Audible Review: Is Audible Worth It in 2024?

Do you want to start listening to your favorite books on the go? 

Audible is the most popular platform to listen to audiobooks. They offer the greatest range of books and various membership options.

And I’ve hopped on and off their plans several times in recent years.

But is Audible worth it in 2024?

In this Audible review, I’ll share what I like and dislike. And you’ll learn the many surprising features to enhance your experience.

So let’s dive in!

• Verdict: Is Audible worth it?
• What is Audible?
• How does the app work?
• Why listen to audiobooks?
• Benefits of Audible
• How to get books on Audible?  
• Audible membership options
• How much does Audible cost?
• How to cancel your Membership?
• Drawbacks of Audible
• How to find good books on Audible?

Verdict: Is Audible worth it?

Audible is a great platform for listening to audiobooks. It offers the largest selection of books, a user-friendly app, and various membership plans to suit your needs.

The pros:

• Largest selection of audiobooks: With over 400,000 audiobooks, Audible is the biggest audiobook publisher in the world.
• User-friendly app: The Audible app is easy to use and navigate, including a driving option that works well with navigation apps.
• Expert narrators: Enjoy a high-quality listening experience from the author themselves or a professional narrator.
• Various membership options: From the traditional library rental option to premium subscriptions with monthly and annual plans.
• Books are yours to keep: Once you purchase an audiobook from Audible, it is yours to keep forever. And you can listen to it as many times as you want, even if your membership expires.
• Unique Whispersync feature: Sync your Audible audiobooks with your Kindle books to read and listen at the same time. Alternatively, seamlessly switch between reading and listening. 
• Listen offline: Download your audiobooks to listen at any time.
• Affordable pricing: While Audible’s pricing is competitive, its features and benefits exceed the competition, making it the most valuable audiobook platform.

The cons:

• Limited narrator options: I have yet to find a book where I can change the narrator. That said, every narrator I’ve had so far is easy and joyful to listen to.
• Expiration date: Unused membership credits expire after 1 year. So make sure to buy your book before it does. I’ve got a wishlist ready and never had credits for longer than a month.
• Amazon company: Audible is an Amazon company. So if you dislike Amazon, you might not want to join Audible.

In conclusion, Audible is my recommended platform for audiobook enthusiasts.

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Let’s unravel the details.

What’s Audible?

Audible is an Amazon company and the largest audiobook publisher in the world, offering more than 400,000 book titles.

They offer various membership options and different ways to purchase individual books. But I’ll tell you more about those options soon.

Now, Amazon is best known for its convenience.

And they display this core value in the Audible app.

How does the Audible App work?

Let’s first take a look at the highlights of the Audible app:

• Simple and intuitive user interface.
• Easy to browse for books or listen to your recent purchases.
• Useful car mode that integrates smoothly with navigation apps.
• Clipping button to rapidly highlight sections of the book.
• Listening speed control from 0.5 – 3.5x.

In short: it’s super easy to use.

You can find anything in the app within 2 taps.

And within seconds, I’m listening to any audiobook. Perfect when going for a run, doing chores, or driving to the shop.

You can also control the listening speed from 0.5 – 3.5x – without sacrificing audio quality. However, 3.5x is very intense and I usually listen at 1.5 or 2x.

In both normal and car mode, you can clip specific sections of the audiobook with one simple tap. For example, I highlight interesting ideas while driving to review them later and take more extensive notes. 

Finally, download audiobooks to your phone so you always have access to your books, even in most remote places.

The Audible app experience is exceptional.

But…

Why listen to audiobooks in the first place?

I love paper books.

However, audiobooks are just the perfect solution for on-the-go, whether that’s during a long hike, a run, work commutes, or doing house duties. 

That’s why I love both options.

But here are some surprising benefits of audiobooks:

1. Elevate your comprehension: Some people – especially auditory learners – pick up and remember more details by listening to stuff rather than reading about it.
2. Learn faster: Reading and listening to a book simultaneously can increase your concentration and improve your memory.
3. Time efficiency: Always busy? Then you’ll love listening and learning on the go just as much as I do. 
4. Transform routine activities: Turn house chores and repetitive tasks into a fun and educational experience.
5. More engaged experience with the best narrators. For example, Grant Cardone has a positive and uplifting voice which makes his motivational book The 10X Rule, ten times better.

