We usually listen to audiobooks from a lot of free sources like our library and the free audiobook channels. But sometimes we can't find our favorite books or narrators. So we are considering to buy some audiobooks from Audible sometimes. Do I have to have a subscription account to do that?
-- Asked by Bella Wright
Audible typically recommends a $14.95/month Premium Plus membership, which gives you one credit per month and discounts on additional purchases. However, if you only listen occasionally, paying for a subscription or buying books at full price might feel unnecessary and expensive. The good news is you don't need a membership to buy books on Audible. There are several simple ways to get Audible books at a lower cost or even for free. In this guide, I'll walk you through the 6 most common methods so you can listen to your favorite audiobooks without a subscription.
Part 1. Can You Use Audible without a Subscription?
Yes, you can use Audible without a subscription, though your experience will differ from that of a paid member.
What you can do without a subscription:
- 1. Buy individual audiobooks: You can buy Audible audiobooks directly from the Audible website or via Amazon using a debit card. As long as you have an Amazon account, you can make purchases. Once bought, these books are yours to keep permanently. You can access your Audible Library to download them and listen to them without a membership.
- 2. Access free content: Audible offers a selection of free audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals that you can listen to without a subscription. All you need is an Amazon account to get started.
What you can't do without a subscription:
- 1. Use credits: Credits are the primary benefit of Audible membership. You pay just one credit to purchase any book on Audible, regardless of its retail price. Without a subscription, you cannot earn or use credits.
- 2. Access the Plus Catalog: The Audible Plus Catalog contains thousands of books available for on-demand listening at no extra cost.
- 3. Get member-only discounts: Subscribers typically receive access to special sales and discounts on select titles, which are unavailable to non-members.
Part 2. How to Buy Audibe Books without a Subscription
Even without a monthly membership, you can still purchase and own audiobooks from Audible.
Way 1. Purchase a Book
You can simply purchase audiobooks at full retail price, just as you would buy physical books or digital e-books. Once purchased, you own the book permanently. It will remain in your Audible library forever, and you can listen to it on any device via the Audible app, whether or not you have an active membership.
- Go to the Audible website (it's often easiest to do this on a desktop browser, but it works on mobile browsers too).
- Sign in with your Amazon account.
- Search for the audiobook you want to purchase.
- On the book's detail page, you will see a button with the full price (e.g., "Buy for $29.95"). This is different from the "Buy with 1 credit" option, which is for members.
- Click the "Buy for $X.XX" button and complete the purchase using your credit card or other payment methods linked to your Amazon account.
- The audiobook will immediately appear in your Audible library.
Way 2. Use Whispersync Deals
Whispersync for Kindle is the service which allows users to switch back and forth between reading a Kindle book and listening to the audio book version without losing the last place after buying both the eBook and audiobook. This offer a best way for us to enjoying books.
Besides that, Amazon wants to promote Whispersync, so you can buy the books which support Whispersync to save money. Normally if you buy two books together from the Whispersync page, the total price will be less than buying only 1 version. And it doesn't require a subscription to work. Here's how to acquire an Audible title without a subscription using Whispersync Deals:
- Navigate to Amazon.com and click on the "All" tab to view the dropdown menu. Subsequently, select "Kindle Store".
- Identify the "Audible Narration" section on the left-hand side of the page. Within this section, choose "eBooks with Audible Narration".
- Browse through the available titles and click on the cover of the book you desire to access its detailed page.
- On the page that displays "See all formats and editions", opt for "Kindle" instead of Audible.
- Enable the checkbox labeled "Add Audible narration to your purchase for $..." and then select the "Buy now with 1-Click" button positioned above it.
- Completion the purchase as directed, and the audiobook will be automatically added to your Audible library. You can now enjoy Audible content without a current subscription.
Occasionally, you might discover that Whispersync for Voice offers the same audiobook in both audiobook and ebook formats.
You may want to sync Audible audiobooks to all of your devices without losing the position. Whispersync for Voice is the feature you are looking for. Check this post to know everything about Whispersync for Voice.
Way 3. Obtain Daily Deals
Audible offers great audiobook daily deals on their official website at lowest price which will be much lower than paying with a credit. You might pay attention to the daily deal section on the page. Also, you can subscribe to it by email, so that you won't miss any best offers.
- Navigate to the Audible site and sign in to your account.
- Move your mouse over the "Discover" tab located in the upper left and select "Daily Deals" from the dropdown menu.
- On the Daily Deals page, you will find the audiobook offered at a reduced price. Click on the book title to go to its details page.
- If interested in buying the audiobook, click on "Buy Now" to add it to your cart and proceed to the checkout process.
- Enter your credit card information and finalize the purchase.
- If the featured book isn't of interest, no worries—you can subscribe to the daily deals newsletter by going to "Account Details" > "Notifications" > "Daily Deals" and entering your email address. You will then receive daily updates via email.
- When a desired book goes on sale, simply click the link in the email to make a purchase without an Audible membership before the offer expires.
Part 3. How to Listen to Audible Books without a Subscription
Way 4. Sign up for the Audible Free Trial
If you're new to Audible audiobooks, you're eligible for a 30-day trial and 1 free Audible credit. Prime members receive 2 credits. You can use these to purchase any audiobook in the Audible store, at a rate of one credit per book. Considering the average price of each audiobook exceeds $10, this is quite generous. But you should use them up before the trial ends, unless the credits expire.
