Is there an Audible user in your life? Gifting an audiobook is easier than you think – and you have several ways to do it.
Some things are easy to gift, some are difficult. Print books will make great books this holiday season, and in ten or fifty years. A book has everything to make a gift recipient happy.
What about ebooks, audiobooks, or any other kind of digital content? They are not real objects which you can wrap in a gift paper and arrange an unforgettable gift unboxing moment.
However, the demand for digital content is increasing. Maybe it’s the right time to find out what you need to learn and do to gift audiobooks, ebooks, movies, or games the best possible way?
Jump directly to:
- Gift a single audiobook in a digital format
- Gift a single audiobook on a CD
- Send a free audiobook from your Audible library
- Buy a dedicated Audible gift card
- Buy a regular Amazon gift card
- Gift a prepaid Audible membership plan
In the following quick and brief guide, we will take a closer look at audiobooks from Audible. You can gift them easily, but most importantly, you can choose from multiple ways, depending on your preferences and the gift recipient’s habits.
Audible is a leading audiobook platform that’s connected to an Amazon ecosystem, making it easier than ever for Amazon users to seamlessly listen to their favorite titles. The platform offers currently almost 500,000 audiobooks in all genres, including romance, memoirs, thrillers, and original Audible productions.
What I need to know to gift an Audible audiobook?
We assume the gift recipient likes audiobooks or would be interested in giving them a try.
Gifting an Audible audiobook is similar to gifting an ebook, be it a Kindle, Kobo, or Nook. There are three things that will help you choose the best gifting method:
- Does the gift recipient use Audible platform already?
- Does the gift recipient use a mobile Audible app for listening?
- Is the gift recipient subscribed to Audible Membership program?
Even if you don’t know answers to none of these questions, you can gift an audiobook. The safest possible way is to buy it on a CD and leave to the giftee a decision which app or platform to use.
We hope you will find this guide helpful. Don not hesitate to contact us on social media for further questions.
6 easy ways to gift Audible audiobooks
1. Gift a single Audible audiobook in a digital format
This option is suitable if you know which specific audiobook you want to gift – or, in other words, the giftee would love to get.
If you know that the gift recipient is listening to Audible audiobooks on a tablet or smartphone, you can be almost 100% sure she or he is using an Audible app for that.
In this case, from the giftee’s point of view, the most convenient way to receive an audiobook is to redeem a gift and add the new audiobook instantly to their Audible account.
Although Audible is a company powered by Amazon, you can only send a digital audiobook as a gift via Audible website – there is still no such option on Amazon. Don’t worry, you don’t need to register separately to Audible in order to gift an audiobook. You can use your Amazon account details instead.
How to send an Audible audiobook as a gift
- Go to Audible website and login with your Amazon or Audible credentials.
- Find the audiobook you want to send as a gift.
- On the right-hand side, under buying options, find the link saying “Give as a gift ?” (see the screenshot above). Click on the link.
- In “Gift details” step, select which way you would like to send a gift (either email or print), add the delivery date, and optionally write down a message to the gift recipient.
- You will have a chance to preview the gift before proceeding to checkout.
Tip: if you are already an Audible user, you can send someone an audiobook as a gift directly from your mobile Audible app. The procedure is similar: find an audiobook, tap “Give as a gift” link under payment options, and follow easy instructions to complete the purchase.
You can find more details about gifting a single audiobook in a dedicated Audible help page: How do I purchase an audiobook as a gift.
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2. Gift a single audiobook on a CD
Pick up this option if you are not sure whether the gift recipient is using an Audible app or an Audible audiobook platform at all.
This solution is also the best for anyone who prefers listening to audiobooks in a traditional, tangible form.
Giving an audiobook on a CD gives two more benefits:
- As a physical object, it makes a much better gift than a printed card with gift membership details or a digital audiobook that’s sent via email.
- Gift recipients can play an audiobook directly from a CD (for instance in a car’s CD player), but they can also download it to their preferred audio/music platform, such as iTunes or Google Play Music, and listen to it in a familiar environment.
Opposite to the option listed before, if you decide to buy an audiobook on a CD, you can do it via Amazon, not Audible website.
How to gift an audiobook on a CD
- Go to Amazon online store and use a search box to type the title and author of the audiobook you want to gift.
- Go to book details page and select “Audio CD” from available formats and editions (see the screenshot above).
- Proceed to check out.
Now, you have two options of how to give this audiobook as a gift. Depending on which one you prefer, you can choose different check out options.
1. Give the audiobook personally
Simply, buy the audiobook together with other items you need for holidays, and send it to your address. After it arrives, use your imagination to prepare a creative gift box.
2. Send the gift directly to the recipient
If you won’t be able to hand the gift personally, you can send it directly to the recipient’s address. Simply, add a new address and name in a relevant checkout step.
Sending the gift in a standard Amazon box with a price stated on an enclosed receipt doesn’t sound like a good idea. Therefore, many users choose to personalize the gift. At the final step of the checkout process, click on a button “Add a gift receipt” (see the screenshot below).
Here, you will be able to replace the regular receipt with a gift receipt, where the price will be hidden. You will also be able to write a message to the gift recipient. This option is checked by default.
On top of that, you can also check the second option – to add a gift bag or box. It costs $3.99 and it will make your audio CD look like an actual gift.
3. Send an audiobook from your Audible library
Did you know you can send one audiobook from your Audible account free of charge to anyone, even if she or he is not an Audible user?
Audible offers a feature called Send this Book. This feature is available in Audible mobile apps as well as via Audible website. It allows you to send audiobook recommendations to friends and family.
The first audiobook someone receives from you can be downloaded free of charge.
