With the growing demand for audiobooks, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of services available, such as Audible, Scribd, Apple Books Audiobooks, etc. Each offers unique features, excellent services, and a large selection of books. As with any service, be sure to conduct your research to find the best audiobook service to meet your needs. In this post, we are going to compare two of the best audiobook services for you, which are Audible and Apple Books Audiobooks.
1. What is Audible/Apple Books Audiobooks?
1What is Audible?
Audible is an online audiobook platform owned by Amazon.com Inc. The service is solely focused on audio content, which allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks. Thanks to Amazon, Audible is both the leader of the audiobook market and the largest online audiobook producer and retailer with by far the most extensive library of titles with over 470,000 audiobooks in its library. Audible content can be purchased individually or under a subscription model. Besides audiobooks, Audible has a massive selection of exclusive professional podcasts, magazines, newspapers, TV programs, speeches, radio, and more.
2What is Apple Books Audiobooks?
Apple Books is an all-in-one ebook reader, bookstore, and audiobook player. Its Apple Books app is known to have a great interface and a sleek and futuristic design, which delivers a high-quality ebook-reading and audiobook-listening experience to all iOS devices.
If you’re a book lover, you’ll certainly love Apple Books. It’s one of the best platforms if you want to browse the book store, join Oprah’s new book club, keep track of what you’ve read and want to read, and listen to audiobooks all in one place. As good as the listening experience is on the Audible app, Apple Books provides a first-class experience from beginning to end. Besides, you can sync audiobooks with Apple Watch as well.
2. Pro and Cons of Audible and Apple Books Audiobooks
As with any service, there are perks and drawbacks. Here’s what we found with Audible and Apple Books audiobooks:
Pros and cons of Audible
Biggest Audiobook library on the market
Integration into Amazon website and Kindle devices
Works on Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows and Mac
Best return policy
Full retail price often higher than other stores
Confusing membership plans
Pros and cons of Apple Books audiobooks
No confusing membership plans
First-class interface and terrific user experience
Lengthy preview feature before buying books
More streamlined buying process
Only available on iOS and limited on the Mac
Offers limited free titles to choose from
Some audiobooks are expensive
3. How Much does Audible/Apple Books Audiobooks Cost?
Purchasing Audible audiobooks individually as their listed prices is quite pricey. The good news is that subscribing to Audible can reduce prices substantially. What's more, Audible is a membership service that provides customers with the world's largest selection of audiobooks as well as podcasts, exclusive originals and more. Your trial Audible membership is free for 30 days. And you can cancel anytime before your trial ends and you won’t be charged. There are no commitments and no cancellation fees. All titles taken during trial and purchased with a credit are yours to keep forever. Here are two of the Audible basic membership plans to choose from:
Apple Books focus on selling individual digital audiobooks without selling the subscription service. Titles vary in price, but special offers and free books are available every day. Since there are no subscription deals or member discounts, so it can get expensive for you if you listen often. In this case, you're likely better off with an affordable subscription service. Compared to Audible, Apple Books seem to have lower prices for the exact same audiobook (same narrators) than Audible. The reason why Audible prices are higher is that they aren't in the business of selling books as much as they are in the business of selling subscriptions.
4. Audible vs Apple Books Audiobooks Comparison
No matter what your digital reading preferences are, it is necessary to conduct your research and compare your audiobook options to choose the best service to meet your needs.
| Audiobook Services | Audible | Apple Books |
|---|---|---|
| Library size | 470,000+ | 1,000,000+(includes ebooks) |
| Format | Encrypted AAX | Encrypted M4B |
| Features | Audible membership benefits | Read and listen to enthralling audiobooks all in one place |
| Compatibility | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Windows Phone | Mac and iOS devices only |
| Cost | $7.95/$14.95 a month | pay-per-book |
| Subscription type | Rental/Credit | Unlimited |
| Listen offline | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days | No |
On the whole, both Apple Books and Audible provide a large collection of audiobooks for you to choose from. Take membership service into consideration, Apple Books has no advantage over Audible in price. But from the perspective of user experience, listening to audiobooks via the Apple Book app is easier, smoother, and more pleasant. In my opinion, if you are an occasional listener, or a die-hard Apple Book fan, or prefer to manage ebooks and audiobooks within one app, Apple Books is a nice choice for you. If you are an avid audiobook listener, Audible can definitely meet your needs.
How to Convert Audible Books to MP3
Fortunately, encrypted Audible books can be decrypted effortlessly. You can refer to this guide to remove Audible DRM and convert Audible books to MP3.
Amy Lopez crafts informative articles on eBooks and eReaders, uncovering optimal methods to enhance your eBook reading experience, and eagerly shares her findings with you.
Sample of price difference.
Burner Grey Man on Apple $34.99
On Audible… $50