Beyond that, you also get unlimited streaming access to the entire Audible Plus Catalog, which includes thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals.
- Go to the Audible desktop website on a computer.
- You will be prompted to sign in with your Amazon account. If you don't have one, please create a new Amazon account under the "New to Amazon" section.
- Navigate the categories to find the audiobook you are excited about. Audible includes the category like fiction, fantasy, romance, kids, comedy, history, business and so on.
- After finding the book you want, just click "Free with 30-day trial" button, it will require you to input your payment method to confirm your account.
- Subsequently, you will receive a complimentary Audible Premium Plus account for 30 days, along with one free Audible credit. This credit can be used to redeem any title you wish to purchase.
- After getting the free book, it will be owned by yourself forever and you can cancel the Audible subscription so that it won't charge you in 30 days.
Please don't worry that Audible books will vanish after the expiration date. The title redeemed with credits is yours. The title redeemed with credits is yours to keep. You can download these Audible books to your PC, Mac, or other devices and retain them indefinitely, even without an active Audible membership.
Wanna how to get Audible free trial? You come to the right place. We'll tell you details about it.l
Way 5. Access Audiobooks via Amazon Music Unlimited
If you are an Amazon Music Unlimited user, you can select one free audiobook each month. This is a benefit of subscribing to Amazon Music Unlimited. You can listen to your selected audiobook in either the Amazon Music app or the Audible app.
Here's how to get an audiobook for free with an Amazon Music Unlimited membership:
- Open the Amazon Music app on your mobile device.
- Select the "Audible tab in the top navigation.
- Browse available audiobooks.
- Once you find the book you want, select "Select audiobook" on the book's details page.
- Confirm your selection. The audiobook will be added to your library in both the Amazon Music and Audible apps.
- Monthly audiobooks are "borrowed" titles, not permanent purchases like Audible credits.
- You can also choose to continue listening to the same book if you haven't finished it. If you want a new audiobook, you can swap it out when your billing cycle renews.
- If you cancel your Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, you will lose access to the audiobooks.
Amazon Music Unlimited users can enjoy Audible audiobooks on Amazon Music now. How to find it and listen to it? We will demonstrate this in the following post.
Way 6. Explore Audible's Free Listen section
A portion of Audible's content is free, requiring no trial or paid membership. However, this catalog is significantly smaller and does not include new releases or bestsellers. These titles are typically classics or promotional offerings, and the selection rotates regularly.
- Navigate to Audible.com/ep/FreeListens on your web browser.
- Explore the free audiobooks, podcasts, and Audible Originals available on the page.
- Once you find a title you like, click "Add to Library." You can then play or download it in the Audible app.
- These books will remain in your library permanently as long as they are available on the platform.
There are many great books on Audible that don't cost a thing. Check out the top list of 10 best free Audible books belonging to different genres.
Bonus Tip: Listen to Audible Audiobooks Offline without Subscription
All of the above methods can help you save money on Audible without paying for a membership. But what if you want to listen completely offline, on any device, without any restrictions?
Audible audiobooks are protected by DRM, meaning you need to authorize each device through the Audible app. If you own multiple devices or frequently switch between them, this can be frustrating. For easier listening, you can use a tool like ViWizard Audible Converter for Windows or Mac. It lets you remove DRM protection and convert Audible audiobooks to common formats like MP3, FLAC, M4A, M4B, AIFF, and WAV. This way, you can permanently save your purchased audiobooks and play them offline on any device.
Additional benefits: ViWizard Audible Converter also lets you split audiobooks by chapter or segment, customize narrator pitch, volume, and speed, and preserve detailed metadata like artwork, titles, authors, narrators, and descriptions. This gives you full control over your Audible audiobooks without needing a membership.
Convert any protected Audible audiobook to lossless audio, MP3, FLAC, M4A, M4B, WAV, and AIFF formats with full ID3 tags, up to 100 times faster.
Step 1 Install ViWizard and Log in
Download and install ViWizard Audible Converter for Windows or Mac. Open the software, and log in to your Audible account through the built-in web player to access your library.
Step 2Choose Output Format and Settings
Go to Menu > Preferences > Conversion. Select your desired output format, and adjust bitrate or sample rate if needed. Choose a folder on your computer to save the converted files.
Step 3 Add Audiobooks to Convert
Navigate to your Audible library. Click the plus (+) button to select audiobooks, then hit Add to List to prepare them for conversion.
Step 4Convert Audiobooks
Click Convert. ViWizard will remove DRM and quickly convert the audiobook to your selected audio format. Once conversion is complete, click the folder icon next to the title to view the download stored in your chosen output folder on your computer. You can then play the audiobook directly on your computer or transfer the file to any device for playback without an Audible subscription.
Conclusion
Now you should have a clear understanding of how to purchase audiobooks from Audible or listen to Audible audiobooks without subscribing. The six methods outlined above will help you turn this into a feasible action. Moreover, the ViWizard Audible Audiobook Converter is designed to transform and save any downloaded or bought audiobooks into MP3 or other local file formats, enabling offline listening at your convenience. Feel free to explore these techniques and make use of the ViWizard software.
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Adam Gorden, the digital media specialist at ViWizard, is dedicated to providing the best solutions for digital media management, including audio and video conversion, file optimization, and media workflow enhancements.
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