Audiobooks.com review

How Audiobooks.com works

Audiobooks.com is a credit service. Each month on your billing date you receive a credit, and one credit buys one audiobook from the main catalog. The book is added to your library and you can download it in the app to listen without a connection.

On top of credits, members get VIP Rewards titles, a rotating selection of audiobooks you can claim as a perk, and Member Deals, where a single credit buys two books. If you run out, you can buy more credits from the website, or turn on InstaCredit in the app settings to buy and redeem a credit in one step.

The free trial, explained honestly

The trial lasts 30 days. You get one premium audiobook of your choice plus two bonus VIP Rewards audiobooks. That is three books before you pay anything, which is the strongest trial among the credit based apps I compare.

When the 30 days end, the plan renews at $14.95 a month plus tax and charges the card on file. If you only want the free books, cancel before the renewal date. Put a reminder in your calendar the day you sign up. I explain the habit in my guide to trying audiobooks for free without forgetting to cancel.

Real cost over a year

On the one credit plan, twelve months costs $179.40 before tax and gets you twelve credit books plus the VIP Rewards and Member Deals you choose to use. If you use one Member Deal every other month, that becomes eighteen books, which brings the cost per book under $10.

Compare that with buying the same new releases outright, where long fiction and big name memoirs often list well above $20 each. For anyone who finishes at least one book a month, a credit plan is the cheaper route.

Catalog and what to listen to first

The catalog covers the big five publishers and a wide spread of independent audio producers, so most bestsellers and backlist favourites are there. My advice for the trial: spend the premium credit on a long, expensive title you were going to buy anyway, and use the VIP Rewards picks to sample a genre you have never tried.

Availability changes over time, so before you spend a credit on a book from my reviews, search the title in the app first.

Who should pick something else

If you listen to three or more books a month, a credit plan gets expensive fast and an unlimited style service such as Everand or the included catalog on Audible Premium may suit you better. If you want every purchase to support a local bookshop, Libro.fm does that. If money is tight, start with Libby and your library card.