The long-awaited Audible unlimited-listen-plan has finally gone live. Though the plan is not unlimited in the true sense, it is still a much-needed one for all the audiobook lovers out there!
Audible has introduced a new feature – Audible Plus Catalog, which is basically a collection of thousands of Audiobooks that a member can now have access to without any limitation!
Besides, the new plan comes at only $7.95/month, which is half the price of the Gold Monthly (now Premium Plus) membership plan.
But wait… Is it as good as it sounds?
Well, it actually depends on the features and benefits that you want with your Audible plan. “Because it’s not always about the money ;)”
This article outlines all the features, benefits, and drawbacks of each plan for you to assess. So that you can compare and go with the best-suited plan for you!
You may continue reading to get a detailed Audible Plus vs Premium Plus comparison. But if you are here just to get an overview of the differences between the two plans, here’s a table for you:
| Audible Plus | Premium Plus | ||
| Free Trial | 30-Day | 30-Day | |
| Monthly Plan | $7.95/month | $14.95/month * | |
| Annual Plan | No | $149.50/year * | |
| Number of Eligible Titles | Over 11000 | Over 500000 | |
| Audible Plus Catalog Access | Yes | Yes | |
| Premium Catalog Access | No | Yes | |
| Credits Available | No | Yes | |
| Easy Exchange | No | Yes | |
| Book Ownership Forever | No | Yes | |
* Please note that in the above-mentioned Audible Premium plans you get 1 credit per month for the monthly plan and 12 credits/year for the annual plan. There are two more premium plus plans, one comes at $22.95/month and you get 2 credits/month. The other one costs $229.50/year and you get 24 credits/year.
Just so you know, each plan comes with a 30-day free trial. But if you are a new member, you should go with the free trial for Premium Plus plan as it includes all the features of the Audible Plus plan. In addition, you get one Premium Audiobook for lifetime! You can switch to the Audible Plus plan anytime later.
Here are 7 important things that you must know before signing up for any of the two Audible plans. These are basically the detailed comparison between the two.
1. Audible Plus vs Premium Plus: Price
Audible Plus membership costs $7.95/month, while the basic Audible Premium Plus membership is priced at $14.95/month. The former is a brand-new plan introduced by Amazon in August 2020, while the latter is simply a renamed version of the Monthly Gold Membership plan.
As of now, there is no Annual plan for Audible Plus membership.
Audible Premium Plus, on the other hand, comes with several other plans. It has a total of 4 plans – 2 Monthly and 2 Annual:
- Premium Monthly (1 credit per month) at $14.95/month
- Premium Monthly (2 credits per month) at $22.95/month
- Premium Annual (12 credits per year) at $149.50/year
- Premium Annual (24 credits per year) at $229.50/year
2. Audible Plus Catalog vs Premium Catalog
The Audible Plus Catalog has a collection of over 11000 titles (and counting) that includes selected audiobooks, Audible Originals, podcasts that you can stream and download without any limitation! This Catalog is available for both Audible Plus and Premium Plus members.
Once you become a member, you can see the books that are included in the Audible Plus Catalog. The books will have ‘INCLUDED’ written under its title as shown below.
However, you can see the list of books in Audible Plus Catalog even without being an Audible or Amazon member. Check out this article on Audible Plus Catalog list to know the trick. You will also be able to sort the books by genre, rating, language, author, etc.
The major drawback of the Plus Catalog and Audible Plus plan is that it has only a limited number of eligible audiobooks to choose from. Yes, you do get unlimited access, but that is limited to only about 11000 titles, most of which are Audible Originals, Documentaries, comedy, and journalism.
The Plus Catalog does not include new full-length audiobooks. It is dominated by short-form Originals and audiobooks produced by Audible. Here’s an example to make it clear for you:
Let’s say you want to listen to one of the recent thrillers by Stephen King – ‘The Institute’. Will you find this title in Audible Plus Catalog? Well, you won’t! You get the point, right?
Audible Premium Catalog, on the other hand, has over 500000 titles, including almost all the recent releases. Premium members can purchase any title from this collection using their credit irrespective of the price.
Even Audible Plus members can purchase books from Premium Catalog using their debit or credit card. But this might be costly as you have to pay the entire amount for the book.
3. Credits to get Title of Your choice
Audible Premium Plus members get credits as per their monthly or annual plans. They can use these credits to purchase any titles of their choice.
Audible Plus members do not get any credits.
4. Exclusive Discounts & Sales
Audible Premium Plus members get a 30% discount on all additional premium titles if they want to purchase is using debit or credit cards. They also get access to exclusive sales from time to time.
These benefits are not available for Audible Plus members.
5. Audiobooks Ownership
Any book that you have purchased using credits or debit/credit cards are yours to keep forever even if you cancel your membership. But the same is not true for Audible Plus Catalog books. If you cancel your Audible Plus membership, you lose access to all Plus Catalog books.
That means Premium Plus members will still have access to the books that they purchased using their credits. But Audible Plus members will lose access to all its books. However, even Audible Plus members will have access to books purchased using debit/credit cards.
6. Offline Listening
Both Audible Plus and Premium Plus members can download their books and listen to it offline.
However, if you cancel your membership, all those books that you had downloaded but not purchased will also disappear from your Audible library and you will lose access to it.
7. Easy Exchanges
Easy Exchange benefit is available only to the Premium Members. This means that if Premium Plus members are not satisfied with the book that they have purchased, they can return it and exchange it within 365 days after the original purchase date.
The book can be exchanged even if the member has already listened to it.
Audible Plus vs Premium Plus: Which one should you choose?
Now that you know what the two plans have to offer you, you can make your choice based on what features and benefits you want out of the plan. Here are two possibilities that you can consider:
When to Choose Audible Plus?
If you find that there are enough audiobooks of your interest in the Plus Catalog, you don’t need to choose the other plans. Just go for Audible Plus and enjoy!
You can simply take the 30-day Audible Plus Free trial to see the list of audiobooks on the Audible Plus Catalog. You can continue with the Audible Plus plan if you are satisfied, else, you can switch to Premium Plus anytime.
But keep in mind that even Audible Plus members can purchase from Premium Catalog. It is just that you might have to pay more.
When to Choose Premium Plus?
If you are not satisfied with the list of books in the Audible Plus Catalog, you can try Premium Plus. With Audible credits, exclusive sales, and a 30% discount on Premium titles, you will have a range of interesting audiobooks to choose from!
If you aren’t already a member, you can start your Premium Plus Free Trial Here.
I hope this article was helpful. If you have any doubts or questions regarding the two Audible plans, please share it in the comment section below. I would be glad to answer them as best as I can.
if I take the premium plus trial, how many books can I download free after the trial is over?
After the trial is over you will get Audible credits as per your plan (Check the Price section in the article above). Other than that, you will get unlimited access to Audible Plus Catalog.
Excellent information. I did not know anything about all this possibilities. I came across this information when I wanted to purchase a Portable CD player from Amazon. It seems that it is better to get Audible plus, than buying a Portable CD to listen to books from the Public library.