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What is Audible?
Audible is an Amazon service that sells and produces spoken audio content. Although its offer is wide including radio programs and podcasts, the service is more known for its catalog of digital audiobooks which you can access by purchasing them directly or paying a monthly subscription.
Are Audible subscriptions worth it?
It depends.
It depends on how much you are spending or plan to spend on audiobooks. If it is more than $15 per month, then it is definitely worth it. With the Premium Plus subscription, in addition to having unlimited access to the Catalogo Plus, they will give you 1 credit per month. This credit can be used to purchase 1 audiobook, regardless of its actual price, meaning that bestseller for $28 will cost you 1 credit. Furthermore, you will receive a discount on audiobooks of up to 30%.
In my opinion, the Plus subscription is not worth it. With it, you will have unlimited access to the Catalogo Plus, but that is all you will get. If you are not looking for a specific audiobook and just want to be entertained for $8 per month, it is not a bad option. However, in my view, the Catalogo Plus is quite limited, and I couldn’t find any audiobook that was on my radar.
My Experience
Personally, I found a lot of books that I was already interested in and having them in audio format appeals to me a lot. I can be washing dishes and at the same time listening to an audiobook about forming habits (‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg), or I can listen to the Harry Potter saga before going to sleep. I find it an excellent way to make use of routine tasks to learn a bit about the topic that interests you the most.
I am surprised by the amount of content that Audible has, and I am even more surprised that many of these audiobooks have a Spanish version. Although I’m not bad at English, I find it more comfortable to listen to an audiobook in Spanish, it requires less concentration and it’s perfect for listening to while doing some daily task.
Do I Recommend It?
From a purely economical point of view, if you plan to spend $15 or more on audiobooks monthly, then yes, the monthly credit alone makes the Premium Plus subscription worth it with the added advantage of discounts and the Catalogo Plus.
If you don’t plan on spending more than $15 on audiobooks monthly, then it’s probably better not to opt for the subscription and instead buy the audiobooks directly on Audible or any other audiobook store.
If you’re interested in the Audible service, I recommend you go to the official website and start the free 30-day trial, you will get a credit immediately. I suggest you spend your credit on an audiobook costing more than $15.
I recommend you check the complete audiobook catalog, especially the bestseller section and also the Catalogo Plus, to see if there are enough audiobooks of interest to you and check their cost, as the subscription may be convenient for you.
Alternative
A good alternative to Audible could be Storytel, it’s also a subscription service with great content and two subscriptions, one for $5 and one for $8.5. I haven’t checked its entire catalog but it seems like a good alternative.
Note: This article is not sponsored, it only reflects my opinion on the service at the time of publishing this article, the prices refer to the time at which this article is published.