Audible Savings

Audiobooks and other spoken digital audio entertainment provide a great way to consume some prose or perhaps learn a new language while you are engaged in some other activity such as exercising or commuting or maybe doing some household work, but this comes at a price: audiobook CD sets usually cost around $50 or so – quite steep, but not really surprising considering that an average of 10-12 CDs are needed just for one book, which, of course, raises the manufacturing costs sky high. Then there are other costs, the recording studio time, the post production costs, and of course the narrator's fee – sometimes top actors or actresses are used and, naturally, they need to be paid accordingly.

It is no surprise then that even downloadable audiobooks are priced at least on par with printed hardcover books, and usually higher, which, let's face it, is way too expensive for an average consumer.

This is where Audible's membership plans come in. In exchange for a commitment to buy at least one audiobook (or some other equally valued audio program) per month, you get your audio entertainment at prices that are in range with printed paperback books, a vastly more affordable solution.

In the two tables below you can see how much exactly you can save on audiobooks if you join one of Audible's membership plans as opposed to just buying them at the Audible's online store – which is the second best solution. Six books are included, fictional and non-fictional, latest bestsellers and classics, all of them extraordinarily successful.

As you can see, by joining one of Audible's membership plans you can save huge amounts of money: almost $24 per book with Audible Gold plan, or over $27 per book with Audible Platinum plan.

Note: the examples above take into account Audible's promotional offers which apply to first-time members only: Platinum members get 2 free books, while Gold members get 50% off membership fee for first 3 months. This contributes to your initial savings, so your next 6 audiobooks will actually cost somewhat more, but you will still be saving from $20 to $25 per book – depending, of course, on which ones you choose. A word of advice on this: since your monthly credits are good for pretty much any audiobook (some rare exceptions apply), it is a good idea to spend them on more expensive items – and don't worry, you'll find plenty of those.

On the other hand, Audible also has plenty of less expensive audio programs in its huge library, audiobooks in the $10-20 range, and even books below $10 are not such a rare occurence. Since as a member you get 30% discount on all your additional purchases that are not covered by your monthly credits, a $15 audiobook would actually cost you $10.50. Now, if you are, say, an Audible Gold member, using your credit which is worth $14.95 to get this particular book doesn't really make sense, you are actually overpaying for it. So, again, it's better to spend your monthly credit (or two) on higher-priced items (the more expensive they are, the more you save), and buy the less expensive ones separately for 30% off regular price.

Another way to increase your savings is by signing up for an annual plan. If Audible turns out to be to your liking there's no reason not to do so and get two months of membership for free, regardless of which of the plans you'd chosen. The credit price, in this case, is just $12.46 for Audible Gold plan, and a mere $9.56 for the Platinum plan.

Finally, as an Audible member you will often be invited to take advantage of special members-only sales and promotions; during these events you'll have a chance to save as much as 50% off non-member prices.