Can You Keep Your Free Audible Books? (Solved)

Audible is arguably the king of the online audiobook world, and rightly so. There’s a lot to like with its enticing Plus Catalog, Premium Plus membership, and credits to spend on audiobooks.

However, whether you’re on a free trial, have just become a member, or are thinking about canceling your subscription. You may be wondering whether you can keep the free audiobooks that you got with Audible.

This article looks at how you get free books on Audible and whether you really get to keep them.

Here’s Everything you Need to Know about Free Audiobooks on Audible

Users can access free books with a free Audible trial or using Audible credits to purchase books for free, alternatively, through a subscription with access to the Plus Catalog for unlimited listening (while titles remain). Premium Plus members can keep free books forever.

Are Free Audible Books Going to Cost Credits Eventually?

When discussing the idea of ‘free audiobooks’ with Audible, it’s important to clarify how you are accessing Audible’s range of free books.

For example, Audible offers its subscribers access to the Plus Catalog:

• The Plus Catalog has thousands of audiobooks that users can listen to.
• Listening to content included in the Plus Catalog does not cost you anything more than paying for your membership.
• You can listen to these titles unlimited times and even download them for offline play.

It is important to understand that you do not own these Plus Catalog titles outright. If you cancel your subscription or remove the title from the Plus Catalog, you will no longer have access to them.

You can, however, choose to purchase a title in the Plus Catalog and keep it forever. Moreover, you could choose to pay for a Plus Catalog title with one of your Audible credits.

Thus, free audiobooks on Audible will cost you credits eventually if you decide you want to own the title forever.

Furthermore, it’s worth pointing out that titles on the Plus Catalog are updated and change over time. It may be the case that one day a title that was once in the Plus Catalog is now only available for purchase.

Lastly, Audible provides a small collection of audio content that is free for both members and non-members alike. These titles won’t cost you a cent and can be accessed without paying a monthly subscription.

The free collection of audiobooks is:

“(…) a zero-risk way to give it a go. If you love it, it’ll open up a whole new world of related titles to get stuck into. Not a fan? You can scroll away and move onto another audiobook with your wallet exactly the same weight it was before.”

[Source: Audible.com]

Check out our Audible Subscription and Membership Easy Guide!

Does Audible Have a Growing Number of Free Books?

The Plus Catalog is one of the cornerstones of an Audible membership and is possibly one of the main reasons users continue their subscriptions.

The Plus Catalog is, in effect, an enormous free library to borrow books from and is constantly being enhanced with new titles every week.

Members can navigate to the Plus Catalog or discover a title with a banner that reads ‘Included’ to get access to their next free piece of Audible content.

How does the Plus Catalog work?

Users do not have to spend credits playing or downloading the Plus Catalog content. Any title that does not have the ‘1 Credit’ label is included in the Plus Catalog.

The Plus Catalog is growing weekly, but titles rotate from time to time.

You will be notified with an ‘Included until’ message on the title page of the audiobook if the content is due to leave the Plus Catalog. This notification can also be found on the ‘Home’ screen and search results.

Remember, even if a title is leaving, you can be assured that it will be replaced with more great Audible content, some of which are exclusive Audible Originals.

Can you Access the Books After the Free Trial Ends?

Audible’s 30-day free trial allows users to take advantage of all that Audible has to offer without the need to dig into their wallets.

The free trial will grant users access to the Plus Catalog and instantly allow them to begin listening to this ever-growing library at no cost at all. Moreover, those who sign up for a free trial will also be given a free credit to spend on an audiobook of their choosing.

However, it is crucial to remember that if you do not wish to become a member of Audible and sign up for monthly payments, you must cancel before the 30 days are up.

Failure to cancel before the free trial ends will result in your account being transferred into an active subscriber.

As a subscriber, you will continue to have access to all of the free books in the Plus Catalog and gain more credits each month to spend on Audible content.

If you cancel your free trial and do not become an Audible member, you will no longer be able to access the Plus Catalog.

Can you Keep your Free Audible Book Without a Subscription?

If you’ve taken Audible for a spin with its free trial, you’ll have the chance to enjoy all that it offers, albeit only for a month.

During that time, you will have been able to spend your free credit:

• Credits are an Audible-only currency that can be used instead of spending on credit cards.
• Premium Plus members gain these monthly credits and can choose to spend them or let them roll over into the following months as they wish.
• Members who purchase an audiobook with their credit get to keep that title forever.
• Users with a free trial are given one credit to spend on an audiobook of their choosing.
• Depending on the retail cost of the audiobook, the credit can be worth around $20.00.

If you’ve used your Audible free trial credit to purchase an audiobook, then it’s yours to keep forever. You don’t need to have a subscription to access the title, and you listen to it whenever you like.

Please also read our article about the benefits of Audible memberships.

Can you Keep Free Audible Books After Canceling?

We can’t always afford to keep subscriptions running indefinitely, and you may need to cancel your Audible membership.

Thankfully, Audible doesn’t want to make life difficult for you if your membership no longer works for you at the current time.

As mentioned previously, all the titles you purchased for free using Audible credits are yours to keep – even when you cancel.

After canceling an Audible Premium Plus membership, log into your Amazon/Audible account via the app or website to access your library. You’ll find all of your free books and the ones you purchased with your credit card.

Remember, canceling does come with a few drawbacks:

1. You will no longer have access to the Plus Catalog.
2. Any unused credits at the time of cancelation will be lost.
   • Top tip: Always spend all of your remaining credits before canceling your subscription with Audible.
3. You will not have access to Audible member deals and discounts.

How Long can you Generally Keep Audible Books?

Access to the books included in the Plus Catalog is restricted to paying members (or those currently on a free trial). Plus, Catalog titles change from time to time, but if a title is removed from the catalog, Audible will display the time it will be available until.

Audiobooks you purchase with a credit card, whether you are a member or not, are yours to keep forever.

Audiobooks purchased with Audible credits will also be available to listen to whenever you like. Even if you cancel your membership or end your free trial, any audiobook purchased with a free credit will always be yours.

Sources:

Free Audiobooks for All

How long do titles stay in the Plus Catalog?

What is the Plus Catalogue?

What happens to my purchased audiobooks if I cancel my membership?