I also enjoy audiobooks for personal reasons. For example, I love to listen to the best biographies more than reading them, especially if the subject narrates their biography.

Now, I love reading physical books.

But listening to audiobooks certainly earned its place for me. And besides the general benefits of audiobooks, here are the…

Benefits of Audible 

Here’s why I’m an avid listener of Audible audiobooks:

• Expert narrators: Many authors narrate their audiobooks, which I love. They’re often bringing their ideas across with conviction and passion. However, not every author narrates their books. And when that’s the case, expert narrators fill in their place. Now, I’ve yet to find a voice that bothers me. And let’s be honest, listening to good narrators is quite an important aspect of audiobooks.
• The books are yours to keep: Regardless of your membership status, you always keep access to all your purchased books. 
• Greatest selection: If there’s an audiobook option available, you bet Audible got it. It has the largest audiobook library on the market. And it offers Audible originals that you won’t find anywhere else.
• Flawless app experience: We already covered the app but let me summarize: It’s super simple and intuitive to use.
• Listen to your favorite podcasts: Audible hosts many different podcasts, enabling you to listen to everything in one place.
• Unique Whispersync feature: Connect Audible with Kindle books to easily read along with the narrator. You can also choose to switch between listening and reading.
• Unique membership model: An Audible membership has many perks compared to buying the books individually.
• Affordable pricing: Audible provides various affordable plans, which we’ll dive into right away.

Overall, I enjoy listening to the best self-improvement books and biographies on Audible for all these benefits.

But…

How to get books on Audible?

Audible is most popular for its membership options. But, of course, you can also buy audiobooks individually. 

In fact, there are 4 ways to access audiobooks on Audible:

1. Individual audiobook purchases: Buy any audiobook at any time for its full price.
2. Combined book discount: Get your audiobook with a discount when you purchase the Kindle ebook.
3. Audible Plus membership: Listen unlimitedly to any book in the Audible Plus library. New books are added every week but you’ll need an active subscription to keep listening.
4. Audible Premium Plus membership: You get a monthly credit to purchase any audiobook you like. You also get 30% off on any other audiobook you want to purchase. And you get access to the Audible Plus library.

Which brings us to the next part:

How does Audible membership work?

There are two membership options with Audible:

• Audible Plus offers unlimited listening to a selection of audiobooks, sleep tracks, meditation programs, and all podcasts.
• Audible Premium Plus includes everything from Audible Plus. In addition, you get one credit each month to purchase any audiobook – which is yours to keep forever.

Audible Plus

Audible Plus allows you to listen to an unlimited amount of books per month. It’s the perfect option if you want to listen to books all the time and don’t care about specific titles. 

The catch?

Only a selection of audiobooks is available in Audible Plus. 

That said, there are currently over 70,000 books included in the Plus library. And they add new books every week.

It’s also easy to navigate the selected titles. You can either browse the Plus catalog or tap the button: “Included in my membership” when you’re searching for new books.

The drawback of Audible Plus is that you rent the books.

Once they take books out of the selection or when your membership expires, you no longer have access to these titles. 

What about disappearing titles?

Don’t worry – Audible lets you know far in advance which titles they’ll remove, and when.

And if you think they’re only adding the worst titles, you’re wrong. In fact, they offer some of the most popular titles in the Plus library. 

For example, I just recently listened to Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. A book I already read but enjoyed listening to again.

I do feel a bit stupid though…

Because I always bought audiobooks with credits and wasn’t too familiar with the Audible Plus library – until writing this Audible review. 

And it has become a new goldmine of titles that I wouldn’t necessarily prioritize with credits but still would love to read.

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Audible Premium Plus

With Audible Premium Plus, you get one credit every month to purchase any audiobook (or book bundles) in the Audible store.

Are you a big listener? Then you can upgrade your membership to get two credits per month.

Audible Premium Plus offers 3 options to access new books:

• Purchase books with credits: I use my credits to get books that I want to listen to many times like How to Win Friends and Influence People. And you get to keep these – forever.
• Buy additional titles with a 30% discount: Can’t wait for the next credit? Purchase any Audible book with a 30% discount. I use this option to purchase cheaper audiobooks while using my credits for the most expensive titles.
• Audible Plus library: Frequently peek into the Plus catalog to see if one of your favorite books made it to Audible’s selection. I’ve just browsed this library while researching this review and added a few excellent titles to my reading list.

