One of the main features of Audible, that make it one of the best audiobook services, is the availability of different subscription plans to cater to diverse needs.
The membership plans are divided into two main categories; Audible Plus and Audible Premium Plus.
Audible Plus gives you access to a small part of the Audible library, called the Plus Catalog.
The Premium Plus plans include the Plus Catalog, monthly credits to get any title from the entire collection, exclusive sales and deals, and discounts on all cash purchases.
This article discusses Audible Plus vs Premium Plus plans and highlights the similarities and differences between them.
How Does Audible Plus work
The Plus plan gives you unlimited access to Audible’s Plus Catalog for $7.95/month. Stream all ‘included’ titles or download them on your device for offline listening.
You also get discounts through selected sales and deals from Audible as part of your Audible Plus membership.
What Does Audible Plus Include
Audible Plus plan comes with unlimited access to the Plus Catalog which includes
- Over 70,000 audiobooks from all categories, including Audible Originals and popular titles
- 10,000 short audiobooks that are under 3 hours
- 1000 podcasts
- Sleep tracks
- Meditation programs
Plus Catalog can be considered a Netflix of audiobooks where you have unlimited streaming access to the catalog.
Here are 5 important things to know about the Plus Catalog.
- You do not own audiobooks from the Plus Catalog. They are only available as long as you have an active subscription
- The Plus Catalog gets frequent updates with fresh content added to it every week
- If a title is leaving the Plus Catalog next month, Audible displays the ‘included until’ label next to it on the title’s details page, home screen, and the search results listings
- It is not possible to share Plus Catalog titles with your Amazon Household members as you do not own these titles and they are only available for streaming
- You can discover the most popular content from the Plus Catalog from Audible’s Most Listened Audiobooks page.
You can Play or Add to Library any Plus Catalog title from title’s page. For all other audiobooks (not included in Plus Catalog), you need to buy them (with credit or cash) to add them to the library and listen.
To access the Plus Catalog on your computer, click on the Plus Catalog option from the top navigation bar on Audible’s website.
If the option is not visible in the top navigation bar, you can access through Browse > Plus Catalog or click here to access the Plus Catalog.
To access the Plus Catalog in the app, tap on the Profile option from the bottom navigation bar and tap on The Plus Catalog under Included with Membership
In the Plus Catalog, you can browse content by categories, mood, editor’s pick, popular titles, new releases, and more.
Note: To access the Plus Catalog on Audible’s mobile site, tap on the hamburger menu > Member benefits and scroll down to tap the Explore the Plus Catalog option
If you want to search only the Plus Catalog titles in the Audible app, Tap on Discover option from the bottom navigation bar and tap on the Search option (top right of screen) to type your search term
Select the included in your membership option to display the search results from the Plus Catalog
For more information, refer to the Plus Catalog search article.
Related Article: 12 FAQs about Audible’s Plus Catalog
How Does Audible Premium Plus Work
There are 4 types of Audible’s Premium Plus plans.
| Audible Plan | Membership Cost | Monthly Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Audible Premium Plus – 1 Credit | $14.95/ Month | 1 Credit |
| Audible Premium Plus – 2 Credits | $22.95/ Month | 2 Credits |
| Audible Premium Plus Annual – 12 Credits | $149.50/ Year | 12 Credits |
| Audible Premium Plus Annual – 24 Credits | $229.50/ Year | 24 Credits |
Audible Premium plus – 1 credit is the most popular plan that gives you access to the Plus Catalog (same as the Audible Plus plan), and you also get 1 credit/ month.
You can redeem 1 credit for any audiobook from Audible’s entire premium catalog, regardless of its price.
What Does Audible Premium Plus Include
Audible Premium plus membership has the following membership benefits
- Unlimited access to the Plus Catalog (same as Audible Plus plan)
- 1 Credit to get any audiobook including best sellers, new releases, and popular titles
- Premium Plus membership also unlocks exclusive sales and deals
- You also get at least 30% discount on all cash purchases as a Premium Plus member
Premium members get special offers to purchase credits at discounted rates. The credit system is an excellent feature of Audible that allows you to grab expensive titles for less.
Here are a few important points on how Audible credits work
- You do not have to use your monthly credits right away. Credit expires after 12 months from the issue date. You can find the expiry date of your credits from Audible’s website (Account Name > Account Details > Credit Summary)
- You can buy extra credits If you have less than 2 credits (0 or 1) in your account. When you are running out of credits, you get an offer to purchase extra credits at a discounted price
- Audible regularly offers 2-for-1 deals to Premium plus customers, where you can get 2 books using 1 credit. You can save some credits for 2-for-1 offers
- If you do not like a title you purchased with a credit, you can always return the title and get back the credit to use for another book
- Sometimes Premium members get free credits through offers. I recently got an offer to ‘use 3 credits, get 1 free’ and I grabbed it immediately
If you want to buy an expensive audiobook, it’s better to purchase extra credits and use one to get the book.
Related Article: How Audible credits work
3 Differences between Audible Plus and Premium Plus
Both Audible Plus and Premium Plus membership plans come with unlimited access to the Plus Catalog.
The Plus Catalog makes up a small part of the Audible’s catalog and carries around 10% of Audible titles.
With the Audible Plus plan, you have a limited choice, which may not include the title you want to listen to.
The Plus Catalog titles are only borrowed and you do not own them. They are available as long as you have an active membership.
Here are 3 other major differences between Audible Plus and Premium Plus plans.
1. Premium Plus Plans Support Credits System
As a Premium Plus member, you get a free monthly credit that you can use to get any title from Audible’s entire catalog, including premium collections like best sellers and new releases.
Premium members can also purchase extra credits at discounted prices and use them for 2-for-1 and 3-for-2 deals to grab an extra free title.
Sometimes you get offers to get free credit (as explained above).
2. Exclusive Sales and Deals
Premium Plus plans unlock exclusive sales and deals where members get access to a bigger selection of audiobooks as compared to the Audible Plus plan.
3. Discount on Cash Purchases
Premium Members also get a discount of at least 30% on their cash purchases.
All purchased titles, through credit or cash, are yours to keep forever, even after canceling the Audible membership.
Plus vs Premium Plus: What to Choose?
I always recommend the Premium Plus plan over the Plus membership. For $7/month more you get 1 credit to redeem for any title from the entire Audible collection, which on its own is worth it.
Related Article: is Audible Premium Plus worth it?
You can also grab extra credits at a discounted price. If you use your credits effectively, no Audible book should cost you more than $10.
Audible is always running sales and deals and Premium Plus members can get extra audiobooks from 2-for-1 credit sales.
Related Article: How can Audible sell audiobooks so cheap
Consider Audible as a candy store that has two departments. One big department with expensive and premium quality chocolates and another smaller department that only offers gummy worms.
The Audible Plus plan only gives you gummy worms, but with the Prime Plus plan, you not only get the gummy worms but also get to pick one of the fancy and expensive chocolates from the big department.
When comparing Audible Premium Plus vs Plus, I think the Premium Plus plan is worth it.
You have nothing to lose as both types of plans offer 30 -days of free trial, and you can switch membership plans anytime you want.
Sohail Ahmed
I love Audiobooks and this blog features my first-hand experience with all major audiobook apps and services … Know More