Audible Plus is both a membership benefit and a subscription plan in itself. And with the Plus catalog, Audible has introduced a gamechanger to standard “1 free audiobook per month” subscriptions!
As an Audible member, you get access to thousands of audiobooks that are included for free in your membership. No need to spend your monthly credit on them!
But you can also sign up for the Audible Plus catalog without receiving credits for a cheaper monthly fee. Let’s take a look at all the ins and outs of this unlimited audiobook subscription!
What is Audible Plus? It’s Audible Unlimited!
I will assume here that you already know a bit about Audible. (If not, check out my article: How does Audible work?)
In 2020, many people expected them to create something similar to Audible Escape for other genres – or extend that subscription further, outside of the Romance genre. Plus is it!
With this service, you get unlimited access to thousands of Audible Original and Audible Studios productions. So, instead of picking two Originals a month as it was in the olden days, you can listen to all of them!
In my opinion, the most important thing about Plus is that it gives the standard Audible membership (which used to be called Gold or Platinum plans but are now Audible Premium Plus 1 or 2 credits) a huge advantage in comparison to similar audiobook subscription models like Audiobooks.com.
Instead of listening to just the one audiobook you bought with your credit, you get to listen to as many audiobooks as you want every month.
Yes, if you have a standard Audible plan, you automatically have access to the Plus catalog without any extra cost!
But as I said earlier, you can also sign up for the Audible Plus plan by itself. That costs $7.95 per month. It doesn’t give you any additional benefits like access to sales events. But for the relatively low monthly fee, you get to borrow as many included books as you like.
Audible calls it “All You Can Listen” and it means you can use Audible Plus like Netflix, downloading or streaming any content that catches your eye. You don’t need to return anything and you have no borrow limits!
I’m a big fan of the Plus catalog as it allows me to try out audiobooks outside of my comfort zone. I can check out new-to-me authors and narrators, or I borrow books from genres I only rarely turn to. I have also started to instantly download any new multi-cast Audible production I see because they are always a treat.
This company creates so many fantastic audio plays with elaborate productions. Audible’s exclusive books tend to feel very current and relevant, and I still have the feeling that there are people working there who are truly passionate about audiobooks.
Related article: Is Audible worth it?
What’s included in the Plus catalog?
Audible Plus started out primarily offering Audible Originals and many titles produced by Audible Studios, as well as exclusive podcasts.
Currently, there are over 30,000 human-read audiobooks available to borrow. About one third of these are from Recorded Books and their imprints Tantor and GraphicAudio. You can also find more than 1000 podcasts, more than 2000 Audible Originals, and over 4000 Audible Studios titles. The rest is made up of books from other publishing houses and indie authors.
You can find an excellent selection of short audiobooks in Audible Plus with a length of 1 – 4 hours which I find great during longer drives and trips as you can finish them in a day or even in one sitting.
But most included audiobooks are novel length and you can even get entire book series which will give you the full immersive experience many listeners love about long audiobooks.
Personally, I am absolutely thrilled about Audible Plus. Firstly, it offers people with a smaller budget a great option to listen to as many audiobooks as they want.
Secondly, it’s a fantastic membership benefit for Premium Plus subscribers because you get more audiobooks to listen to after using your Audible credit.
Unfortunately, due to decisions made by Amazon, the Plus catalog is being absolutely flooded with AI productions. If you follow the button below, I have already filtered these out for you. But you can also check out my guide on how to filter Virtual Voice audiobooks yourself. Additionally, it shows you how to use the various filtering options, e.g. for genre, length, or release date.
New human-read audiobooks are added every month and most audiobooks, especially Audible Originals, are likely to remain included. But some titles, especially those from other publishers, might be rotated out after a while.
Audible will notify you if a book in your library is about to be removed.
How does Audible Plus work?
Audible Plus titles don’t have a special icon like Audible Escape audiobooks used to have. Instead, all Audible audiobooks that you need to buy have an icon saying “1 credit”, while those that are included in the Plus catalog are not marked.
The buttons next to the included audiobooks say “Play” or “Add to Library” instead of showing buying options. You can stream books from the Audible Plus catalog or download them so you can listen during offline times.
Audible Plus is a real unlimited audiobook subscription. You can click through the catalog and listen to as many titles as you like.
You don’t have to remember to return them since you can borrow as many audiobooks as you like and keep them as long as you like. When your membership runs out, the titles will automatically be removed from your device though.
You only have access to Audible Plus books while you have an active subscription.
Popular Titles in Audible Plus
Some books in the Audible Plus catalog that I loved are:
Love Lines series by Cara Bastone
All three books in this Romance series (no spicy scenes) are absolutely adorable and fun! They are warm, extremely entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny, and have a wonderful cast of characters.
If you love Love, check out more of the best Romance audiobooks in Audible Plus!
The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
One of the most popular audiobooks on Audible is The Dispatcher. This series is narrated by the amazing Zachary Quinto, who brings the characters in this weird world to life.
This series of captivating thrillers with their weird premise is a must-listen!
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Not only since the Wheel of Time series is everyone in love with Rosamund Pike. So, her version of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is an absolute must-listen as well!
If you are looking for more recommendations, check out my lists of the Best Audible Originals and the best Short Audiobooks!
Standout Features at a Glance
- No credits needed – everything in the Plus catalog is included (“Netflix for Audiobooks”)
- Over 30,000 human-narrated audiobooks
- New titles added monthly
- High-quality productions with professional narrators
- Thousands of exclusive titles you won’t find elsewhere
- Mix of full-length books and shorter content
- Fiction and Nonfiction
- Exclusive works by famous authors, comedians, and actors
- Full-cast Productions
Is Audible Plus right for you?
I have been using Audible for many, many years and, honestly, I love Audible Plus.
The main reason is that I love Audible Originals. Not to sound like a fan here, but as an audiobook blogger, I have always gotten the impression that (corporate interests aside) the people at Audible really do love audiobooks.
And their own productions are just really, really fun. They cast excellent voice actors, often famous people, often full casts, that make for special listening experiences.
Secondly, as I said in the beginning, free and unlimited access to the Plus catalog is a huge membership benefit. At the same time, the Audible Plus plan by itself is the cheapest unlimited audiobook subscription I know of, aside from library audiobooks.
That being said, whether you will be entirely happy with the Plus plan and whether it will feel like enough for you depends on which kinds of audiobooks you enjoy and if you can find enough included titles that interest you. You can read more about that in my comparison of Audible Plus vs Premium Plus.
If you haven’t tried it yet, I recommend the free trial of Audible Premium Plus since you can score a free audiobook to keep while exploring the Plus catalog! Get the 30 day free trial on Audible here**
Before the trial ends, you can cancel it and switch to the cheaper Plus plan if you like.
Happy listening!
Eline Blackman (pronouns: she/they) fell in love with books as a child – with being read to and reading herself. 10 years ago, she bought her first Audible book. It was love at first listen! An average of 250 audiobooks per year has become the new normal and you will rarely see Eline without a wireless earbud. Romance and Fantasy are the go-to genres for this audiobook fan.
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