Choosing the Right Audiobook Experience: Audible or Kobo?

Kobo Audiobooks vs. Audible

Posted by Iris Yan on 5/21/2024 4:07:19 PM.

An investigation shows that nearly one in five Americans now listen to audiobooks. According to the investigation, more and more Americans prefer listening to audiobooks over reading, which has also led to the growth of the audiobook industry. This increase has resulted in many vendors entering the market, such as Kobo and Google Play.

It has been several years since Kobo began selling audiobooks. Kobo audiobooks vs. Audible: which one is better ? If you are still hesitating and cannot decide which audiobook subscription service to choose, let me compare these two Kobo and Audible audiobook subscription services to help you make the final decision.

Titles

No.	Kobo audiobooks	Audible Audiobooks
Titles	150,000 audiobooks and over 600,000 ebook titles	600,000+ audiobooks

Kobo Plus offers over 150,000 audiobooks in its catalog. While this is fewer than Audible, which has over 600,000 titles, Kobo Plus still provides a substantial selection across various genres?. Besides the audiobooks, Kobo plus also offers th over 600,000 ebooks titles. Actually, I can not tell how many titles does Kobo audiobooks have. One thing to be sure is Audible has the largest audiobook titles around the world.

So, when it comes to audiobook titles, Audible should be a better choice. But if you want to listen to audiobooks and read ebooks within a single subscription, Kobo Plus is a better option.

Subscription Plan

Subscription plan	Plan name	Price	Credit
Kobo Plus	Kobo Plus Read Kobo Plus Listen Kobo Plus Read & Listen	$7.99 $7.99 $9.99	No No No
Audible	Audible Plus Audible Premium Plus	$7.95 $14.95	No 1 Per month

When comparing the Audible and kobo subscription plan, we can find two key differences :

1. If you subscribe the Audible Premium plus, you can get an audible audiobook each month which you can keep it forever even if you have cancelled the subscription. But the price is much higher than Kobo plus Listen.

2. Kobo Plus not only offers the Audiobook Unlimited Listening plan but also the eBook Reading plan, providing a wider range of choices. Therefore, if you prefer to listen and read on Kobo, you can choose Kobo Plus Read and Listen, which costs $12.99 per month and gives access to both the eBook and audiobook catalogs.

Supported Devices and Apps

No.	Kobo audiobooks	Audible Audiobooks
Supported Devices and Apps	Kobo for Andriod/iOS apps	Windows/mac computers, andoird/ios devices, some Kindle e-ink device and Kindle Fire, some mp3 players, Echo device

For Kobo audiobooks, you can not listen to it on your computers, but only on Android and iOS devices because Kobo only allow theirs users to listen to their audiobooks via Kobo apps for Android or iOS.

For Audible audiobooks, there are so many options for you. You listen to Audible audio books via Audible apps for Android, iOS, Kindle fire, Window 10, or listen to it via cloud player. Also, you can directly download it to your windows or mac computer, and then listen to it via iTunes or windows media player. What’s more, you can also download the audible audiobooks to some Kindle e-ink devices(Kindle keyboard, Kindle Touch, Kindle 8th Gen, Kindle Oasis 8th and 9th Gen) for listening.

As you can see that Audible gives their users more choices to listen to the audiobooks because Audible trusts people will not only stuck on only one devices.

Return Policy

No.	Kobo audiobooks	Audible Audiobooks
Return policy	No returns	Return within 356 days after the original purchase

I can not find very clearly terms about the return or exchange policy for now. Also, there is no return option at the Kobo wesbite. I can not tell if you can return or exchange the Kobo audiobook for a different one, but I did return the audiobook about one day after my purchase. But I have to contact the customer service directly and tell them the reason why do I want to return my purchase.

For the Audible, as an active member, you can enjoy one of the Audible’s policy–Great Listen Guarantee. According to this policy, users may return or exchange the Audible audiobook for a different title within 365 days after the original purchase. I cannot tell the limits of the numbers of exchanges or refunds allowed by each member, but it is said it depends on your standing.

As a user, it is more safe and secure for me to buy from the website which have the better return policy even if I am not intending to return or exchange the audiobook when I purchase it.

Cancel Membership

No.	Kobo audiobooks	Audible Audiobooks
Cancel membership	Cancel at any time	Cancel at any time

You can cancel your membership at any time no matter which subscription service you ordered, Kobo Audiobook or Audible.

For Audible, the unused credits will expire immediately upon the cancellation. Please ensure your credit has been used before the cancellation. Instead of cancellation, you can also put your Audible membership on hold for three months in total once a year. What’s more, Audible will give you much more options if you want to cancel your membership. They will give your much cheaper price to order the membership or even a free gift card. The only goal is to keep the customers at their website.

Verdict

After comparing Kobo plus and Audible, we found that there are three key differences.

1. Audible has a larger audiobook catalog, but Kobo Plus offers a substantial selection, especially for combined ebook and audiobook users.

2. Kobo Plus tends to be more affordable, especially for those interested in both ebooks and audiobooks.

3. Audible offers more exclusive content and features like Whispersync. Kobo Plus provides unlimited access to ebooks without borrowing limits.

Kobo vs Audible: Which one will you choose? I will choose Audible membership as I can adjust my plan according to my reading speed and listen to my Audible books on my computers other then only on my iOS or Android devices. Their Great Listen Guarantee policy makes me feel comfortable and reliable to purchase from their website. What’s your option?

Pro tips

Tip 1: Convert Audible to MP3

One thing to be mentioned that all Audible audiobooks are protected by DRM scheme, so you cannot backup your audiobook or share with your families. Here I want to introduce Epubor Audible Converter which cannot only remove the DRM from Audible audiobooks but also convert them to MP3/M4B format. You can read the official guide to convert Audible to MP3 to remove the Audible DRM.

Download Epubor Audible Converter for free:

Tip 2: Convert Kobo audiobooks to MP3

If you choose to enroll into Kobo plus, or you have every purchased Kobo audiobooks, you can convert Kobo audiobooks to mp3 with Epubor Kobo Converter for backup.

Solve Lab

Choosing the Right Audiobook Experience: Audible or Kobo?