with over 10,000+ fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in Japanese. Audible also comes with Japanese language learning books as well as books written by Japanese authors translated to English.

Does Audible have books in Chinese?

Audible has a library of over 1,000 fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in Chinese. Audible also comes with Chinese language learning books as well as books written by Chinese authors translated to English.

Does Audible do books in Russian?

Audible has a library of over 6,000 fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in the Russian language. Audible also comes with Russian language learning books as well as books written by Russian authors translated to English.

Does Audible have Ukrainian language books?

Unfortunately, Audible has very few Ukrainian language books, with the exception of language learning audiobooks.

Does Audible have Korean books?

Audible has only a few hundred fiction and non-fiction audiobooks narrated in the Korean language. Audible also comes with Korean language learning books as well as books written by Korean authors translated to English.

Does Audible have Norwegian books?

Audible only has a few hundred audiobooks narrated in Norwegian language, both fiction and non-fiction audiobooks. Audible also has Norwegian language learning books as well as books written by Norwegian authors translated to English.

Does Audible have Hebrew content?

Audible has very few fiction audiobooks narrated in the Hebrew language, but it does come with many Hebrew language learning audiobooks if that is what you are looking for.

Audible and music

Does Audible sell or play music?

Audible is an audiobook only subscription service, and does not sell or play any kind of music through its app.

Does Audible provide or allow ambient music in audiobooks?

Audible does not come with ambient or background music for audiobooks, however on some devices it’s possible to use Audible app for audiobooks and another music app for background music.

Does Audible work with Apple Music?

Audible does not work with Apple Music, however you can authorize Audible to stream music through iTunes.

Non-audiobook content on Audible

Does Audible only have audiobooks?

Audible is primarily an audiobook subscription service, however Audible also includes other types of content such as 100,000 podcasts, ASMR tracks, meditations, sleep tracks and more.

Does Audible let you rent or borrow books?

Audible does not have the option of borrowing or renting audiobooks or physical, written books. To use Audible, you will have to purchase an audiobook using credits or real money.

Does Audible have podcasts?

Audible does do podcasts, and has recently built a library of over 100,000 podcasts totaling just over 5 million individual episodes.

Does Audible include New York Times, Wall Street Journal or other newspaper magazine subscriptions?

As of 2021, Audible still comes included with a daily digest subscription to New York Times and Wall Street Journal, as well as major popular podcasts.

How Does Audible work

How does Audible by Amazon work?

Audible is an audiobook subscription service that gives 1-2 credits per month you can use to redeem any audiobook on Audible no matter the price. Subscriptions also include Plus Catalogue, a collection of 10,000 free audiobooks.

Does a monthly Audible subscription give you unlimited streaming of audiobooks? 

Out of a total of 500,000+ audiobooks, a monthly Audible provides unlimited, free streaming to only 10,000 audiobooks in its Plus Catalog. Audiobooks outside Plus Catalog must be purchased with money or credits.

Does Audible work internationally or in countries like Japan, Canada, Guam?

Audible works in nearly every country in the world, including Japan or Canada, as long as you have Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or Amazon Store Card. However, some audiobooks may not be available in certain countries.

Does Audible stream or download audiobooks?

Audible can both stream and download Audiobooks. Downloading audiobooks saves them to your device so you can listen to audiobooks while offline, while streaming let’s you listen over the Internet without using your device memory storage.

How the different Audible subscriptions work

How much does an Audible subscription membership cost?

Audible has multiple pricing tiers: $7.95 per month, with no credits, $14.95 with 1 monthly credit, $22.95 with 2 monthly credits, $149.50 per year with 12 credits upfront, or $229.5 per year with 24 credits. All plans include 10,000 free Audiobooks in Plus Catalogue.

How does an Audible subscription membership work?

An Audible audiobook subscription membership gives 1-2 credits per month you can use to redeem any audiobook from Audible’s 500,000+ titles, no matter the price. Subscriptions also include Plus Catalogue, a collection of 10,000 free audiobooks.

What does an Audible subscription membership give you?

An Audible subscription membership gives you access to a library of 500,000+ audiobooks and 100,000 podcasts, 1-2 credits per month with which you can purchase any audiobook no matter the price, and a separate library of 10,000 completely free audiobooks called Plus Catalogue and more.

Does Audible require a subscription membership?

Audible does not require a subscription, however you will have to purchase audiobooks at full price ​from $10 to $50. A $14.95 monthly subscription gives 1 free book per month of your choice, and access to Plus Catalogue, a library of 10,000+ free audiobooks

Does an Audible membership give you any and every available audiobook?

Even with an Audible subscription you will still have to purchase nearly every audiobook, however a monthly subscription gives you 1-2 credits per month and you can use 1 credit to purchase any audiobook regardless of price.

