When it comes to reading, despite arguments for and against them, audiobooks offer flexibility that traditional reading does not. Audiobooks provide access to consume our favorite literary loves while doing other things, like driving, cleaning, cooking, or even working out. Listening to a book frees you up to get those dishes in the sink done or go on a hot girl walk. There are numerous ways to access and consume audiobooks, ranging from library sites to dedicated platforms for audiobooks. One of the most popular and recognizable is Audible, an Amazon-owned audiobook platform.
What is Audible?
Audible is a platform where members can access a catalogue of over 200,000 books, podcasts, and other audio programs. The platform is owned by Amazon and, as such, is one of the larger audiobook platforms in terms of which books are accessible either via a basic membership or available for purchase. The platform is accessible via webpage on a traditional browser and via the Audible App available on both Apple and Android phones.
Navigating the Platform: The Website
The platform is easy to navigate on both web browser and mobile app. When navigating to the website, you’ll be able to log in if you have a pre-existing account or sign up for the program. If there are any deals or discounts on membership, they’re usually displayed on the landing page so you can’t miss it!
Hovering over the “browse” button will bring up links for you to explore the different genre catalogues the platform has, including audiobooks, podcasts, sleep audios, and editor’s picks as well as links to the help center should you need assistance. A search bar at the top also allows you to hunt down a book title, author, or narrator if you happen to have a fondness for one in particular.
Once you click on a book, you’ll be able to see the book’s narrator, length, publisher, and ratings with reviews for your perusal similar to viewing a book on the Amazon website. This page will also show you whether it’s included in your selected level of membership and, if not included, how much the audiobook costs. You can also listen to a sample in case you like to check out the narration before you buy. Non-members can still purchase audiobooks via the platform, however you do still need an Amazon account to do so!
Once you purchase or select an audiobook, it will appear in your library. Here, you can listen to your audiobooks, download them for offline listening, mark them as finished, and sort them into collections of your creation. You can also rate your audiobooks here if you have the desire to.
When you click on “play” on an audiobook, it will open a separate window with the audiobook where you can pause, play, skip forward, change the speed, and even bookmark moments of the narration to come back to later.
You can also tab books to add books to your wish list as you browse so that you can return to the ones you’ve marked at a later date.
Hovering over your name at the top reveals a dropdown with more account information, your pre-orders, your ratings/reviews, and your listening history. You’ll also see a total of credits you have remaining at the top of your screen, something we’ll dive into soon.
All in all, the site is pretty easy to navigate. If you’re looking for more help, you can try our guide to how Audible works here!
Navigating the Platform: The App
The app navigates similarly to the website, but on your mobile device. You’ll log in utilizing the same information as you would the website. On the home page, you’ll see any running sales, recommendations based on your listening history, etc.
The library tab at the bottom of the page takes you to, as you’ve probably guessed, your library. Similarly to the website browser, you can listen to your books via the app, download them for on-the-go listening, rate and review the book, change the narration speed, bookmark moments, etc. The one difference is the app offers a car mode option to simplify the display while you’re driving.
The discover tab allows you to explore recent releases, bestsellers, and other lists to find new reads for your listening pleasure. Clicking on a book shows the same information as it would on the website, including author, narrator, reviews, and cost.
Your profile tab includes badges you can earn for listening length, time of day you listen, and other achievements. You can also see how many hours you’ve listening on this page. This is where you can access customer support in the app as well.
As you can see, the website and app are pretty similar in their capabilities, making it easy to use the platform across multiple methods.
How Much Does It Cost?
Now, the important stuff: how much does it cost? Well, that depends on what level of membership you opt for.
As I mentioned before, you can use Audible without a membership, however you will have to purchase the audiobooks yourself. If you want more perks, then opting for one of their memberships is the way to go. One important thing to note: memberships are not included in your Amazon Prime membership. There may be discounts, like an extended trial, due to your Amazon Prime membership, however the subscription itself is separate.
I’ll list out the options and explain how they differ below.
Audible Plus – $7.95 per month
Audible Plus gives you access to the Plus Catalogue: a smaller sampling of Audible’s books, podcasts, sleep tracks, and originals at no additional charge. This is sort of like how you can access books once you get a library membership. This level of membership does not include all of the available audiobooks on the platform and sometimes doesn’t have the newest titles, so if you like keeping up with new releases, this may not be the best option for you. Additionally, at this level, if you opt to cancel your membership, you lose access to any of the titles you accessed via the Plus Catalogue. You can still purchase them if you choose to do so, but they will no longer be free to you.
Audible Premium Plus – 1 Credit – $14.95 per month
Audible Premium Plus gives you the same accesses as Audible Plus, but also gives you one credit to redeem for any audiobook of your choosing on the site per month. This includes those in the wider catalogue on Audible, like bestsellers and new releases. The purchase price of the audiobook does not matter here; one credit can be used no matter what the cost would be, so you can get a real deal on a pricey new release using one of these.
These credits are available for use for one year and do roll over if you don’t redeem them in a month’s time. Books you purchase using these credits remain available to you if you cancel your membership in the future.
Audible Premium Plus – 2 Credits – 22.95 per month
Audible Premium Plus also offers a two-credit option if you go through audiobooks quickly and like the credit redemption system rather than purchasing additional audiobooks. The credits here work the same way as in the one-credit option and can be redeemed for the audiobooks of your choosing.
Audible Premium Plus Annual – 12 Credits – $149.50 per year
This plan is similar to the above Audible Premium Plus plans; this one is just the annual membership structure with one lump sum payment at the start of your membership and 12 credits for the year, which gives you a bit of a discount.
Audible Premium Plus Annual – 24 Credits – $ 229.50 per year
This plan is the same as the above, but your lump sum payment at the start of your membership gets you 24 credits for the year rather than 12.
What Else Should I Know About Membership and Credits?
Membership with Audible also gives you access to deals and discounts non-members don’t get. This includes an additional 30% discount on audiobooks you purchase, 2-for-1 deals, or daily discounted titles. Occasionally, Audible will also offer the ability to purchase extra credits at a discounted rate.
If you’ve never been a member before, you get a 30 free trial to test out how you like the platform before committing to your membership.
As I mentioned before, credits roll over into the next month if you don’t utilize them, however they expire after a year, so be sure to keep an eye on that if you take a break from listening for a while.
You can use your credits to gift a title to a family member or friend as well, or if you’re a non-member, you can purchase gift credits/memberships for your loved ones. You can do so by visiting the gifts page and following the prompts there.
What Do You Need to Sign Up?
You’ll just need an Amazon account, a device to access the site, and a payment method.
Can You Return an Audible Book?
What happens if you really, really don’t like one of the audiobooks? Well, you can return them — however, there are some caveats. You must have purchased the audiobook using a credit, it must be within a year of purchase, and your account must be in good standing. This means you can’t buy and then return every single book and treat the platform like a library. Basically, don’t abuse that option or it will be taken away from you. Like you would when purchasing a physical book, be intentional with what you purchase or choose to return. Additionally, this can only be done via the website, not the mobile app.
That’s hopefully everything you need to know about an Audible membership. If you’re interested in exploring your audiobook listening options more, check out this guide to how Audible works or this guide to downloading an Audible book onto an Apple Watch.