Audible explained
Audible has two main US memberships. Standard lets you choose one audiobook each month from Audible’s collection. Your monthly picks remain available while you stay a member. Premium (formerly Premium Plus) gives you credits to buy audiobooks you keep, plus a separate catalog you can listen to while you are a member. Here is what that means before you sign up, and after you cancel.
Marvin Smit · Owner & editor
Updated · Our approach
The biggest difference is simple. Some audiobooks become yours. Others you can only play while your membership is active.
These stay in your library after your membership ends.
Downloading one does not make it yours. Access ends when your membership does, and included titles can leave the catalog.
Based on Audible’s own help pages. Icons show whether something is yours to keep, available while you are a member, not part of the plan or worth checking.
| Question | Standard | Premium (formerly Premium Plus) |
|---|---|---|
| What you get each month | Choose one audiobook each month from Audible’s collection. No credit needed. | One credit on the usual monthly plan. Two-credit and yearly versions also exist. |
| If you skip a month | The missed pick does not carry over to the next month. | Credits from the website usually expire 12 months after you get them. Some exceptions apply. |
| The included catalog (formerly Plus Catalog) | Not listed by Audible as a plan that qualifies. | Listen while your membership qualifies and the title stays included. |
| After you cancel | Monthly picks lock at the end of your last billing cycle. | Titles bought with credits stay. Included-catalog access ends. |
| Audiobooks you buy with money | Yours to keep. | Yours to keep. |
| Trial | 30 days if you qualify, then it renews as a paid plan unless you cancel. | 30 days if you qualify, then it renews as a paid plan unless you cancel. |
Sources: Audible Help: Learn about the Standard plan (opens a new tab) ↗, Audible Help: Learn about Premium (formerly Premium Plus) (opens a new tab) ↗ and Audible Help: Learn about the included catalog (Plus Catalog) (opens a new tab) ↗.
Audible is renaming its Plus Catalog to the included catalog. With a qualifying membership such as Premium, you can stream or download those titles while you are a member. Audible’s help page does not list Standard as a qualifying plan. The selection also changes: a title can leave it, and a download from it is not a purchase.
For a title outside Premium’s included catalog, use a credit or buy it separately. Standard has its one monthly choice from Audible’s collection. Amazon’s title page shows your current options.
Both plans may start with a 30-day trial. Audible decides who qualifies. For Standard, its help page says you should not have had a membership or trial in the past 12 months.
A trial turns into a paid plan automatically unless you cancel in time. We do not list prices here because plans and offers change. Amazon shows the plan name, monthly price and renewal date before you confirm, so check those first.
Check the plan, price and renewal terms before you join. Trial eligibility and offers can vary. We may earn a commission on qualifying sign-ups and purchases.
Follow Audible Help: Cancel your membership (opens a new tab) ↗ and Audible Help: Learn about credits (opens a new tab) ↗ for the current steps.
Start listening
Three audiobooks from our thriller and mystery audiobook shelf. A title shown here is not necessarily included with a plan.
Audible audiobook · English
by Freida McFadden
A live-in housemaid enters a wealthy household where the comfortable surface hides something troubling. The appeal is the gap between what a home looks like and what happens inside it.
We may earn a commission on purchases.
Audible — narrator, duration and release details (opens a new tab) ↗
Audible audiobook · English
by Ruth Ware
A nanny takes a job in a remote Scottish smart home. What first looks like an opportunity becomes a story of suspicion, surveillance and a household that is hard to trust.
We may earn a commission on purchases.
Simon & Schuster — US audiobook edition (opens a new tab) ↗
Audible audiobook · English
by Alex Michaelides
An artist stops speaking after a violent event. A psychotherapist becomes determined to understand her silence, turning the search for an explanation into the center of the story.
We may earn a commission on purchases.
Audible — US audiobook details (opens a new tab) ↗No. Standard lets you choose one audiobook each month from Audible’s collection. Premium gives you credits plus a separate included catalog. Titles can also leave that catalog. Many other audiobooks are bought with a credit or with money.
No. Audible membership is separate from Amazon Prime, with its own plan and billing.
Credits from the Audible website usually expire 12 months after you get them, or when your membership ends. Audible says credits from a membership billed through the App Store or Google Play are an exception: they do not expire and stay after you cancel. Titles you already bought with a credit stay in your library either way.
Trial eligibility depends on your account. For Standard, its help page says you should not have had a membership or trial in the past 12 months. Amazon shows whether you qualify before you join.
No. It opens Audible’s plans page on Amazon, and Amazon decides which plan and offer it shows. Check the plan name, price and renewal date before you confirm.
Audible’s US help pages, checked in October 2026. Plans and names can change, so the linked pages are the final word.
A good book is worth sharing.