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For most Prime members who finish more than two audiobooks a month, Premium Plus is the better buy.
The cheaper plan isn’t the one with the lower monthly number. It’s the one that matches how many books you actually finish.
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Prime membership does not change the price of either Audible plan. What it changes is your access point: you can sign up through the same Amazon account you already use, and if you have Amazon Music Unlimited, one Audible title a month may already be included. Everything else comes down to one question — do you want to borrow audiobooks or own them?
Audible Plus rents you the Plus Catalog. Premium Plus rents you the same catalog and adds monthly credits you keep forever. If you finish one or two books a month and care which ones, Premium Plus wins. If you’re happy grazing whatever’s included, Plus is the cheaper way in.
What’s actually different between the two plans?
Both plans include unlimited listening to the Plus Catalog — a rotating library of Audible Originals, backlist titles, podcasts, and sleep content. That part is identical.
The difference is credits. Premium Plus issues credits you can spend on any title in the full catalog, including new releases and bestsellers that aren’t in Plus. Those books stay in your library if you cancel. Plus gives you no credits, so anything outside the Plus Catalog has to be bought at member price.
Think of it this way: Plus is a library card. Premium Plus is a library card plus a monthly gift certificate you can spend anywhere.
✅ Plus is the right call if…
You listen mostly to included titles, you like discovery over a specific wishlist, and you'd rather not manage credits.
❌ Premium Plus is the right call if…
You have specific books you want to keep, you finish at least two a month, or you listen to new releases that rarely hit the Plus Catalog.
Which plan is cheaper per book? 📊
The monthly sticker price makes Plus look cheaper. The math per finished book usually flips the other way.
If you listen to one book a month that isn’t in the Plus Catalog, you’d pay the member price for it on Plus — often close to the retail price of a hardcover. On Premium Plus, that same book costs you one credit. If you listen to two or more books a month and want to keep them, Premium Plus is almost always the cheaper plan per title.
The annual Premium Plus plan is the real value play. You get all twelve credits upfront, and the effective per-credit cost is lower than monthly billing. The trade-off is that you pay for a year in one go, which only makes sense if you’re confident you’ll use the credits. Credits expire twelve months after they’re issued, so an unused annual credit is money you don’t get back.
Credits you get by plan
Current pricing on every plan is on the Audible page — it changes, so check there rather than trusting a number in an article.
The Prime member angle: what you actually get
Prime and Audible are separate subscriptions. Signing up for Audible does not use your Prime benefits, and Prime does not discount Audible. What Prime does give you is convenience and a possible overlap worth checking first.
If you have Amazon Music Unlimited, one Audible title a month may already be included in that subscription — worth confirming before you pay for a second service that does the same thing. Whispersync for Voice lets you switch between a Kindle book and its Audible narration without losing your place, which is genuinely useful if you read and listen to the same title. Alexa playback on Echo devices works on both plans.
A credit spent on a long audiobook gets you more listening hours per credit than a short one. If you’re trying to stretch a Premium Plus membership, spend credits on 15-hour titles and use the Plus Catalog for anything under five hours.
30 days free · Keep your first audiobook even if you cancel
How to decide in about five minutes
Open your listening history from the last three months. Count how many audiobooks you finished, and how many of those you’d want to listen to again or lend to someone.
If the number is zero to one, and you don’t care about keeping them, take Plus. If it’s two or more, or if even one of those books was something you’d be annoyed to lose access to, take Premium Plus. The monthly plan is the safer starting point — you can switch to annual once you know your real listening pace.
One more thing worth knowing: you can cancel Premium Plus and keep every book you bought with a credit. You cannot do that with Plus. That single difference is what makes Premium Plus the plan most long-term listeners end up on, even when they started with Plus.
If you’re also weighing the student rate or wondering whether Prime itself already covers you, those comparisons are worth a look before you commit — see Premium Plus vs the student plan and Premium Plus vs Amazon Prime. For a side-by-side breakdown of what each catalog actually contains, this value comparison is a useful next read.
Frequently asked questions
Do Prime members get a discount on Audible?
No. Prime and Audible are separate subscriptions, and Prime membership doesn’t reduce the price of Plus or Premium Plus. What Prime gives you is a single Amazon account for billing and, if you have Amazon Music Unlimited, possibly one included Audible title a month — worth checking before you subscribe.
Can I keep my audiobooks if I cancel Premium Plus?
Yes, for anything you bought with a credit or at member price. Those stay in your library permanently. Anything you listened to through the Plus Catalog disappears when your membership ends, on either plan.
Is the annual Premium Plus plan worth it?
It’s cheaper per credit than monthly billing, and you get all your credits upfront. It’s worth it if you’re confident you’ll use them within the year — credits expire twelve months after issue. If you’re new to audiobooks or your listening varies a lot, start monthly and upgrade later.
How big is the Plus Catalog compared to the full Audible library?
The Plus Catalog is a subset of the full library and rotates over time. The full Audible catalog is well over a million titles. If the specific book you want isn’t in Plus, you’ll need Premium Plus credits or a member-price purchase to get it.
Can I switch between Plus and Premium Plus?
Yes, you can change plans through your account. Upgrading to Premium Plus is straightforward. Downgrading to Plus keeps any books you bought with credits, but you lose access to the Plus Catalog titles you were borrowing.
Does Whispersync work on both plans?
Yes. Whispersync for Voice works regardless of which Audible plan you’re on, as long as you own the matching Kindle book and the Audible narration. Alexa playback on Echo devices also works on both.
30 days free · Cancel anytime · Keep your first audiobook