In addition to these Premium membership perks, Audible offers special membership deals. For example, right now I get a $20 voucher if I spend 5 credits – which I’ll do as part of my membership anyway.

The only drawback?

Unused membership credits expire after 1 year.

Now, I’ve never had an issue with that. I have an entire wishlist ready for purchase. So I’ll use my credit as soon as I get it. 

Make sure you use your credits too.

Try Audible Premium Plus for Free

How much does Audible cost?

Audible is affordable – with similar pricing to its competitors. 

But if you consider all the features and benefits we discussed in this review, Audible is the most valuable option.

Here are the monthly pricing plans of Audible:

• Audible Plus: $7.95 per month.
• Audible Premium Plus 1 credit: $14.95 per month
• Audible Premium Plus 2 credits: $22.95 per month

Alternatively, choose a yearly subscription and save 17% compared to the monthly options.

• Audible Premium Plus 12 credits: $149.50 per year 
• Audible Premium Plus 24 credits: $229.50 per year

Note: These prices are subject to change, as Audible may change those at any time. Click here to view the latest prices.

While researching Audible, I read some negative reviews about the cancelation process. And while some experienced difficulty in closing their accounts, I’ve found this quite easy to do. 

So…

How can you cancel your Audible membership?

You can cancel Audible memberships with ease at any time – and I’ve done so twice in the past.

When I left Australia, I moved to the Audible US market instead. And I later canceled that membership because I had too many unread audiobooks in my library. 

Currently, I’m back in Australia and back on Audible’s Premium plan.

I believe – although I’m not 100% sure – that I closed it the first time through the web browser. And the second time through the app.

In the app, there are 5 simple steps to cancel your membership:

1. Go to Profile
2. Go to Your Account
3. Go to Manage Membership
4. Go to Cancel Membership
5. Here you have the option to pause or cancel your account.

None of these steps are hidden – it’s all in plain sight.

And perhaps they improved the cancellation process over the past years due to the negative feedback. But I’ve previously never had issues in closing my accounts (I believe it was in 2018 and 2021).

Finally, you get to keep all your purchases.

Even if your membership runs out, you can still access the app and listen to your audiobooks. But, of course, you won’t get any new credits and you’ll lose access to the Plus library.

Drawbacks of Audible

I believe there’s only a set narrator for each book, while I would love to select between a few narrators. However, that would drive up the cost of the audiobook, which would increase the membership prices.

That said, not a single narrator has annoyed me so far.

I mean, I wish I could always listen to the author narrating their book. But not every author wants to voice over their own work. And that’s okay.

Besides that point, I find it difficult to critique Audible or the app.

Or, actually, one thing I suppose…

If you dislike Amazon for whatever reason, you might want to stay away from Audible. After all, they own the app.

Now, let’s continue with some practical tips.

How to find good books in Audible?

Here are simple ways to discover new titles on Audible:

• Your homepage provides a “Top Picks for You” section.
• Browse the Plus Catalog, which sits under the Discovery button.
• Browse the Discovery section for best sellers, new releases, trending books, specific categories, and more.
• Type a few keywords in the search box. If you only want to see the books that are included for free in the Plus library, simply tick the box “Included in your membership”. 
• Search for unique audiobook deals by typing “bundle”, “collection”, “series”, or “library” in the search bar.
• Use the search filter option to sort specific book categories.
• Search for the book that’s already on your mind.
• Or take a look at my book recommendations.

In short, there are many ways to find and discover new audiobooks.

Conclusion

Audible is unquestionably worth it.

And if you want to listen to audiobooks, definitely give Audible a try.

Want to read any book on whatever topic? 

Then you’ll love Audible Plus.

Do you also want to get specific books that you can listen to at any time – forever?

Then allow yourself that premium upgrade. 

For example, I’ve listened to How to Win Friends and Influence People more than 3 times on Audible, both on and off an active membership. 

And it’s a great option if you want to listen to more meditative books like The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday or Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

Overall, I love Audible – and I’m sure you will too.

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