Is Audible Worth It? 4 Reasons Why You Should Get a Membership

Audible makes it easy to stream, download, and listen to audiobooks on your computer, tablet, smartphone, or connected speaker. We explored all of the major pros and cons of Amazon’s audiobook service to help you decide if all of the Audible benefits fit you based on your listening habits, free time, and budget.

What Is Audible?

Audible is an Amazon-owned platform for buying and listening to audiobooks, podcasts, and meditation tracks. On Audible, you can purchase audiobooks outright, redeem credits for titles, or listen to over 200,000 books from its Plus library.

An Audible Plus or Audible Premium Plus paid subscription is required to access the Plus library content. The Audible Premium Plus subscription also gives you a free credit each month, which can be redeemed for one Audible book. All titles redeemed by credits are yours to own forever, though the credits themselves expire after one year if not used. Even if you cancel your Audible subscription, you maintain ownership of all purchased and redeemed audiobooks.

Who Should Get Audible

Audible is a convenient platform for listening to a range of audio content. You may want to consider trying Audible if:

• You prefer audiobooks over physical books.
• You listen to a lot of podcasts.
• You already use a lot of Amazon services and products.
• You buy a lot of audiobooks and want to save money.

Who Shouldn’t Get Audible

While it has a lot of benefits, Audible isn’t the only audiobook and podcast platform in town. You might want to give Audible a skip if:

• You prefer to buy physical releases of audiobooks on CD.
• You prefer to buy audiobooks and other media on other rival platforms.
• You don’t have time to listen to at least one audiobook per month.
• None of Audible’s exclusive audiobooks or podcasts interest you.

Why You Should Use Audible

Audible can be of great value if you listen to audiobooks on a regular basis, want to save money on digital purchases, or are an audio buff who likes to listen to high-quality audio productions with Dolby Atmos. Here are some reasons Audible may be the best audiobook platform for you.  

You Enjoy Listening to Audiobooks

Being part of the tech giant Amazon, Audible has an absolutely massive library of audiobooks to listen to, from classic releases to new recordings of the latest hit novels. If you’ve been searching for a particular audiobook, Audible likely has it.

You Want to Save Money on Audiobooks

The Audible Premium Plus subscription costs $14.95 per month. For every month you’re an active subscriber, Audible gives you one credit, which can be redeemed for any audiobook on its platform. With audiobooks typically costing anywhere from $30 to $60 or even more, this is incredible value for money. You also have one year to use each credit, so you can save them for a future release you’re anticipating.

You’re Interested in the Audible Originals

Audible has a growing number of audiobooks, meditation audio, and podcasts exclusive to the platform. This means they aren’t available anywhere else and can only be listened to on Audible with at least an Audible Plus monthly subscription.

You Love Using Amazon

One of the biggest Audible benefits is it uses the same Amazon account you use to make your regular Amazon purchases. You don’t need to create and manage an entirely new account to use Audible; simply log in with your existing Amazon account.

When You Shouldn't Use Audible

Audible may not be the best option for you if you’re already invested in buying content on other ecosystems or don’t have the time to listen to enough content Audible offers each month. Here’s when you should give Audible a pass.

You Don’t Have the Time

Audiobooks can be convenient and fun, but if you don’t have the time to listen to at least one full audiobook or exclusive podcast per month, your Audible subscription will be money down the drain.

You Prefer Physical Releases

While you can download Audible books, podcasts, and meditation tracks for offline listening, nothing beats the security of having a physical CD release. If you like holding a physical product in your hand or enjoy building up a collection of your favorite audiobooks at home, Audible won’t be for you.

You’re a Google or Apple User

If you’ve been buying digital content from Google or Apple’s digital stores for several years, it makes sense to want to keep all of your purchases within the same ecosystem. Both Google Play and iTunes sell audiobooks and have a selection almost as large as Amazon’s.

You Have a Spotify Premium Subscription

In 2023, Spotify added audiobooks to its Premium subscription service. With this change, Spotify Premium subscribers can now listen to 15 hours of audiobooks per month for free. If you currently have a Spotify Premium subscription, it can be worth checking out the available audiobooks, as you might not need to use Audible at all if the titles you’re after are on there.

Audible Plus vs. Audible Premium Plus

Audible Plus is generally a solid subscription plan for the casual audiobook consumer while Audible Premium Plus is geared more towards those who like to buy audiobooks and expand their own personal digital library. Here’s how Audible’s two primary memberships differ.

Do You Need Audible to Listen to Audiobooks?

While Audible is one of the biggest names in audiobooks, you don’t need to use it to get your audiobook fix. You can purchase audiobooks without using a subscription to numerous other online stores. Google Play and iTunes are two of the more popular Audible rivals, but many others exist. You can listen to audiobooks on Spotify if you have a Premium subscription, and many audiobooks are also available on physical CDs.

Is There an Audible Free Trial?

Audible offers a free 30-day trial of Audible Plus, which automatically renews at the regular monthly price of $7.95 when it ends. Audible Plus trials unlock the basic Audible library of content for free.

A free 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus is also available. It renews for $14.95 at the end of its trial period. All new Premium Plus free trials receive one free credit, which can be redeemed for any Audible audiobook. Amazon Prime subscribers receive an additional free credit for two when starting a free trial for the first time.

Is Audible Worth the Money?

Audible is undeniably good value for money if you usually buy at least one audiobook per month. The Audible Plus subscription ($7.95 per month) unlocks thousands of audiobooks that can be listened to for free. At the same time, the Audible Premium Plus subscription ($14.95 per month) also unlocks those same audiobooks for free listening. It gives you one credit, which can be redeemed to purchase any audiobook for permanent ownership. A $22.95 Audible Premium Plus subscription, which grants two credits per month instead of one, is also available.

Audiobooks can cost around $50, so an Audible Premium Plus membership is well worth the money if you want to buy audiobooks and not just stream them.