This method is fantastic if you want to share with someone a great listen, but it’s not a good idea to treat it as a real gift-giving. The recipient will know you share the book from your Audible library. Plus, there is no way to make it look like a real gift.
How to send an Audible audiobook using “Send this Book” feature
- Open your Audible app. You can use Audible on Android-powered smartphone or tablet, Amazon Fire tablet, or iPad/iPhone.
- In your audiobook library, find the title you want to send.
- Tap the three-dot menu next to the audiobook, and tap “Send this Book” option.
- From a share menu, choose how you would like to send the audiobook, enter the recipient’s info, and follow the instructions.
4. Buy a dedicated Audible gift card
What if you don’t know which specific audiobook the gift recipient would like to listen to? A safer solution would be to buy a gift card and let the giftee decide on the selection of titles.
The first option when it comes to gift cards is buying a dedicated Audible Gift Card on Amazon. You can’t get such a card on Audible website.
Before getting this as a gift, make sure to read mixed reviews on Amazon. It turns out this gift card is quite misleading.
The product is called “Audible 3 Month Gift Card,” and the text on a card says “3 months / 3 credits.” This is only partially accurate. It all depends on whether you are a new or existing Audible subscriber.
If you are a new Audible member – your first month will begin immediately and you will have 1 available credit in your account each month. Your subscription will last three months and you will be automatically charged afterwards when the next subscription period starts.
If you are an existing Audible member – the 3 credits from the gift card will be applied at once but without prolonging your subscription for three more months. You will need to use the new credits in the current period if you don’t want to prolong your Audible subscription.
There are two variants of the Audible Membership Gift Card to choose from:
How to gift Audible Membership Gift Card
The steps and options are similar to buying audio CD (method No. 2). You can either buy the card to give it personally or send the card to the recipient directly from Amazon by adding her or his home address and choosing gift options at checkout.
5. Buy a regular Amazon gift card
If Audible Gift Card looks unclear for you, and you fear it may look the same to the gift recipient, you can always choose to get an old good Amazon Gift Card.
You are most probably familiar with Amazon Gift Cards, so we will just stress that gift recipients can use the money only on purchases within Amazon online store.
So, what about Audible?
Audible audiobooks are also available on Amazon, in a dedicated Audible Store. If you buy an Audible book on Amazon, it will be added to your Audible account the same way as when purchasing it directly on Audible website.
How to tie a regular Amazon Gift Card to audiobooks
The biggest problem with regular gift cards is that they cry “I had no idea for a gift!”
First thing you can do to is to find in a vast gallery of designs offered by Amazon the one that’s related to listening, music, or books.
The next idea is to actually use the book cover of an audiobook as an artwork. It’s simple. Find an audiobook on Amazon, save its cover to your computer disk, and add it as a gift card cover via “Your Photo” option.
What you can also do is share an Amazon link to a recommended Audible audiobook. You can do it in a message to the gift recipients to save them time on finding that audiobook by themselves.
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6. Gift a prepaid Audible membership plan
As you already know, Audible offers audiobooks in two parallel systems:
- You buy audiobooks one by one, paying a full price for each.
- You buy a subscription and get a set of benefits.
One month of Audible subscription costs $14.95. For that price, a subscriber can get one audiobook and two Audible Originals (popular audio entertainment pieces created by writers and celebrities). Plus, you never pay a full price. You get 30% off titles, and on top of that you get access to exclusive member deals and sales.
If you know that the gift recipient is a current Audible subscriber, she or he will be more than happy to learn that the next couple of months will be for free – thanks to your gift.
You can buy prepaid Audible plan either on Amazon or Audible.
In the end, the benefit for the giftee is the same, but the price for you is different. Currently, buying the prepaid Audible membership on Amazon will cost you less. Here is a comparison:
Audible Gift Membership Plans
| Plan | Audible | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| 3 months | $51.75 | $45.00 |
| 6 months | $103.50 | $90.00 |
| 12 months | $172.50 | $150.00 |
The price is not the only difference. The second factor is substantial for Audible users — it’s free monthly credits.
Why are Audible credits so important? Because a single credit can be exchanged for a single audiobook, regardless of the audiobook’s price. Having that in mind, Audible members usually buy for their credits the most expensive audiobooks – the newly released hot titles or recent bestsellers.
Bestselling audiobooks cost between $35 and $40. Therefore, a single credit’s worth can reach $40.
Buying the membership via Amazon is cheaper, but the member will receive 1 free monthly credit only for 3 months. The regular Audible subscription provides free monthly credits for the entire membership period.
Therefore, if you want to buy the membership for an Audible newbie, you can pick up Amazon, but if you plan to gift a regular Audible member, buy the fully fledged prepaid plan directly on Audible.
How to buy Gift Membership directly on Audible
- Go to Audible Gift Center and decide which plan you want to buy.
- Choose how you would like to send the gift (print or email), and provide name and address of the gift recipient.
Which membership plan from these available through Audible is the best? As we’ve mentioned above, these plans will be the best gifts for existing Audible members.
Therefore, the longer the plan, the better. When you choose the 12-month subscription, you pay $173 – but save as much as 30%, compared to monthly payments.
How to buy Audible Gift Membership on Amazon
- Go to Audible Gift Membership Center and select the prepaid plan you want to gift.
- Customize the gift: choose the delivery method, design, and delivery date. You can also add an optional message.
Which of these Audible gift plans available through Amazon is the best? Having in mind that you have the full functionality for up to 3 months, the best plan is the 3-month one. It’s short enough to make an affordable gift ($45), but long enough to test Audible subscription, especially if you are gifting a person who is new to audiobooks and Audible platform.
If you want to learn more about long-term plans, read a more detailed analysis of Audible gift membership.
Keep exploring. Here are more posts for Audible users and fans:
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