How many types of membership plans does Audible have?

Audible has multiple types of subscriptions: $7.95 per month, with no credits, $14.95 with 1 monthly credit, $22.95 with 2 monthly credits, $149.50 per year with 12 credits upfront, or $229.5 per year with 24 credits. All plans include 10,000 free Audiobooks in Plus Catalogue.

Why does Audible have a subscription?

You don’t have to subscribe to Audible to use it. Without a subscription you have to buy every audiobook at full price, but subscribing gives you one free book per month of your choice and access to Plus Catalogue, a collection of 10,000 free audiobooks.

Does Audible allow you to buy audio books individually or do you have to subscribe?

You can buy Audible audiobooks individually without subscribing, however it’s very expensive since you will have to pay full price meaning $10 to $50. A monthly subscription gives 1-2 credits per month and 1 credit allows you to purchase any audiobook regardless of price.

Understanding Audible credits

How do Audible credits work? What does one credit mean?

One credit means you can use it to redeem any audiobook on Audible, no matter how expensive the audiobook is. You receive 1-2 credits per month, depending on subscription plan, and refunding an audiobook will also return your credit.

Does returning or refunding an Audible book give your credit & money back?

Returning an Audible audiobook purchased with a credit will automatically give you back your credit, while refunds for books purchased with money will be processed within 7 to 10 business days.

How often does Audible give free credits?

Audible very rarely gives you free credits, and there are no clear rules or events that can determine how and when you will receive a free credit.

How much does one Audible credit cost?

One Audible credit is worth around 10-12 dollars, however you can only purchase credits directly through Audible special offer bundles that include 3 credits at around $35.

 How much does one credit buy on Audible? Does every audiobook cost 1 credit?

One credit in Audible allows you to buy any audiobook you want, no matter how expensive it is in real dollars.

Does Audible give you a credit every month?

For monthly plans, Audible will give you 1-2 credits per month. If you choose an annual plan, Audible will give you 12-24 credits upfront.

Does Audible have a library of free audiobooks?

Audible does have a free library of over 10,000 audiobooks called Plus Catalogue. Audiobooks in Plus Catalogue are free to listen to, so you do not need to spend credits or real money to purchase them.

How long do audiobooks purchased on Audible last? Do the audiobooks expire or disappear?

Audible usually keeps purchased audiobooks in your account’s cloud forever. However, due to licensing agreements with publishers, Audible will sometimes remove audiobooks from your library but will refund you when it happens.

Downloading Audible audiobooks

Can you download books from Audible to an iPhone, Android device or PC?

After purchasing Audible content, you can download and listen to your titles directly from the Audible for Android, iOS, and Windows 10 apps. To download an audiobook, you must have a stable Wi-Fi or cellular data connection and enough space on your device to download the title.

How long does it take to download an Audible book?

An Audible audiobook is around 300-600 mb, so depending on how good your Internet connection is it can take around 1 to 10 minutes to download an audiobook to your PC, iPhone or Android device.

How much memory storage space does an Audible audiobook take?

One hour of an Audible audiobook takes around 15 MB for standard quality and 30 MB for high quality. Thus, a 20 hour audiobook will require 300-600 MB of memory storage space on your phone, depending on the quality.

Does Audible limit or delete book downloads?

You can download as many audiobooks from Audible as you want, there is no limit. Audible will also never delete any audiobooks you have downloaded to your device no matter the circumstances.

Overview of Audible app

What does the Audible app do? How does it work?

The Audible app on Android, iOS or other platforms allows you to download and listen to audiobooks on your device, while browsing and looking for interesting titles out of Audible’s more than 500,000+ audiobook library.

Does the Audible app on Android support voice commands?

The Audible app on iOS or Android does not support voice commands. Such a feature is only available on Amazon’s Echo devices.

Does Audible app play non-Audible audiobooks?

The Audible app on every platform is locked into playing only Audible books in .aax format, so you cannot use the Audible app to play any other audiobook formats.

Does Audible app need Wi-Fi to work or download?

To use Audible, you will need either Wi-Fi or Internet through your carrier to purchase or stream audiobooks. You can however download audiobooks to your device, so that you won’t need a constant Wi-Fi connection anymore.

How much data does Audible use over Wi-Fi?

A high quality Audible audiobook uses around 30 MB of data per hour, so 10 hours of Wi-Fi listening will consume around 300 MB of data.

Does Audible require an internet connection to work?

Audible requires an Internet connection to setup your account, purchase or download audiobooks. Once you have downloaded an audiobook, you can disconnect from the Internet and listen to the book from the device memory storage.

Does Audible require data when streaming or listening to audiobooks? How much data does it use?

Streaming Audible audiobooks consumes around 25-30 MB of data per hour of listening. You can however download audiobooks to your device over Wi-Fi and then listen to them while offline with no data usage.

