Part of our guide to free audiobooks.
A free trial can get you an audiobook at no cost. It can also turn into a monthly charge if you forget to cancel. How you use it makes the difference. Here’s what to know.
What a free trial is
A trial is not free listening. It’s a paid subscription with the first stretch waived.
- It bills you when the clock runs out unless you cancel first.
- What you keep depends on which kind of trial it is. A credit trial gives you a book that stays yours after you cancel. A streaming trial gives you access to a catalog, and that access ends when the trial does. Same word, two very different deals.
- Check which one you’ve signed up for before you choose a book. On a streaming trial there is nothing to keep, so choosing carefully doesn’t matter. On a credit trial it’s the whole point.
Where trials exist
Fewer places than you would think, and they don’t all work the same way.
- Audible runs the best-known one: 30 days, and you spend a credit on a book that is yours to keep afterward. Amazon Prime members sometimes get two credits instead of one. Two things to watch. Audible has more than one plan, and only the credit-based one gives you a book you keep, because the cheaper tier’s monthly pick locks when you cancel. And unused credits are lost on cancellation, so spend them before you go.
- Streaming services offer trials too, and they work the other way around. You listen to as much as you like while the trial runs, and keep nothing when it ends. That is fine if what you want is to find out whether audiobooks suit you. It is no use for getting a book.
- Libro.fm has no free trial, which is worth knowing because people go looking for one. New members get a bonus audiobook when they start a paid membership instead. They also sell audiobooks one at a time with no membership at all, and for anyone nervous about forgetting to cancel, that is the real answer: there is nothing to cancel. Their credits never expire either, and you keep everything if you leave.
Trials usually don’t repeat, either. Sign up, cancel, then come back six months later and you will most likely be offered the paid plan rather than another free month.
Set a reminder
This is the step most people skip.
- Set a reminder for a day or two before the trial ends.
- Decide before the deadline, not after the charge lands.
- Canceling is rarely one click. Some services won’t let you do it in the app at all and send you to a browser, and most will offer you something to stay. Start a little earlier than you think you need to.
- You can usually keep using the trial until it expires, so canceling early costs you nothing.
Using a trial well
- Have your title picked before you sign up. Don’t spend trial days deciding.
- Choose a long title. One credit buys any book regardless of price, so a longer book gets more out of it.
- Listen to the sample first. Twelve hours is a long time with a voice you don’t get on with.
- One trial at a time. Stagger them so you are never tracking two deadlines at once.
When free runs out
If the library and the public domain don’t have what you want, a trial is the next-cheapest way in. Beyond that come deals, sales, and paid memberships, which is a separate topic. For now, borrow what you can and use a trial for the rest.
The bottom line
Used carefully, a trial gives you a free audiobook. Used passively, it becomes a subscription you forgot about. Set the reminder, keep the book, and cancel on time.
Happy listening!
To skip trials altogether, the library and the public domain need no card number. See How to Listen to Audiobooks for Free.