Spotify now offers anAudiobooks Access Tierfor $9.99 a month. It provides full access to the Spotify audiobook catalog with 15 hours of listening, but it’s a dollar cheaper thanSpotify Premiumand doesn’t include ad-free music.
A collection of over200,000 audiobookslanded on Spotify late last year. All Spotify Premium members can enjoy 15 hours of audiobook listening each month (if you have a Spotify Premium Duo or Family account, only the plan manager can access the 15 hours of audiobooks, however). So, if you’re the kind of person who wantsbothaudiobooks and ad-free music, the Audiobook Access Tier isn’t a great deal—you’re better off spending an extra dollar for Spotify Premium.
However, the Audiobook Access Tier is a strong alternative to Audible. The cheapest Audible plan is $7.95 and only provides an extremely limited selection of audiobooks. Upgrading to the $14.95Audible Premium Plusplan gives you a free credit to buy a bestseller each month. Spotify doesn’t use a credit system or hide bestsellers behind a paywall. You just pay a monthly fee and listen to whatever audiobooks you want.
Spotify’s 15-hour monthly limit is also fairly generous. That said, bookworms who regularly exceed 15 hours of listening each month may benefit from a SpotifyandAudible subscription. If you join the Spotify Audiobook Access Tier and Audible Premium Plus, you’ll pay a total of $24.94 each month. That’s less than you’d pay out of pocket for a single bestselling audiobook or hardback.
In a newblog post, Spotify says that its free users regularly try to interact with audiobooks. The Spotify platform also gained 236 million paying customers in 2023, though this may have little to do with the audiobook catalog, as it was introduced at the end of the year.
Note that you may getfree audiobooksfrom your local library. And Audible Premium Plus' credits system allows you toownaudiobooks. Technically speaking, you canbuy audiobooks on Spotify, but Spotify doesn’t have a free credits system for audiobook purchases.
To reiterate,Spotify Audiobook Access Tieris only a dollar cheaper thanSpotify Premium. If you want audiobooks and ad-free music, join the Premium plan. The new Audiobook Access Tier is intended for people who care more about audiobooks than music or podcasts.
