Audible can get expensive, so if you want to cancel, we’ve got 5 easy steps for getting you there, plus a way to earn 2 free credits by pretending to cancel your account.
Audible.com offers one of the widest selections of online audiobooks, unsurprisingly, because of its affiliation with Amazon.com, and it’s really easy to use for long periods of time! But it can be really expensive, and if you aren’t reading multiple books in a month, it probably isn’t worth it for you. If you want to end your membership to Audible to save some money, we’ve got the solution for you.
Unfortunately, you cannot cancel your Audible subscription in the Audible app, you can only do it using the Audible website in a desktop Internet browser. If you merely delete the app, it will not delete your account! In addition to this helpful tip, we’ve got all the information you need, including:
- How to cancel Audible in 5 easy steps
- 4 (clever) things you can do to get free stuff – instead of cancelling Audible
- How to return a book on Audible to get some money back
- Important FAQs about cancelling your Audible subscription
If you’re ready, read on to learn how to cancel Audible, or how to get some free audiobooks from them.
How to cancel Audible in 5 easy steps
Pro Tip: If you keep yourself signed into Audible, click this button to jump to the cancel membership page!
1. In an Internet browser, sign into your Audible account and access your account settings.
Visit Audible.com and make sure to sign into your account (if you haven’t already). Hover your mouse over Hi, [Your Name]! so the drop-down menu appears, and click Account Details.
2. Access the Cancel Membership page.
You will be asked to sign into your account again at this point, if you haven’t already. On this page, click Cancel Membership.
3. Select your reason for cancelling.
Choose from the options why you are leaving Audible. You must indicate a reason for their records before they will let you continue with cancelling your account.
4. Evaluate Audible’s free promotional offers to decide if you want to stay.
Audible will now present you with promotional offers to deter you from terminating your subscription. The exact offer may depend on your region, and how long you’ve had your Audible account. Typically, it is a reduced rate for membership, or free credits for your account. Decide if you are interested in the offer or not. If you are, click Switch Membership, Keep Listening for Less, or something similar.
5. Confirm you want to cancel your Audible membership.
If you want to continue with cancelling your account, click the Cancel Membership button at the bottom of the page. Make sure you ignore the same size, color, and shaped button accepting the promotional offer.
If it’s not the cost that has you cancelling Audible, you might want to explore some Audible alternatives that can offer you a different selection, or a cheaper cost for your audiobooks. If you’re unsure about cancelling, check out these things you can do to get some free audiobooks from Audible, or save some money on your monthly subscription.
4 (clever) things you can do to get free stuff – instead of cancelling Audible
These are all safe, easy, and most importantly, legitimate ways to get free audiobooks from Audible, so take advantage of these instead of falling victim to the audiobook scams being run lately through eBay.
1. Pretend to cancel to get a free audiobook credit or cheaper rates per month
As we mentioned in our instructions above, you can go through all the steps of cancelling your account except for clicking that final button, you will be offered either a free audiobook, or a reduced rate for your monthly bill. If you still like audiobooks, but don’t want to spend the money, consider doing this to get some free stuff first! Just remember to go back and cancel your account later.
Note: This will only work one time – you cannot continuously threaten to cancel to get cheaper months or free audiobooks.
2. Cancel and rejoin to get another free audiobook credit
You can also get a free audiobook by cancelling your subscription, and then rejoining at a later point using the same Amazon account. A few things to note about this promotion is:
- Cancelling and then rejoining only works if you do not delete your Amazon account between the time you cancel Audible and the time you rejoin – you must use the same account to get the promotion.
- This promotion will work only one time – you cannot leave and rejoin over and over to get free audiobooks from Audible.
- The additional free audiobooks will only be offered to you if you already spent your first free month credit when you joined Audible. If you didn’t spend it, they will consider that same credit your “free audiobook.”
3. Downgrade or upgrade your plan to save some money
Downgrade: If you can’t afford Audible, it may be because you signed up for a more expensive plan. If you’re using the Platinum plan for instance, you’re paying almost twice as much per month as the Gold plan.
Upgrade: Though this may seem like you’re spending more money, it can actually save you money monthly. If you switch your plan to pay annually, you can save some money. For example, the Gold plan is $14.95/month, but if you pay annually, it is $149.50/year – you would save $29.90/year and get the same number of books. If you choose the platinum annual plan, you can save up to $129.30/year!
Click here to see Audible’s available pricing plans.
4. Access some of Audible’s best free audiobooks
Audible does offer some audiobooks for free, so if you want, you can add them to your collection before cancelling your account. This will keep you busy for a while, even though you’re no longer paying for Audible.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to list free books on Audible, as prices change periodically. However, if you want to know how to find the free books, simply go to the Audible website and click in the search bar, then type Free and click the Magnifying Glass.
Books that are free generally put it in the title to attract you, so this will return thousands of results, almost all of which will be free to add to your library.
You can also get a free Audible audiobook if you buy an Echo device from Amazon!
How to return a book on Audible to get some money back
It actually is possible to return a book on Audible, though Audible uses its discretion to make the decision about whether you can return it or not. As long as you purchased it in the last 12 months, and claim you were unsatisfied with the book, you can return it to receive credit on your Audible account – freeing up some money to get another audiobook for free.
To return Audible books:
- Go to Audible.com and sign into your account.
- Hover over Hi, [Your Name]!, and click Account Details.
- Click Purchase History.
- Locate the book you want to return.
- Click Return.
- Select your reason for the return, then click Return.
FAQs about cancelling your Audible subscription
Can I keep the books in my library once I cancel my membership?
Yes – you can keep the Audible audiobooks you purchased with your credits prior to cancelling your subscription. You will always be able to access your library, and read the books at any time – just like before. The only difference is that you won’t be able to add new credits or books to your library.
What happens to my remaining credits when I cancel?
If you have credits remaining on your Audible account, you must spend them before you cancel your account. If you don’t, you will lose them, even if you rejoin later. However, as we mentioned above, you keep all of your audiobooks when you cancel, so just choose another book or two to add to your library before you leave so those credits aren’t wasted.
How do I delete my Audible account?
If you want to actually delete your Audible account, you will need to do so through Amazon (which means you will need to delete your Amazon account as well). There’s really no need to delete your Audible account itself, especially because you will want to be able to access your audiobook library even after you cancel your subscription. It is important to note that if you delete your Audible account, you will not be able to access your Audible library in the future.
However, if you’re done with Audible and Amazon and want the account gone, here’s how you do it:
- Go to Amazon.om and sign in.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Help.
- Hover over Need More Help?, and click Contact Us.
- Click Prime or Something Else.
- Under “Select an Issue,” select Login & Security.
- Under “Select Issue Details,” select Close My Account.
- Select a method for contacting Amazon to have a representative delete your account.
If you’re having trouble or want more detailed instruction, check out our article on how to delete your Amazon account.
Other resources to help your online audiobook search
We hope that helped you end your Audible subscription, or saved you some money with free audiobooks. If you’re looking for more helpful articles like this, check out what else we’ve got for you:
- Best alternatives to Amazon for buying books online – if you like books, use these sites to get them cheaper!
- Best 9 Audible alternatives – if you still like audiobooks, but Audible is too expensive, try these other sites instead.
- How to download books from Goodreads – another great resource for getting books online.
- What is TED.com? – If you like non-fiction and great ideas, check out these short talks you can listen to on a variety of topics.
