Audible.com Review

Audible.com is the dominant player in digital audiobook market. It is joined by several competitors including SimplyAudiobooks, eMusic and a number of smaller retailers, yet Audible.com has the largest audiobook library with more than 85,000 titles and some of the most competitive monthly service plans.

Here is Audiobooktopia’s Audible.com Review:

Audible.com has the largest selection of audiobook titles available on the web, with more than 85,000 titles available from 2,500 different content providers. Users can find best-selling audiobooks and new-releases online, including those featured on the New York Times Best Sellers List and Oprah’s Book Club. The company has produced a number of its own recordings in its Audible Originals collection and offers audio versions of magazines, newspapers and radio shows through its service in addition to audiobooks.

The audiobooks that Audible.com sells come in a digital audio format, which does have some level of digital rights management. Fortunately, all major modern smartphones and the most popular digital audio players support playback of audiobooks from Audible. Users can play Audible.com audiobooks on Macs, PCs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, Zunes, Android smartphones, Garmin GPS devices, Kindle E-Readers and a number of other devices. Users also have the option of burning their audiobooks to a CD.

The company has three pricing options:

• The Gold Membership Plan– For $14.95 per month, users will receive one audiobook credit per month. Gold members also receive a discount on additional audiobooks purchased.
• The Platinum Membership– For $22.95 per month, users will receive two audiobook credits per month. Platinum members also receive a discount on additional audiobooks purchased.
• A La Carte Purchase– Users that aren’t interested in participating in one of Audible.com’s monthly membership plans can purchase digital audiobooks individually. Audible.com’s a la carte prices are typically much lower than purchasing an audiobook on CD. If you listen to audiobooks on a regular basis, it may be worth it to sign-up for the monthly membership plans as they provide significant discounts from Audible.com’s normal prices.

Most audiobooks on Audible.com are available for one audiobook credit. There are a few titles that are dozens of hours in length which will run for two credits. Credits that are unused roll over from month to month as long as your membership is active. Users do have the option to pause their service for a few months if they find that they do not have time to listen to audiobooks for a season.

Audible.com is currently offering two promotional discounts to new customers:

• One Free Audiobook and 14-Days of Free Service–Users that take advantage of this offer will get one free audiobook and 14-day trial to Audible.com’s Gold Membership.  Users have the option of cancelling before the end of their 14-day free trial or continuing their Gold Membership for $14.95 per month. Click here to get this discount.
• Half-Off on Audible.com’s Gold Membership for Three Months – Users that take advantage of this offer will get a 50% discount on the first three months of service on a Gold Membership plan. Instead of paying $14.95 per month, users will be charged $7.49 per month for the first three months. Click here to get this discount.

After using the service for several months for purposes of this Audible.com review, Audiobooktopia’s staff believes there are no major downsides to purchasing audiobooks from Audible.com. The service has the largest collection of audiobooks available on the web and offers very competitive prices. In addition, titles from Audible can be played on a wide variety of devices, including computers, smartphones, e-readers and digital audio players.