Does Audible use data when listening to downloaded books?

Audible does not use data when listening to downloaded audiobooks, meaning you can even use Audible while offline and without internet.

Important Audible features

What does an Audible audiobook narration sound like? Is the audio good quality?

Audible has strict quality guidelines for its audiobooks, where all narrators are required to be professional voice actors, while the audio itself must have near 0 background noise and the recording is encoded at 64 kbps.

Are Audible narrators voice actors or a computer-generated voice?

All audible narrators are professional human voice actors. Some audiobooks are even narrated by famous actors such as Collin Farrell, Bryan Cranston and more.

Does Audible let you choose the “voice” or narrator of an audiobook?

On Audible, most popular books come in different audiobook versions with each one being narrated by a different voice actor. However, lesser known or newly published books usually offer a single version with one narrator voice.

Does Audible limit number of users or devices per account?

Fortunately, audible does not limit how many users and devices can use an account, meaning you can share your password with how many people you want at no extra cost.

Does Audible sync and save progress across multiple devices?

Audible syncs between every device that uses your account, and provides the same library in the account for every user and device. Audible will also sync your place on the audiobook you’re listening across all devices.

Does Audible have parental controls?

The Audible app itself does not have parental controls, and instead you must rely on Amazon Household Sharing to send kid-friendly audiobooks to a Child profile.

Does Amazon Household include Audible?

Amazon Household does not include Audible, however if one person has an Audible account, then they can share audiobooks to other Amazon Household users by using the Family Library Sharing feature for free.

Does Audible have a family sharing plan? Does it cost to share Audible membership with family?

Audible does not have a family sharing program, however any family member can login to an account because Audible does not limit how many users or devices can share an account. You can also use the Family Library feature in Amazon Household to share audiobooks with family members.

Audible useful features

Does Audible show maps when listing to book with maps?

Unfortunately, Audible does not come included with maps for its audiobooks, so you will have to rely on sources outside Audible for such a feature.

Does Audible a speed control feature to read faster?

For users who want to read faster, Audible has a speed control function that allows you to either slow down the narrator voice to a minimum of 0.5x or speed it up to 2x or even the maximum of 3.5x.

Does Audible work in airplane mode?

Audible does work in Airplane mode, however you must first download audiobooks to your device before activating Airplane mode, since you cannot stream audiobooks without Internet turned on.

Does Audible have a sleep timer?

Audible does come with a working sleep timer for users who like to fall asleep while listening to media content. To use the timer, simply set for how long you want the audiobook to play before it automatically stops.

Does Audible have a search function?

Audible has a powerful search function that comes with numerous filters so you can sort through books depending on genre, language, length and more.

How does Audible work offline or without internet?

You can still listen to Audible audiobooks while offline or without internet, but you will first need to download the audiobooks so they play from your device storage instead of needing a constant Internet connection to stream the audiobook.

How does Audible work with Overdrive?

Audible does not have any sort of integration with Overdrive, so you cannot share books, statistics or any features between the two services.

How long does it take to listen to one page or a 200 page book on Audible?

Most Audible voice actors narrate books slower than if you read it in your head. On average, it takes 50% more time to listen to an audiobook than reading it, so a 200 page book would take 9 hours to listen vs 6 to read. You can however change the speed of Audible narrations.

Does Audible drain battery? How much?

Audible does not use much battery, and is comparable to a music streaming or music playing app. On some occasions however the app might not properly shut down and still drain a little bit of phone battery in the background.

Does Audible use the cloud to save, download or play your audiobooks?

Audible comes with a feature called Cloud Player that saves all of your audiobooks in one library, so you can always listen and download saved audiobooks to any PC, Mac or mobile devices.

Does Audible eat up or use iCloud storage?

Audible does not use iCloud storage in any way, since any audiobook file you download is saved directly unto your Apple device and you do not have the option to move the audiobook file to iCloud.

Does Audible have written books you can read yourself?

Audible is an audiobook only service, and does not give you the written book in ebook or printed physical form. You can however use Whispersync and connect to a kindle and switch between ebook and audiobook.

Does Audible allow you to read only books you’ve bought?

You don’t always need to buy a book on Audible to listen to it, since Audible offers a library of 10,000 audiobooks called Plus Catalogue that is completely free to subscribers and requires no money or credits to listen to.

Does Audible come with ebooks you can read or is it just audio?

Audible does not sell ebooks of any kind, and purchasing an audiobook on Audible does not give you a free ebook on other services such as Kindle.

Does Audible include a PDF or EPUB format for its audiobooks?

Audible does not offer the option of having audiobooks in PDF or EPUB format, but some audiobooks come with extra materials and additional content that can be downloaded separately as a PDF.

