An Overview of Audiobook Subscription Services

audio book subscription

By Matthew Paulson

You can purchase audiobooks in a number of different ways, including retail websites which sell digital and CD audiobooks and audiobook subscription services. Subscription services, such as Audible.com and Simply Audiobooks, allow users to listen to audiobooks at a lower per-title cost then purchasing titles individually, but also lock users into purchasing a title each month. Retailers that sell audiobooks on a title-by-title basis offer additional flexibility in the number of audiobooks that a user can purchase each month and often allow audiobooks to be purchased in multiple formats.

Out of the digital subscription services, Audible.com, a subsidiary of Amazon, is the largest provider. Audible has more than 85,000 audiobooks from more than 1000 different content providers. Audible carries a wide variety of content, including best sellers, new releases and classic titles. Audible titles can be played on more than 500 devices including iPods, iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones, Amazon Kindles, PCs, Macs, Zunes and more than 500 other devices. Audible has two subscription plans, one for $14.95 per month and one for $22.95 per month.

Simply Audiobooks also has a digital audiobook subscription service for a similar price to Amazon, but has a smaller library. In addition, Simply Audiobooks has a CD audiobook rental club that works similar to Netflix. The CD rental program provides free shipping both ways and unlimited rentals. The basic plan which allows users to have one audiobook title at home at a time starts at $17.98 per month, with discounts for prepaying for a year at a time. Simply Audiobooks has approximately 6,000 titles available in its digital subscription service. Users can opt to pay $14.95 per month, $24.95 per month or $31.95 per month to receive one, two or three audiobook credits per month. Simply Audiobooks also offers discounts for prepaying for one year of service.

eMusic also offers digital audiobook downloads. This service works similar to Costco or Sam's Club in that users pay a flat, up-front fee on a monthly or annual basis than can purchase digital audiobooks online on a discounted basis. The service costs a base price of $11.95 per month, then users can purchase audiobooks credits for $9.95 each. This service works well for people who want to listen to a large number of audiobooks each month.

Audiotogo has approximately 23,000 titles in its library and has a tape and CD subscription service. The service offers free shipping both ways and users can have multiple audiobooks at home depending upon their service level. Prices range from $16.99 per month to have one audiobook at a time to $51.99 per month to have five audiobooks at a time. Audiotogo also offers a fourteen day free trial to its service.

There are a large number of audiobook services available. Audible.com is certainly the largest one, but others exist too and may be a better deal depending upon your listening habits.

Matthew Paulson is president of American Consumer News LLC and operator of Audiobooktopia, a website which helps readers discover and enjoy new audiobooks. Audiobooktopia also has information about audiobook services and free audiobooks.

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audio book subscription