Kindle Unlimited subscription is primarily for reading Kindle ebooks. But actually, there still comes with 20,000 audiobooks in the Kindle Unlimited library. Also as an audiobook service launched by Amazon, Audible claims to be the largest audiobook seller in the world. So what is the difference between Kindle Unlimited and Audible? Which one is the best for audiobook lovers?
In this post, I will compare the audiobook services provided by these two Amazon platforms. After reading this post, you will definitely find the best one that suits your needs. Don't want to read the whole thing? That's fine. Just have a quick look at this chart for a basic outline.
Kindle Unlimited |
Audible |
|
|---|---|---|
• 20,000 ebook titles with Audible narration |
• 400,000 titles |
|
• 30-day free trial • Unlimited Access to Kindle Library (10 titles) |
• 30-day free trial • 2 audiobooks + 2 Audible originals |
|
• $9.99/month |
• $14.95/month |
|
• No credits |
• 1 credit + 2 Audible originals |
|
• No |
• Yes |
|
• Borrow and keep at most 10 titles at a time |
• Purchase 1 title with 1 credit • 30% off for members on a regular purchase |
|
• Kindle eReaders, Kindle Fire, Kindle for iOS/Android |
• Audible App, Kindle, Alexa-enabled device |
|
• The US only |
• Worldwide |
|
• Return the title anytime |
• Members have unlimited book returns. • Non-members can return 2 titles in 6 months |
|
|
• The borrowed audiobooks will be removed. |
• You won't lose your owned Audible books. • Unused Credits will be removed. |
If this chart does not settle your doubts, just keep reading to get more details about the comprehensive comparison between Kindle Unlimited and Audible.
Bonus Tips:
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1. Audiobook Selection
Kindle Unlimited
• Kindle Unlimited subscription allows you to access nearly 2 million titles that include Kindle ebooks, magazines and audiobooks.
• However, only 20,000 ebooks come with narrated Audible audiobooks, which is also called Audible Narration.
• Most of the titles are self-published by new writers and authors. It is lack of titles from big publishing houses, which means you won't find many bestsellers or popular books among these titles.
Audible
• Compared with Kindle Unlimited, Audible has over 400,000 audiobook titles, including 180,000 bestsellers, new releases, mysteries, sci-fi, romances and more.
• There are also radio programs, newspapers and magazines that come in audio format.
• One thing to be sure is that Audible has the world's largest audiobook selection available.
2. Free Trial Scheme
Kindle Unlimited
• If this is the first time you use this service, you'll get a 30-day free trial
• You'll get access to the entire Kindle Unlimited library and add 10 titles to your account.
Audible
• Just like Kindle Unlimited, the first-time users can get a 30-day free trial to test this service.s
• During the trial period, you can choose 2 audiobooks and 2 Audible originals to add to your library.
3. Subscription Pricing
Kindle Unlimited
• Subscription plan costs $9.99/month.
• Most of the Kindle Unlimited books cost from $0.99 to $4.99. If you read and listen to just one or two titles every month, it's suggested to buy books individually instead of subscribing to this monthly service.
Audible
• The cost for Audible is $14.95/month for the Gold Membership and $22.95/month for the Platinum membership.
• $14.95 Gold Membership: 1 audiobook and 2 Audible Originals / $22.95 Platinum Membership: 2 audiobooks and 2 Audible Originals.
• Members can purchase additional individual audiobooks with 30% off.
4. Credits
Kindle Unlimited
• Kindle Unlimited subscribers don't have credits to buy audiobooks.
Audible
• Gold Monthly members get 1 credit per month and Platinum Monthly members get 2 credit per month.
• 1 credit can be used for buying an Audible audiobook, regardless of the official audiobook price.
• The monthly credits will remain valid for one year.
5. Content Ownership
Kindle Unlimited
• The subscribers don't truly own the contents borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.
• Once you cancel the subscription, you will lose all your titles including the audiobooks.
Audible
• You keep the ownership of all your purchased Audible books even after the cancellation.