Does Audible have text, captions or transcripts to read along?

Unfortunately, Audible does not have the book’s text or captions for users to read along. Audible planned to roll out a Captions feature in 2020, but licensing issues with book publishers stopped the feature from launching.

Does Audible say or track page numbers as you listen?

Audible voice narrators do not say or track the page numbers while reading the book. They will however say the name and number of a chapter or sections as they are written in the printed book.

Does Audible work or support Bluetooth connection on a phone?

Audible does work with Bluetooth, so you can listen to audiobooks from your phone through most Bluetooth paired devices such as headphones or car systems.

Does Audible use Bluetooth use data?

Using Audible through Bluetooth will use data if you choose to stream the audiobook directly over the Internet. You can however download the audiobook to your device, doing so will not require an constant Internet connection.

Audible and iTunes

How does Audible work with iTunes?

iTunes allows you to authorize the Audible app, so you can download Audible audiobooks directly into your iTunes account and play them from there.

Does iTunes have audiobooks that are not Audible

iTunes does have audiobooks that are not Audible, since it partners with many other audiobook publishers that have exclusive content not available on Audible. 

Do I need iTunes for Audible books

Audible is a separate, independent service from iTunes, meaning you do not need iTunes at all in order to use Audible and listen to its audiobooks.

Does Audible work with Quicktime?

The Quicktime player does not support Audible audiobook files because they are encoded in .aax, a proprietary codec that can only be opened in the Audible app.

Google and Audible

Does Google Home work with Audible? Does it read Audible books?

You can have Google Home read Audible audiobooks with two methods: 1) use the “Cast Screen / audio” function within Google Home mobile app or 2) Use a Bluetooth connection to stream audio from your device to Google Home.

 Does Google have a service or something that is similar to Audible?

As of 2021, Google does not have an audiobook service that is comparable to Audible.

Does Google Play have Audible books?

Google Play does have the Audible app, but Google Play does not have it’s own collection of audiobooks like Audible has.

Does Google Assistant work with Audible?

Unfortunately, you cannot use Google Assistant voice commands to open, listen, purchase audiobooks or do anything else in Audible.

Does Google own Audible?

Audible is owned by Amazon, and not by Google, Apple or Microsoft.

Spotify and Audible

Does Audible own Spotify?

Despite their similarities, Spotify is an independent company not owned by Audible.

Does Spotify Windows read Audible?

Spotify is not compatible with Audible, so you cannot read Audible audiobooks on Spotify.

Does Spotify have Audible books?

Spotify does have some audiobooks, however it’s nowhere near as big and comprehensive as Audible’s 500,000+ audiobook library.

Does Audible work like Spotify?

Audible is to audiobooks what Spotify is to music, and works in a similar way such as creating wishlists, audiobook collections, car mode, audio player and more.

Does Audible Work On X Device or OS

What devices does Audible work on?

Audible has an app for the most popular operating systems and works on most devices including iPhones, iPads, PC’s, Android phones and tablets, Kindle devices and Apple Watches.

How does Audible work with iPhone and iPad?

Audible works well with any iPhone, iPad and iOS in general, and even comes with an iTunes integration. All you need is to download Audible app, create an account and start listening to audiobooks.

Does Audible work on my MacOS MacBook?

Audible works on all MacOS devices, including MacBook Air, Pro and iMac devices. However, Audible has no MacOS app, so you can listen to audiobooks either through iTunes or by using the Audible Cloud Player on audible.com

How does Audible work on Android and older versions of Android?

Audible works on Android by installing the Audible app from the Google Play Store and creating an Audible membership. To use Audible on Android, you will need a device with Android version 4.4 or older.

Does Audible work on laptops or a desktop PC?

Audible works on both laptops and desktop PCs, either through their official desktop app for Windows 10, or by using your Internet browser to connect to Audibles Cloud Player on the audible.com website.

Does Audible work with Windows 10?

Audible does support Windows 10, and offers a desktop app you can download and install to your PC where you can play audiobooks, manage your account, build your library and purchase new books.

Does Audible work on Windows 7 or Windows XP?

Audible has discontinued its Windows 7 and Windows XP apps, however you can still listen to Audible audiobooks and manage your account through your Internet browser and using the Audible Cloud Player from the audible.com website.

Does Audible work with iPod Touch, Nano, Classic or Shuffle?

Audible works on all versions of iPod, including Nano, Shuffle or Classic, and requires only that you install the Audible app and create an account. You can also save audiobooks to iTunes and sync them to other Apple device.

Does Audible work on a Nook?

Nook tablets run on Google’s version of Android, so all you have to do use Audible is to just install the Audible app from the Play Store, create an account and start listening to audiobooks.

Does Audible work on a Samsung Galaxy phone?

