Audible launches a cheaper ‘Standard’ subscription plan, challenging Spotify

Audible is rolling out a cheaper “Standard” subscription plan that costs $8.99 per month, the Amazon-owned company announced on Tuesday. The new plan is $6 cheaper than the platform’s existing “Premium” plan, which costs $14.95 per month.

The Standard plan includes one audiobook per month from Audible’s catalog and unlimited listening from a curated library that includes a selection of Audible Originals.

Under the new Standard plan, subscribers will lose access to the audiobooks they’ve consumed when they unsubscribe. The Premium plan lets users keep the audiobooks they’ve listened to even if they unsubscribe.

The Standard plan also includes access to nearly 200 of the most popular titles available on the Wondery+ app, which is shutting down in the coming months.

The Standard plan is launching in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and France. Audible is testing the plan in additional markets, the company says.

The launch of the new subscription plans comes as Audible is facing growing competition from Spotify, which launched audiobooks in 2022 and has bundled the format with music and podcasts as part of its own Premium subscription.

Spotify said last October that the number of users listening to audiobooks rose 36% over the past year, and listening hours increased 37%. Additionally, it noted that more than half of Spotify’s 281 million premium subscribers have engaged with an audiobook.

Spotify recently hiked the price of its monthly subscription plan for the third time in three years, potentially opening the door to competitors like Audible.

“By expanding our membership options, we’re maximizing access for lighter listeners while enabling publishers and creators to reach new audiences—a win-win that grows the entire audiobook category,” said Cynthia Chu, Chief Financial & Growth Officer at Audible, in a press release.

Audible says early testing of the new plan showed strong member acquisition and retention rates, as testing in the United Kingdom and Australia showed that the plan drove a double-digit increase in new member sign-ups compared with previous offerings. With its expansion to new markets, the Standard plan is projected to bring in millions of new customers, the company says.