Many people have little time to read books these days! Are you one of them? If yes, then this article is for you. If you prefer physical books, then too you could try out audiobooks from Audible with their free trial. You could listen to a book while travelling, eat food, or any such convenient time. In this article, you will read about what is Audible, and how does it work.
What is an Audiobook?
An audiobook is an audio recording of a book meant for readers who cannot read due to several reasons. Earlier audiobooks were meant for blind people but as times went by and some people thought they were too busy to read books, audiobooks became more popular.
An audiobook could be a full book read out word for word or an abridged version. Sometimes, an audiobook narration could be in a dramatic voice with added sound effects.
What is audible?
A company owned by Amazon, Audible products include a wide range of audiobooks, podcasts, amazon bestsellers, originals and exclusive audio series. You can listen to these audiobooks by enrolling for one of their paid subscription plans or starting a 30-day free trial which you can cancel anytime if you wish to.
You can signup for Audible and then download the Audible app on your device.
Audible is different in different countries because it caters to the local market and languages used in that country. The USA Audible has many more and the latest titles but due to geographic restrictions, you can access Audible USA only in the USA. So from any other country, you will be directed to the audible site of the country you live in. Audible is available in most countries.
Some of the Audible Audiobook Categories are listed below
- Sci-fiction
- Fantasy
- Mystery
- Thrillers
- Self-Development
- Biographies
- Memoirs
- Children’s Audiobooks
- Art and Entertainment
- Business and Careers
- Comedy and Humour
- LGBTQ+
- Home and Garden
- History
- Health and Wellness
- Romance
- Education and Learning
- Religion and Spirituality
- Politics and social science
And others.
Which are the Audible Membership Plans and How does it Work?
To begin with, you could get a 30-day free trial by entering some details. In the free trial, you can get access to several free audiobooks from the Plus catalogue. Additionally, you get one credit and you can download audiobook to keep, even if you cancel the free trial later.
At the end of one month, you can choose a subscription plan depending on your needs and liking. Else, you could discontinue at that stage.
Prime members get 90 days-free trial and two credits.
As Audible belongs to Amazon, note, you don’t need to have an Amazon account or Prime membership to create an account on Audible.
There are two types of Audible memberships,
- Audible Plus
- Audible Premium Plus
What does Credit mean in Audible Subscription Plans?
Credits are one of the benefits of being an Audible Premium Plus member. People can utilize a credit to buy any audiobook, no matter how much it costs. Plus members don’t get credits, but they can buy any audiobook outright or get their first credit by updating to Premium Plus.
Depending on what you do on the Audible website, your account may have a number of different types of credits. Your new monthly credit summary email will tell you if you have any credits that will run out in the next 30 days. Visit the credit summary page that lists all of your active credits to find out when they will expire.
Audible offers an unbeatable long list of audiobooks, in addition to a growing list of included titles that includes audiobooks, podcasts, and exclusive Audible Originals. You can use a credit to get audiobooks that are at the top of the lists and Amazon Best Seller lists, new releases, and work of your favourite authors or genres.
Audible Membership in India
In India, Audible offers a variety of audiobooks from amazon bestsellers, podcasts, originals and exclusive audio series. So whatever your passion, interests and needs, you will find the right audiobooks to brighten your life.
You could listen to your audiobook during a workout, walk in the park, travel to work, do your household chores, cooking, drive or relax on your lounging sofa. Moreover, you could stream the audiobook via Bluetooth to your car audio system. If you are travelling on a road trip with your kids, you could play children’s audiobooks from Audible in your car.
A 30-day free trial is available if you wish to try audiobooks for the first time. At the end of 30 days, if you wish to continue then you will be charged Rs.199 per month only. This will be a 33 per cent discounted rate as compared to monthly prepaid plans. Credit card/debit card of major Indian banks are accepted for payment transaction of Audible India subscription plans.
In Audible India, you get the option to choose between prepaid subscription and recurring monthly subscription. In prepaid plans, you will have to pay once and after the specified period your subscription could end unless you renew it.
3 Prepaid Plans in Audible India
- 1 month at Rs. 299 (INR)
- 6 months at Rs.1345 (25% discount),
- 12 months at Rs. 2332 (35% discount)
In recurring plan, your payment will get deducted every month directly from the card details you entered at the time of registering.
Audible rates are discounted in India and localised content audiobooks are available for listening.
Read further about how does Audible work.
How does Audible Plus work?
You get access to thousands of audiobooks through your Audible Plus membership, including Audible originals and podcasts. The Audible Plus membership is for 7.95 dollars (USA) with no credit.
Download the Audible app on your device to listen to audiobooks. You can download audiobooks to listen offline and follow podcasts so you get their updates.
Also read: Amazing self help books for young adults
Many titles will have an “Included” tag, these are part of the Plus catalogue that you can listen to. Some titles will not have an “Included” tag, instead, they will have a “Play” button, then you can click on “Play” and listen.
If you wish to listen to titles that do not have an “Included” tag and instead have a “Credit” tag, add them to your library and purchase them.
“Included” titles or titles without any tag, that you listen to from the plus catalogue can be used until you are a member. While the titles you purchase will remain with you even if you were to discontinue your membership any time later.
How does Audible Premium Plus Work?
There are two types of Audible Premium Plus membership in which you can select between one or two credits. You can pay monthly or annually for the membership.
So, a single credit monthly payment of 14.95 dollars (USA) will come with one credit valid for one year from the date of issue. You can access all the titles in the Plus catalogue that are included and download the audiobooks to listen to while you are offline.
For two credit monthly plans, payment is 22.95 dollars per month and the expiry date of the two credit audiobooks is twelve months from the issue date.
Also read: Audible Plus Catalogue Highlights
If you take a single credit annual plan, it comes to 149.50 dollars per year and gets twelve credits for one year. These credits expire twelve months from the date of issue.
The twenty-four credit annual membership is for a payment of 229.50 dollars per year and gets twenty-four credits valid for twelve months from the issue date.
(Disclaimer: Audible could change their membership plans any day so you need to confirm plan details at their website.)
The Audible membership plans for IOS App and Google play android app are different.
Does Prime include Audible for free?
No, an Amazon Prime membership is not the same as an Audible Plus or Audible Premium Plus membership. If you’ve never had an Audible Premium Plus membership before, you can sign up for a 30 Day Free Trial and get 1 free credit and access to the Plus Catalog.
Prime members will also get 2 free credits. This credit can be used to buy any premium title from our whole list and keep it forever.
You can also sign up for a free 30-day trial of Audible Plus if you are a new customer. With this membership, you can listen to as much of the Audible Plus Catalog as you want.
You don’t have to be a member to buy Audible books.
Hope this article was useful to you to find out how does Audible work in Amazon.