Audible is compatible with any Android smartphone, including Samsung Galaxy phones. Simply install the app from the Google Play store, create an account and start listening to audiobooks.

Does Audible work on Sonos?

You can listen to Audible audiobooks on your Sonos device. To do so, you will first have to connect the Audible account to the Sonos speaker, and then stream the audiobook from your device to Sonos.

Does Roku have an Audible app? Does Roku work with Audible?

There is no dedicated Audible app or channel for the Roku, and the only way to play Audible on Roku is to either convert Audible audiobook files or stream Audible from your phone to your Roku device.

Does Audible work or stream to Chromecast?

Audible does not have a Chromecast app, so they do not work directly. The only way to use Audible with Chromecast is to stream/cast your Audible audiobook from your phone to the Chromecast device.

Does Sony Walkman work with Audible?

Unfortunately, the Sony Walkman is not compatible with Audible for two reasons: you will need an Internet connection to interact with the Audible app, and Audible encodes files in .aax, an audio format the Sony Walkman cannot play.

Does Audible work on Chrome?

You can play Audible audiobooks from Chrome or any other web browser. Simply go the Audible website, login to your account and play the audiobook from your account.

Audible and watch apps

Does Audible work on any smart watches? Does it have watch apps?

The only smart watch devices Audible has an app for and works on are Apple Watches. Audible does not have app support for other smartwatches such as Android, LG, Samsung, Wear OS etc.

Does Audible work on Apple Watch? Does it have an app for Apple Watch?

Audible works with Apple Watch but you will first have to install the Audible app on your watch device. Once you have so, so you can either transfer audiobooks directly to your Apple Watch, or stream them from your iPhone.

Does Audible work with Google Wear OS or other Android smartwatches?

Audible does not have an app for Google Wear OS or other Android Smartwatches, so trying to connect Android or Wear OS watches to Audible won’t work, meaning you won’t be able to play Audible audiobooks directly from your watch.

Does Audible work on Samsung watches such as Gear Fit 2 or Galaxy Watch?

Audible does not work with Samsung watches such as Gear Fit or Galaxy Watch because it does not have an app for such devices. As a result, Samsung watches cannot play Audible audiobooks directly.

Audible and mp3

Does Audible play MP3 files? Are Audible files MP3?

The Audible encodes its audiobooks in a file format called AAX, so they are not MP3. This also means that the Audible app cannot play MP3 files you may have on your device.

 Does Audible work with MP3 players?

Only Audible-ready MP3 players support playing audible audiobooks. To use an MP3 player with Audible, you will first have to download the audiobook file to your PC, and then transfer it over to your MP3 device.

Audible and Echo

How does Audible work on Echo devices such as Dot, Studio, Show etc?

To play Audible audiobooks on Echo Dot, Studio, Show or similar devices, simply link your Audible account to your Echo device, and use Alexa voice commands such as “Alexa, play my audiobook” to use the Audible app.

Does Echo Dot, Studio or Show come with an Audible subscription included? Does it require an Audible membership?

Echo devices such as Dot or Show do not have an Audible subscription included. You will need to purchase an Audible membership if you want to play Audible audiobooks on your Echo device.

Does Amazon Echo use a lot of data with Audible?

Audible on Echo devices uses very little data, around 35 megabytes of data per hour for high quality audiobooks streaming. This means a long, 30 hour audiobook will use around 1 GB of data on the Echo.

Audible and Alexa

How does Audible work with Amazon Alexa?

Alexa and Audible work well together since they are both Amazon products. To use Audible with Alexa, use the “Alexa, play my audiobook” voice command, or simply ask Alexa to play a specific books from your library.

Does Alexa require an Audible account?

Alexa does not require an Audible account, but you will have to link the Audible account to your Alexa device account so Alexa can read your audiobooks directly.

Does Alexa only read Audible audiobooks?

If you want Alexa to read audiobooks to you, then Audible is your only option since both products are made by Amazon and integrated with one another. As such you cannot use Alexa to read audiobooks from Kobo or other providers.

Kindle Paperwhite

How does Kindle Paperwhite work with Audible narration?

The Kindle Paperwhite supports Audible audiobook narration. To use this feature you must own both the ebook and audiobook. Whispersync will then save your place in the book while switching from ebook to audiobook.

How does Audible sync with Kindle Paperwhite with Whispersync?

Whispersync allows you to keep your place in a book you’re reading when switching from ebook to audiobook. For Whispersync to work you must own both the audiobook and ebook version, and make sure you have Whispersync activated.

Does Audible download to Kindle Paperwhite?

Kindle Paperwhite comes with an Audible integration that allows you to download audiobooks directly to your Kindle device.

Audible Kindle devices

How does Audible work on a Kindle?

