Google has formally entered the audiobooks grocery withGoogle Play Audiobooksand between you and me , it was only a matter of time . Google is already offering eBooks , music , film , and apps via Google Play , adding audiobooks was an obvious move .
While Amazon ’s voguish help , Alexa , can read audiobooks via its Echo devices , Google Play Audiobooks can be read byGoogle Assistanton your phone and Google Home devices .
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Amazon Audible vs. Google Play Audiobooks
Audiobooks can beexpensiveand while they extend a destiny of convenience by leave us tomulti - task , it can make a meaning prick in your air pocket by the destruction of the class . allow ’s compare what both the chopine have to pop the question in terminal figure of pricing , feature , compatibility , collection , and more .
1. Plans and Pricing
The braggy divergence between Audible and Google Play Audiobooks is the rank plans , Google has adopted a pay per audiobook plan where you will pay for individual titles . Whereas Audible is know to be asubscription service .
There are 3 dissimilar plans on Audible that we have discuss in detail in ourAudible Membership Explainedguide . In a nutshell , silver plans are price $ 14.95 bi - monthly for 1 quotation , the Gold design is price at $ 14.95 / calendar month for 1 credit , and the Platinum plan is priced at $ 22.95 for 2 credits . Once you are a penis , you may buyany audiobook for 1 creditirrespective of its price . hearable phallus are also eligible for a 30 % discount on all title . There is an option to buy more credits . fresh credits will automatically berolled overto the next calendar month for a set menstruation of time which depends on your membership status .
Google has taken a different approaching . There areno membership plans;you could buy audiobooks at their shelf price . As of now , Google is unravel a promotion where most audiobooks are available athalf their original price , some even below that . Stephen King ’s IT is available for$9.99while on Audible , it is priced at$37.79 . Google also offers a 50 % rebate on your first audiobook . Though , we do n’t jazz how long these discounts will last .
To give you an idea , I picked up 10 arbitrarily choose audiobook title to compare prices on the two political program .
monthly credit
Membership
monetary value
Winner – Audible
hearable is cheaper if you are listening toone or more audiobook per calendar month due to its intelligent credit organisation . The first month isfreewhich is better than 50 % deduction by Google . This manner , you’re able to decide whether audiobooks are for you or not , without spending a dime bag . Thesilver programme , which is not mention anywhere on the internet site , is still better than Google Play Audiobooks because you ante up $ 14.99 for 2 months .
the right way now , Google Audiobooks is a in effect choice for selective deed of conveyance ( that you see on the home page ) , mainly because of the heavy promotional discounts , however , once the promotion full stop end , price will be back to normal or near normal depending on what Google has in mind .
2. Collection
Google hasnot portion out any infoon the number of audiobooks it has useable for listen . perhaps , because they do n’t want to get compared with the competition . In Google ’s favour , I would say that the service has just been launch when compared to Audible which is already an established leader in the section .
Audible has over400,000 audiobook titlesto fling with a stove of expert Peter Sellers to choose from . They have been so long in the game , they have become the go - to place for audiobook lovers .
Winner: Audible
Audible is the open winner here . I will keep this pathfinder updated as and when Google announce some metrics that will help me compare them better .
3. Return Policy
Audible offersGreat Listen Guaranteeunder which you may return any audiobook purchased in the last 12 month . The process is simple . All you have to do is go to your order history and get through on the Return push and if you paid using your free credit , you ’ll get the credit back and if you paid for it with your acknowledgment scorecard , the amount will roll back to your news report . No interrogation asked .
Google Play Audiobooks has areturn policythat clearly states “ All sales are last ” . You will get a refund only if the audiobook fails to load or run . Not much to pen about !
Again , Audible is the clean winner here when it comes to returning policy . I have returned a few books in the past when I did n’t wish the narration or found the Holy Writ uninteresting powerful from the first chapter . Google free rein , on the other hand , has no return policy .
4. Country Availability/Compatibility
Google fun audiobooks are available in9 languages in 45 rural area . you’re able to listen to audiobooks on any android powered gadget and use Google Assistant , Google ’s Home gimmick , and pretty soon , Android Autowhich will allow you to listen while you labour . Google Assistant will not solve oniOS devicesbut there is Google Play Books app usable on iTunes .
Audible , at this point , is a U.S only table service and is available in ahandful of languageslike French , Spanish , Italian , German , and Chinese . While you’re able to still use Audible from outside the US , many titles are not usable due to publication rights . Thisgeo - restrictioncan easily be removed using a VPN , but it is still discourage by them .
On the insolent side , Audible is useable as a standalone app for both iOS and Android . It is also support by Echo twist ( only works in the U.S. ) , Amazon ’s result to Siri and Google Assistant . Amazon has the wildly popularKindledevices that were specifically made for reading and listening to book of account and audiobooks . As mentioned above , Car Mode will permit you to heed to audiobooks while driving .
Winner – Tie
While Google dally Audiobooks is available in more countries and languages , Audible has the vantage of Whispersync . This get you switch between reading and listening to your Kindle Book in Kindle and Audible app ; kind of like how Netflix sync playback works across multiple devices . Android Auto , on the other hand , is still far off .
5. Other Features
Both armed service let the drug user place a timer that shuts the reading down after a specify time , increase read amphetamine , and mind to a trailer .
Google has announce thatAndroid Autowill bread and butter Google Play Audiobooks in the US soon . There is also the promise ofAI and machine learningwhich will improve sorting and storing of metadata . This mean chapter markers will be picture better let you to skip back and forth easily .
hearable on the other hired man offersWhispersyncwhich will allow for you to trade between eBook and audiobook seamlessly . you may heed to audiobooks in your car by activate the Car Mode and connect via Bluetooth , AUX , and USB .
Winner –Tie
While Android Auto and AI sound amazing , the former is yet to be plunge and will be available in the US only . Whispersync makes Audible a better alternative for true book buff . Although it ’s worth mentioning , you could not mind to your Audible audiobooks using Amazon echo outside of US , however , the Google helper on smartphone works fine . Google Play Audiobooks was launched globally . It ’s secure to safe both service provide similar features when it comes to features and playback equipment .
Wrapping Up: Audible vs. Google Play Audiobooks
Audible is the clear succeeder here . Google superintend to tie on two occasion but acquire in no family . Still , Google Play Audiobooks is anew entrantand there is quite a little of room to originate , and Google Play also has a larger user al-Qa’ida of the two which should give them plenty of room to come up with better plans in the future .
In the end , it boils down to how many audiobooks you mind to each calendar month , Google Play is garish when the audiobooks are on sale . However , Audible is tacky if you listen to one or more than one audiobook per month .
The followingvideoshows tip and prank to deliver money on hearable