6. Borrowing and Purchasing
Kindle Unlimited
• You can borrow 10 titles at a time from Kindle Unlimited, which include ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. The borrowed titles have no due dates.
• Ebooks that have audiobook versions (also called Audible narrations) are borrowed together and counted as two. Thus, you can borrow 5 ebooks plus 5 audiobooks at most.
Audible
• Compared with Kindle Unlimited, you don't borrow but purchase audiobooks in Audible.
• Every member gets 1 or 2 credits to purchase audiobooks. In addition, users also get another 2 Audible Original titles.
7. Device Compatibility
Kindle Unlimited
• You can access your Kindle Unlimited contents on a Kindle eReader, Kindle Fire tablet or Kindle app for iOS/Android/PC/Mac.
• The devices that support audiobooks from Kindle Unlimited are Android/iOS devices, Amazon Fire Phone, Kindle Fire 2nd Generation, Kindle Fire HD, Fire HD 6 & 7 and Fire HDX with a free Kindle reading app.
• Kindle Unlimited audiobooks are not supported by all the Kindle e-ink devices and the Kindle app for PC/Mac.
Audible
Audible audiobooks are compatible across dozens of different devices, including but not limited to:
• Audible app for iOS/Android/Window 8/Windows 10
• Kindle Fire tablets, Kindle Oasis (8th & 9th Gen), Kindle (8th Gen), Kindle Paperwhite (10th Gen)
• Sandisk MP3 Players, Creative MP3 Players, Garmin & Tom Tom GPS Devices.
• Alexa-enabled devices including Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Dot Kids Edition, Echo Plus, Echo Show, Echo Spot and Echo Input.
8. Geographic Availability
Kindle Unlimited
• Kindle Unlimited is currently available only to US customers on Amazon.com
• Customers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Australia can sign up for Kindle Unlimited in their local Amazon marketplace, but the accessible titles and subscription fee may be different from that of the US.
Audible
• Audible.com supports US and all other countries (some titles will be geographically restricted based on your location).
• Audible operates a number of websites, each of which target a different customer population defined by language preference or geographical location, like Audible.ca, Audible.co.uk, Audible.com.au, Audible.fr, Audible.de, Audible.co.jp, Audible.it. Each marketplace features unique differences.
9. Book Returning Policy
Kindle Unlimited
• You can borrow titles with no due dates and can keep up to 10 at a time.
• To get the 11th title, you have to return anyone from the already borrowed books to exchange for it.
Audible
• Members have unlimited book returns as long as the title is within 1 year of the purchase date. And non-members can return 2 book titles once every 6 months.
• You’ll be refunded with the same way you purchased the book. That is to say, if you bought the book with a credit, you'll get a credit back. Whereas if you paid for the book, you'll get your money back.
• There exist risks in returning books on Audible since you may be considered to have abused the return policy if you returned too many books in a few days.
10. Cancellation Policy
Kindle Unlimited
• The borrowed books and audiobook versions will be removed from your account when you cancel the service.
• Your bookmarks, notes and highlights you made on the books will be saved to your Amazon account via Whispersync.
• You cannot keep free audiobooks, but you will still keep the titles that were paid for.
Detailed guide How to Cancel Kindle Unlimited?
Audible
• You will not lose your Audible books after the cancellation. You still have access to them on Audible compatible devices.
• Credits are a membership benefit, so all the unused credits will be canceled along with your membership. So it's suggested to use up the remaining credits before you cancel the membership.
Conclusion
Although Kindle Unlimited provides audiobooks, the number of titles are significantly smaller than What Audible offers. Honestly speaking, if you are more into audiobooks and prefer the most popular and newest titles, then Audible is absolutely the best choice. But if you listen to audiobooks sometimes and focus more on reading ebooks, then Kindle Unlimited seems more attractive for you. If you want to convert Audible to mp3 to listen to Audible on multiples devices freely, don't forget to download Epubor Audible Converter to help you.
Michelle loves technology & reading very much. She seeks the methods to enjoy eBooks and audiobooks more freely and wants to share everything new she has got with you.