Kindle supports Audible and allows you to play audiobooks on the device. Kindle’s Immersion Reading feature allows you to read the eBook and listen to the audiobook simultaneously, while Whispersync keeps your place in the book when switching from ebook to audiobook.

Do Kindle Fire reader devices come with Audible app or subscription built it?

Kindle Fire devices come with the Audible app preinstalled, but it does not include an Audible subscription. This means you will still have to purchase Audible audiobooks with money or credits.

Does Amazon sell Kindle and Audible as a common package?

Unfortunately, Amazon does not sell Kindle devices, Kindle Unlimited or Audible as a common subscription package.

If I buy an Audible audiobook, does it include the Kindle version for free?

Buying an Audible audiobook does not give you the Kindle eBook version for free, so you will have to purchase the book separately on your Kindle.

Does buying the Audible book make the Kindle eBook cheaper?

Buying an Audible audiobook will not give you any discount when buying Kindle ebook version. However, if you purchase the Kindle ebook first, you can buy the audiobook at a steep discount with “Add Audible Narration” feature.

How does Audible work with Whispersync?

Whispersync is an Audible feature that keeps your place on audiobooks when switching across different devices, like an iPhone or PC. Whispersync works when all devices use the same account and are connected to the Internet.

Does Whispersync require an Audible subscription?

Whispersync comes bundled in with an Audible subscription.  However, if you want to use Whispersync to sync between Audible and a Kindle, then you will have to purchase both the ebook and the audiobook for it to work.

Does Whispersync work if Audible version is different from Kindle version?

For Whispersync to work, you must own both the audiobook and the ebook, and these must be the same version, meaning published by the same company, same author, same translator, same edition and so on.

Kindle Audible narration

What is Audible Narration and how does it work on Kindle?

Audible Narration is a feature that allows you to buy the audiobook version of a Kindle eBook you own at a heavy discount, so you can switch between reading or listening to your book, while keeping your place at the same time.

What does Kindle Audible Narration sound like?

The Kindle Audible Narration sounds like a regular audiobook from Audible, with the audio quality being 64kbps, meaning CD quality, with near 0 background noise, while every audiobook narrator is a professional voice actor.

If I add Audible Narration on Kindle, do I get the book on Audible?

By using the Audible Narration feature, you will buy the Audible audiobook version of your Kindle eBook at a big discount. This audiobook will then go in your Audible library as any other audiobook you purchase.

Does Audible Narration work on any Kindle book?

The Audible Narration feature on Kindle only works if your eBook has an audiobook version available on the Audible app.

Does Kindle Audible Narration get tracked on Audible app?

Yes, your Kindle Audible narration will get tracked in the Audible app through Whispersync, as long as you have the audiobook version of the book in the Audible app.

 Audible and Kindle Unlimited

Does Kindle Unlimited come with an Audible subscription?

A Kindle Unlimited subscription does not include an Audible membership. If you want access to the full Audible library, you will have to purchase the Audible membership separately.

Does Kindle Unlimited replace Audible?

Kindle Unlimited is a separate subscription from Audible, and it does not include or replace your Audible. Having both Audible and Kindle Unlimited lets you use features such as Whispersync or Immersion Reading.

How does Kindle Unlimited work with Audible membership?

A Kindle Unlimited subscription lets you buy Audible audiobooks at steeps discounts of 30-75% off, making it cheaper to buy Audible audiobooks with money, instead of credits. This pairs well with features such as Whispersync or Immersion Reading.

How does Kindle Unlimited compare to Audible? Does it offer more audiobooks than Audible?

A Kindle Unlimited subscription offers access only to 2,000 or so Audible audiobooks, while a separate Audible subscription has over 500,000 audiobook titles you can listen to.

How is a Kindle Unlimited subscription different than Audible?

The biggest difference is that Kindle Unlimited gives you access to 1 million written eBooks, while Audible is an audiobook subscription service that lets you listen to over 500,000 audiobook titles.

Does Kindle Unlimited include all Audible audiobook?

A Kindle Unlimited will only give you access to 2,000 Audible audiobooks, out of Audible’s library of over 500,000 titles. To get access to Audible’s entire audiobook selection you will need a separate Audible subscription.

How Audible and Amazon Prime work together

Does Amazon Prime include a free Audible subscription? How does Prime work with Audible?

Amazon Prime does not include an Audible membership, so you will have to subscribe to Audible separately. However, Prime members receive an extra 2 credits when first subscribing to Audible. 1 credit can be used to purchase any Audible audiobook.

Does Amazon Prime membership give a discount or do anything for Audible?

Currently, an Amazon Prime membership does not provide any discount towards your Audible subscription, the only benefit is that Prime gives 2 extra credits when first starting your membership. Afterwards you will receive 1 credit per month like any non-Prime memberships.

Does Amazon Prime replace Audible?

