One of the major disadvantages of audiobooks is that they are expensive if purchased at the listed price.
This is because it takes a team and loads of resources to produce a quality audiobook.
I have already shared tips to save money on Audible and get the most out of Audible sales, this article focuses on how to get cheap audiobooks from Audible, Chirp and Spotify.
Whether you are getting started with audiobooks or are an avid audiobook listener, this article will help you get audiobooks at affordable prices.
Here are 5 ways to get audiobooks cheap
- Whispersync Deals
- Kindle Unlimited Subscription
- Audible’s Sales and Deals
- Buy Audiobooks from Chirp
- Spotify Prime Membership
1. Whispersync Deals
When you purchase an eBook (Kindle book) on Amazon, you often get an offer to add an audiobook narration for a significantly reduced price.
The audiobook you get is the same as the one you buy on Audible or Amazon.
I always recommend checking Whispersync deals first when you decide to purchase an audiobook. You may get both, an eBook and an audiobook, for less than the audiobook’s price.
Here are a few things you need to know about Whispersync deals on Amazon.
- You can check Whispersync deals for the eBooks you already own from Audible Marchmaker
- Amazon has over 600,000 Whispersync for Voice ready titles from all genres and the collection is growing fast.
- If a book listing features a headphone logo, it shows it’s a whispersynch for voice ready title and has both an eBook and audiobook version available.
- If you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can borrow an eBook and purchase its discounted audiobook version for a reduced price through whispersync deals
- You can switch between reading on Kindle and listening on Audible to enjoy the benefits of immersion reading.
You do not need an Audible membership or Kindle Unlimited subscription to get the whispersync deals.
Know more from the following articles.
2. Kindle Unlimited Subscription
Kindle Unlimited gives you access to over 3 million eBooks for $11.99 per month. KU also has a collection of over 6000 audiobooks that you can borrow without paying for them.
Here are a few important things to know about Kindle Unlimited
- While Kindle Unlimited is primarily a digital library of eBooks, it also has over 6000 Audible books with new audiobooks added every month
- You can borrow 20 books at a time. When you try to get more than 20 titles, you are asked to return one of the borrowed titles
- Audible books on KU feature a headphone symbol with a Read and Listen for Free button. Click on the button to add the title to your Audible library
- Kindle Unlimited also gives you the option to buy tens of thousands of audiobooks at a huge discount, using whispersync deals [as explained above]
The borrowed audiobooks remain in your account as long as you have an active subscription. Kindle Unlimited offers a free 30-day trial.
You can subscribe to the free trial to get cheap audiobooks from KU’s extensive collection and enjoy other benefits.
Related Article: Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks
3. Audible’s Sales and Deals
Audible regularly offers sales, deals, and offers that you can use to buy audiobooks at discounted and affordable prices. Audible’s sales page lists all deals in one place.
Members get daily deals, monthly deals, 2-for-1 deals, and many more offers.
I recently purchased A Woman Makes a Plan and 100 Side Hustles in a 2-for-1 deal. The books cost $31.50 if purchased at regular price but I got them using one credit.
When looking at how to get cheap audiobooks, no sale is better than Audible’s Sitewide Sale where Audible offers up to 85% discount on the entire catalog.
You can fill up your Audible library in the Sitewide Sale at huge discounts.
One of the best ways to get the most out of Audible sales is to add the audiobooks you want to purchase to your account’s Wish List.
Audible notifies you when any title from your Wish List goes on sale. To add an audiobook to your account’s Wish List
- On iPhone: Tap on Add to Wish List option on a title’s details page
- On Android: Tap on More Options > Add to Wish List on the audiobook’s details page
- On Audible’s Desktop Site: Search for the title that you want to add to your Wish List and add it to your Wish List from the search results.
You can also add a title to your Wish List from book’s details page by clicking on More Options > Add to Wish List
Add all audiobooks that you want to purchase to your account’s Wish List and grab them for cheap when they go on sale. This is the best way to get expensive audible books for less.
4. Buy Audiobooks from Chirp
Chirp is named ‘best budget audiobook app’ by Popular Science. If you are looking for where to get cheap audiobooks, you can’t miss Chirp.
The best thing about Chirp Audiobooks is that you do not need any commitment or subscription plan to avail of their deals and discounts.
Download the free Chirp app [iPhone | Android] and get thousands of deals for under $5 delivered to your inbox.
The deals usually last a few days with countdown timers to show when the deals are ending.
Chirp helps you get inexpensive audiobooks with great deals on new and popular titles. You get to keep the purchased books so it is a great way to build your audiobooks library on a budget.
It is important to act fast when you find an audiobook that you want to purchase as deals are limited. Sign up for Chirp emails and get loads of 99 cents deals in your inbox.
Note: Chirp also offers a list of free audiobooks that you can access for free on Chirp’s app.
5. Spotify Prime Membership
Spotify started offering audiobooks to its premium members in October 2023 and has already become the number 2 audiobook provider behind Audible.
Spotify offers 15 hours of free listening time (per month) on its premium plans. This offer is available for the following plans
- Premium Individual
- Premium Family (plan manager only)
- Premium Duo (plan manager only)
The Premium Student plan is not eligible for free listening time.
The unused listening time will expire at the end of every month so it is important to take full advantage of it. Spotify also offers you to add the additional listening time which costs $12.99/ 10 hours.
If you are a Spotify Premium user, use the free available time to listen to short audiobooks and you can also purchase additional hours and use them for expensive titles.
For more information, check out the following links
I hope you have some good ideas on how to get audiobooks at affordable prices.
There are plenty of ways to get audiobooks for free, including
- Libby app: To get free eBooks, audiobooks, and other digital content from your local library. You only need the library card to get started.
- LibiVox: Free public domain audiobooks, narrated by volunteers.
- Audible Free Listens: Audible offers hundreds of free audiobooks you can listen to without subscribing to a membership plan. Some good listings in this section include best-selling novels and celebrity memoirs.
You can also join Audible’s 30-day free trial to get access to the Plus Catalog with over 70,000 titles and 1 credit to get an audiobook that you can keep after the trial ends.
Sohail Ahmed
I love Audiobooks and this blog features my first-hand experience with all major audiobook apps and services … Know More