Audible Plus vs Premium Plus: Which is better for audiobooks?

Thanks to Amazon’s reach and clout, Audible is often a go-to source for streaming audiobooks. For diehard US listeners the service offers two subscription tiers, Plus and Premium Plus — here’s what you need to know about their costs and benefits.

What is Audible Plus?

Audible Plus is the standard US subscription option, costing $7.95 per month after a 30-day trial. There are Audible subscription options in other countries, but these vary in price, perks, and naming.

In the US, here’s what you can expect:

• Streaming access to a limited general selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and sleep and meditation tracks
• Access to Audible Originals, such as Michelle Obama’s podcast
• Temporary downloads for offline listening

If you want to listen to things beyond this scope, or just keep anything permanently, you’ll need to pay for titles outright or acquire Audible credits (more on those below).

What is Audible Premium Plus?

The US version of Premium Plus typically costs $14.95 per month or $149.50 per year after a 30-day trial, but lets you pick one title per month to keep, whether or not it’s listed as “included” with your subscription. You get these bonus titles via Audible credits, which are good for up to a year after you receive them.

If one Audible credit per month isn’t enough, you can upgrade to a version of Premium Plus with two credits per month. That costs $22.95 monthly, or $229.50 per year.

Amazon Prime subscribers get two titles for free with a Premium Plus trial.

Audible Plus vs Premium Plus: Which subscription should I choose?

Both subscriptions are only worthwhile for people who make audiobooks a daily habit, or who want to listen to specific titles and feel they can finish them in time to make a subscription less costly than a purchase. Since some audiobooks are $30 or more, that may not be hard.

If either of the above statements apply to you, Audible Plus is worth considering if you like the Audible Originals on offer, or you know you can get books you want in the Plus catalog and don’t mind losing them after your subscription ends. You may need to sign up for a free trial to search for included books.

Premium Plus can potentially be a great deal if you know you’ll want to listen to multiple books outside the Plus catalog every year, such as many new releases. In fact you only need to listen to 5 $30 books to match the cost of an annual Premium Plus plan, and anything you get via credits will stay attached to your Audible account.