Audible is a completely separate subscription from Amazon Prime, meaning Amazon Prime will not include Audible or take its place.

Does Audible require Amazon Prime

Audible is a separate subscription service from Amazon Prime, so you do not need to use your Amazon account to subscribe to Audible.

Audible and Amazon

Does Audible have to use the same Amazon account and password?

Audible does not require using your Amazon account and password, but it does give the option to link your Audible and Amazon account. If you do not want this, you can create a new Audible account that is separate from your Amazon.

What does Audible or Free With your Audible trial mean on Amazon?

Audible is the world’s leading audiobook subscription service, with a growing library of over 500,000 titles across every possible fiction and non-fiction genre. A monthly plan gives you access to 10,000 free titles, and 1 credit you can use to redeem any audiobook you want.

Does Amazon own Audible?

Audible belongs to Amazon ever since the eCommerce giant purchased the company in 2008.

Does Amazon share credit card or other payment information with Audible?

Audible will only share credit card or other payment information with Amazon if you link the two accounts together, or if you log into Audible with an Amazon account. If you keep the accounts separate, your payment info will not be shared.

Audible and students

Does Amazon Prime Student include Audible for free?

Amazon Prime Student does not come included with a free Audible subscription. The only benefit Prime Student gives are 2 free extra credits only at the beginning of the membership. 1 credit allows you to purchase any audiobook at any price.

Does Audible give discounts for college students?

As of 2021 Audible does not offer any student discounts directly. However, Audible promotions do appear from time to time on the student discount site Unidays.

Does Audible have a student privacy pledge?

As of 2021, Audible has not disclosed if it has taken a student privacy pledge.

Cost of Audible

How much money does Audible cost per month or per year?

Audible has multiple pricing tiers: $7.95 per month, with no credits, $14.95 with 1 monthly credit, $22.95 with 2 monthly credits, $149.50 per year with 12 credits upfront, or $229.5 per year with 24 credits. All plans include 10,000 free Audiobooks in Plus Catalogue.

Why does Audible cost money if you have to buy the books?

Nearly every Audible subscription plan gives you 1-2 monthly credits you can use to purchase any audiobook, regardless of price, and you get to keep this audiobook forever. All Audible plans open access to Plus Catalogue, a library of 10,000 audiobooks that don’t cost money or credits.

How much does it cost to buy an Audible audiobook?

Audible audiobooks cost anywhere between $10 to $50, however you can use 1 Audible credit to purchase any book you want, regardless of price. Depending on your chosen plan, Audible will give you 1-2 credits a month.

Does Audible have gift cards? How does gifting an Audible membership work?

Audible does have a gift membership option, in which you can gift someone an Audible subscription for that lasts either 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or an entire year. If the person has an active Audible subscription, the duration will be added to their account, if they don’t have Audible they must create an account.

Does Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Credit Card work with Audible?

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card offers card members 5% back on purchases made at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market. Audible counts as an “other” category and not an Amazon purchase so the reward is 1%.

Does Audible accept Amazon gift cards?

Audible does not accept Amazon gift cards, so you cannot use the cards to redeem or purchase audiobooks on Audible. However, you can gift an Audible subscription by purchasing gift memberships from the Audible.com website.

How does Audible charge

Does Audible charge if I download the app or when I sign in?

Downloading the Audible app does not cost anything and is free of charge, however in order to use Audible you will first have to sign up to a 30 day free trial, after which you will be converted to paid subscription plan.

Does Audible charge you a monthly fee?

Audible can charge you either on a monthly basis or a larger sum upfront if you choose its annual plans. Depending on the plans, monthly fees can be either: $7.95 with 0 credits, $14.95 with 1 credit or $22.95 with 2 credits per month.

Does Audible charge you for books?

You can obtain any Audible audiobook either by redeeming a single Audible credit, which you receive as part of their monthly or year subscriptions, or by purchasing an audiobook with money.

How much does Audible charge sales tax?

Whether or not Audible charges sales tax depends on the laws of your own state. Be sure to consult before purchasing.

Does Audible Charge for customer service?

Customer service is included in Audible free of charge, whether you are on an active Audible subscription or simply an audiobook from the platform one time.

Overview of Audible free trial

How does the Audible 30 day free trial work? What does it include?

The Audible 30 day free trial gives one credit you can use to redeem any book on Audible no matter the price. It also includes Plus Catalogue, a collection of 10,000 free audiobooks. After the trial ends you will be charged monthly according to your plan.

Does Audible 30 day trial cancel automatically?

Audible’s 30 day trial does not cancel automatically once it is over, and will instead immediately renew and charge you every month.

Does Audible automatically charge you after 30 day free trial ends?

After the 30 day free trial ends, Audible will charge you according to your chosen plan and renew itself automatically every month until you manually cancel.

