Pause or Cancel Audible? Here’s the Difference (Quick Guide)

Are you trying to figure out how to pause or cancel your Audible membership?

Maybe you want to take a break because you are not utilizing the app enough or getting enough value out of it. Maybe you want to use a few different apps and try them out?

Luckily, there are ways to do both, and it’s not as hard as you think. You need to know the difference between these two options and how they work in practice.  

Here’s The Difference Between the Difference Canceling and Pausing Audible: 

If you cancel Audible, it’s permanent. If you pause your membership, it is not permanent. Pausing a membership only means that they’ll hold off on billing you. Canceling an Audible membership means you won’t be billed again and will lose your credits upon reactivation.

What’s the Difference Between Canceling and Pausing Audible?

There is a big difference between canceling and pausing your Audible membership.

Here is what you need to know:

Canceling:

Canceling means, you end the service agreement and no longer get access to membership benefits. You can, however, still access your library and listen to books you bought, and you can rejoin again even easier than when you subscribed. 

Canceling Audible means, you will no longer be a member of Audible. All unused credits will be lost, but you cannot still access any downloaded books while you are a member. 

Check our guide here if you have trouble canceling Audible.

Pausing:

Pausing has the same effects, but you take a break. This is useful if you are not committed to listening to audiobooks at the moment.

This will also ensure that unused credit stays in your account and will not be wasted. 

Pausing Audible means you won’t be billed for your membership, but you’ll still have access to your library and any downloaded books before suspending the subscription.

Unlike canceling, this will not terminate all unused credits on your account. It will simply freeze them. 

You can rejoin again later for canceling and pausing an account (though there may be some restrictions). 

Can You Listen to Books When the Membership Is on Pause? 

You will still be able to listen to any books you have purchased.  

When your membership is on pause or canceled, any audiobooks you have downloaded are yours for life and can be played anytime. 

Also, suppose you paused your membership before the next month’s billing cycle began. In that case, any new audiobook purchases from that month will still show in your library when it comes time for them to renew again (assuming you’re still interested).  

So if you bought one book during a month when you paused your membership, it might not appear until later when your membership is active again, and the new billing cycle begins properly. 

How Long Can You Pause Your Membership? 

You can pause your membership for up to 3 months at a time.  

Monthly Audible memberships can be placed on hold once every 12 months for up to 3 months.  

If you do not wish to cancel your membership and would like to take advantage of this option, go into your account settings at audible.com and select “Pause Membership” under Pause Options.  

You will continue to enjoy all the benefits of listening to your current books while taking a break from paying the monthly fee until you choose to return or end your membership. 

During this time, you will not be billed your monthly membership fee and will not have access to any Plus Catalogue items (such as audiobooks from other publishers). 

When Would Someone Choose To Pause An Audible Subscription? 

If you’re not sure when you’ll be able to listen to books again, we have a solution for you. You can pause your membership and restart it when you’re ready. 

When you pause your membership for three months, it will stay active until the next billing period (after those three months). 

At that time, if you don’t restart it, they will turn off your membership. 

If you want to continue your membership after pausing it, sign back into Audible and rejoin. 

They will cancel your membership automatically if you pause for more than 90 days. There are several reasons why you might want to pause your Audible membership. 

Some of the more common ones include: 

• Taking a financial break. If you’re taking some time off work or need to cut back on spending, pausing your membership is great. You don’t have to worry about remembering to cancel your account and can start it up when you’re ready again. 
• Pausing your membership allows you to come back when you’re ready and pick up where you left off without having any penalty fees or extra charges from Amazon. 
• Pausing your membership allows you to come back when you’re ready and pick up where you left off without having any penalty fees or extra charges from Amazon. 

Will You Get Notified When the Membership Is Reactivated? 

You will get an email notification when your Audible membership is reactivated. If you pause your subscription, you will usually receive an email notification when your subscription is reactivated (from Audible or Amazon). 

If you have the app and notifications turned on, it will notify you that your membership has been reactivated. 

If you do not have the app installed but have email notifications configured, you will receive an email notifying you that your subscription has been reactivated. If you have neither of these, there will be no way for them to notify you that your membership has been reactivated.

You need to enable this option in your profile if you want to be notified when your membership is reactivated. 

Alternatively, you can check on the website by logging in, going to your profile, and checking your membership status there. If you have previously purchased audiobooks during the month you paused, they might not appear until after you resume your membership.

You could check your library to see your billing information to see if that title has appeared. This could indicate that your membership is active again as well.  

However, please note that for this to work, you need to be certain that it was not in both locations before attempting to resume the membership.  

Can You Reactivate Audible Again After Canceling? 

You can reactivate your membership with Audible, but it will not keep your credits from before. 

You will not lose any of your downloads if you cancel; however, if they were still on your wishlist, they will no longer be available when you re-subscribe. 

How to Pause Your Audible Membership? 

To pause your membership: 

• Open the Audible website, log in, and click on the “Account Details” icon in the top right corner of your account page. 
• Click on “Membership” from the drop-down menu. You may be asked to sign into a different account if you have more than one active membership. 
• Scroll down until you see a section labeled “Pause Your Membership”; click this button to begin. 
• Follow on-screen instructions for pausing your membership. After completing these steps, an automated email will be sent to you as proof of your plan changes. 

How to Cancel Your Audible Membership? 

Here’s how to cancel your membership on the website: 

• Log into your Audible account on the website. 
• Go to the Account Details page on the desktop site. 
• Click “Cancel Membership” at the bottom of the “Membership details” section. 
• Follow the on-screen instructions and steps. 
• After you cancel, an automated email will be sent to you as proof of your plan changes. 

If you find that Audible keeps charging you, then you may to double check your cancelation was successful. 

Here’s The Difference Between the Two Options 

Canceling your membership means you won’t be charged for another month, but after that, you will have to pay again if you want to continue using Audible. 

Pausing your membership means it won’t be renewed at the end of the current billing period, but it can still be started again within three months.  

This is useful if you’re on vacation or don’t want a subscription while trying other things.

Sources 

Life Wire: How To Cancel Audible? 

Audible Help: Can My Membership Be Placed on Hold? 

Audiobooks Addict: How To Cancel(Or Pause) Audible? 

Everyday Reading: How to Pause Audible?