Audiobooks make fantastic gifts. They can transport your friends and loved ones to a faraway place, teach them something new, or make a long trip less boring. This makes audiobooks a fitting gift for any book lover.
However, figuring out how to gift an audiobook isn’t always so obvious. And sometimes even the most popular audiobook services don’t make it easy. Fortunately, we are here to help. And just in time for the holidays too.
When you gift an Amazon Audible audiobook, the recipient can redeem it and listen to the title from your Audible library. go to the audible gift centersearch for the desired title and click on the give as a gift option. You can email or print the gift voucher.
If you don’t know which audiobook they might enjoy, you can also give them a gift subscription. At the Audible Gift Center, you’ll see one-, three-, six-, and 12-month subscriptions priced from $15 to $150.
What will your recipient get with this subscription?
- If you are not currently an Audible subscriberthey’ll get one credit for any free book per month, along with two Audible Originals (exclusive audio titles you won’t find on any other service) and discounts on other books.
- If they already subscribe to Audible, they will get all the credits immediately. That means they’ll get one, three, six, or 12 free audiobooks right away, plus the two Audible Originals per month.
Audible isn’t cheap, but it’s one of the best services out there. And the book lover in your life can always cancel Audible if he decides it’s not for them.
Downloadable Amazon Audiobooks are only available through Audible. You’ll need to use a workaround if you’d rather gift an audiobook that isn’t linked to Audible. You see, Amazon still sells audiobooks on CD. And you can gift wrap them and send them to your loved one if you want. If your recipient wants your audiobook in a digital format, once they have the CD, they can technically do whatever they want with it.
Audiobooks.com does not allow you to gift individual books. But there are a number of freebie options, including one-, three-, six-, and 12-month plans priced from $14.95 to $149.40. These are good for downloading one book a month. review the Audiobooks.com Gift Center to choose one
With prices comparable to Audible, this is an equally attractive option, especially if you’d rather stay away from Amazon. And if you know the audiobook fan you’re shopping for already listens through Audiobooks.com, that’s a great way to go.
You may not have heard of AudiobooksNow, but it’s one of the best places to buy books online and you’re bound to find an audiobook you want to give as a gift. You can easily gift individual books by finding the one you are looking for and clicking on give as a gift under the add to cart button.
But you can also gift a Gift Plan membership for $29.99. This gives members a 50 percent discount on 12 books a year and a 35 to 40 percent discount on books thereafter. There are no free book credits like other plans, but the savings on the first 12 books are valued at around $120. Go to the AudiobooksNow Gift Center To get started.
And there is also a third way – gift certificates. These are a great budget option, available in $5 increments starting as low as $10, and allow your recipient to spend them on any book they want.
Unfortunately Downpour does not have gift options available. However, since your audiobooks are DRM-free, you can simply purchase one yourself and send it to the gift recipient. They can then use an audiobook app to listen to it, just like they would an audiobook they bought themselves.
If you’re looking to gift a single audiobook and your recipient has an Apple device, this is your best bet. There’s no subscription option, and buying an audiobook as a gift only takes a few clicks.
- Open the iTunes Store or the Books Store if you have an Apple device and switch to the Audiobooks section.
- If you are using iTunes, click Store in the top menu.
- Find the book you want, then click the arrow next to the buy audiobook button.
- Select gift this audiobook.
Then just follow the instructions to complete your purchase from there.
In addition to supporting independent bookstores, which is awesome, Libro.fm offers two ways to give away audiobooks.
First, you can gift individual books; no subscription is necessary. Just search for the book you want, and when you find it, click Send as a gift. Be sure to choose your favorite independent bookstore before you buy the book so they get credit for your purchase.
But if you’d rather let your book lover choose their own titles, you can do that too. Libro.fm offers credit packages, starting at $30 for two credits. This gives the recipient their choice of as many audiobooks as their credits can buy. Visit the Gift Center book.fm To get started.
Like Audible, Scribd is a popular subscription service and one of the best websites for downloading audiobooks. This platform allows readers to access one audiobook and three eBooks per month. The standard subscription fee is $11.99/month, but you can purchase a gift subscription for $59.99 (for six months) or $119.99 (for 12 months), saving up to 15% off the regular price. Just head to the Scribd Giveaway Page To get started.
Why you should give away audiobooks this year
Whether your gift recipient is a long-time fan of audiobooks or is just beginning to explore the medium, giving them an individual book or subscription is a perfect way to support their hobby. Audiobooks are the kind of splurge that book lovers can hold back because listening seems like cheating.
However, if your friend has been complaining about not having enough time to read, you may need that nudge to try an audiobook, especially if you have a lot of time to occupy while traveling or doing chores.
If your recipient enjoys audiobooks and books in all forms, consider gifting them a Kindle subscription. Or you can just pick a gift card and let them pick what they want.