Does Audible charge if you cancel before trial ends? Does cancelling let you finish the trial month?

Cancelling your Audible 30 day trial is free and will charge your card in any way. You will also still have access to all the remaining days in your free trial.

Does Audible trial require credit card or payment info?

To sign up and activate your Audible 30 day free trial you will have to submit your credit or debit card payment information, otherwise the trial cannot start. You will be automatically charged at the end of the trial, unless you cancel.

Does Audible trial allow you to download and keep the free audiobooks?

If you decide to cancel your Audible free trial, you will still be able to listen and download any audiobooks you have purchased with money or credits, but you won’t be able to purchase new audiobooks.

Does each book on Audible cost money during the free trial?

Books on Audible still cost money even during a free trial, however you receive one free credit you can use to redeem any book no matter the price, as well as access to Plus Catalogue, a collection of 10,000 free audiobooks.

Audible technical details, car mode, DRM, codec, file type

Does Audible use DRM? Why?

Audible does come with DRM, in the form of their proprietary AAX format. The AAX format is very difficult to convert to a standard audio file such as MP3 or FLAC, making it nearly impossible to share an Audible audiobook file.

How does Audible work with your car?

Audible works with your car by connecting your phone to the vehicle’s stereo speakers through Bluetooth, USB Cable, Auxiliary Cable or FM Transmitter. Once connected, you can play Audible audiobooks to your car speakers.

Does Audible work with Android Auto?

Audible is compatible with Android Auto, and works either by connecting your phone to the car stereo through USB, or by installing the Android Auto app and allowing Audible as an audio app.

Does Audible work over Bluetooth in the car?

Audible is compatible and can connect with any Bluetooth device, including your car’s infotainment system, music player, or any other similar device.

What file format, codec or extension does Audible use for its Audiobook?

Audible encodes its Audiobooks in a proprietary codec called .aax or Enhanced format. Audible’s Enhanced format file type has a sound quality of 64 kbps and is partly designed to prevent piracy of its audiobooks.

Does Audible play .m4a, .mobi or .zab files?

As of 2021, Audible does not play .m4a, .zab, or .mobi files and is only compatible with its proprietary .aax file type.

Niche Audible questions

What time of day does Audible release new books?

Audible usually releases new books in the early hours of the morning, Pacific Standard Time.

Does Audible have chapters on their audiobooks?

Audible audiobooks usually follows the structure of the actual written book and splits its audiobooks into chapters of varying length, from 10-15 minutes to even 1 hour long chapters.

Does Audible count as reading? Does it improve reading skills?

According to multiple studies, audiobooks from Audible or similar services activate the same parts of the brain used for reading, and provide the same effect in improving comprehension, learning and memory.

Does Audible player have table of contents?

Audible does have a table of contents for its audiobooks, however chapters don’t have a name and are simply numbered.

Does Audible have a senior discount?

At this time Audible does not offer any kind of senior discounts.

Does Audible shorten books?

Audible does not shorten books, however some audiobooks come in an abridged or abbreviated version that excludes most of the content and only focuses on the main story. However you can always purchase the full length, unabridged version of the audiobook.

Does Audible send you spam?

Audible does not send you spam in emails and respects your email preferences regarding newsletters, promotion or general marketing emails. With Audible you have the choice to decline all types of emails except account crucial emails like refunds, password changes etc.

Does Audible take Bitcoin?

Audible does not take Bitcoin or any other cryptocoin as payment, and only accepts credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, Discovery, American Express and  Amazon store cards.

Does Audible work well in rural areas?

Audible works well in rural areas since it does not require a very fast Internet connection. You can also download audiobooks to your device so you don’t need to be connected to the Internet in order to listen.

How does Audible books affect my phone bill?

Audible has no impact on your phone bill, since payment for Audible is through credit or debit card and not through your cell phone carrier.

Does Audible have military discount?

Audible does not offer any kind of discounts to current or former military personnel.

Does Audible have a free, no obligation membership?

Audible does have a free, no obligation membership without any kind of subscription, however you will not receive any monthly credits to redeem audiobooks or access to the Plus Catalogue of free audiobook so you must purchase all your audiobooks at the list price with money.

When does audible have the Christmas book sale?

Audible has sales throughout Christmas and the Holiday Season, and these usually begin starting on Black Friday.

Who does Audible compete with? Are there Audiobook companies other than Audible?

Audible does have multiple competitors in the audiobook space, most notably being Kobo Audiobooks and Audiobooks.com.

Does Audible sell audiobooks in CD form? Does Audible come with CD’s?

As of 2021, Audible does not sell or send its Audiobooks in CD form.

Does Allow you to burn audiobooks into CDs?

As of 2021, Audible has discontinued its burn-to-cd feature for audiobooks.