Spotify Vs Audible: Which Music App is Worth Using?
Introduction
In the melodious world of music, various music apps often compete with one another to get the attention of all music lovers. One such interaction I came across is Spotify Vs Audible.
However, it is difficult to compare or find any one app superior to the other, as both apps provide different types of content and never disappoint their users by surprising them at every point. Audible is known for a wide range of audiobooks, while Spotify offers various types of music content.
Let’s explore this Spotify and Audible contest with me to know which app has a huge fan following and won the contest.
Spotify Vs Audible
A brief introduction to Spotify and Audible is compulsory so that you can make your decision confidently.
Audible, a subsidiary of a giant e-commerce store, Amazon, was launched in 1995. It offers a huge collection of spoken word content, such as audiobooks. Audible should be your ultimate choice if you are fond of listening to audiobooks.
On the other hand, Spotify dominated the music industry in Europe in 2008 and has continued to expand and evolve since its release. Spotify does not bind you to listen to only one content, like Audible, however, it offers all major music content, like podcasts, music, audiobooks, and much more.
Difference Between Spotify and Audible
Here is a description of the differences between the two famous but different music apps, Spotify and Audible.
Price Plans
As we know, Audible is a specific audiobook and podcast service, therefore it offers specific price plans for them. Whereas, on the other hand, Spotify is an overall music-app, that gives you a price plan for all music content.
Audible only offers two price plans, one is “Plus” and another is “Premium Plus”. However, Spotify in its comparison offers wide flexibility in its price plans and offers 5 different subscription plans along with the option of customization.
With the Audible, it is not compulsory for you to buy any plan as you can only purchase the audiobook at its original price. It also provides you with a 30-day free trial and an option to cancel your membership at any time.
On the other hand, Spotify offers a variety of price plans that will suit every individual’s budget. Like, it offers Spotify Duo, Spotify Kids, Spotify Family, and many other premium plans.
Here are the price plans for Spotify and Audible presented separately for your convenience.
| Audible Plus | Audible Premium Plus |
| Free 30-day trial for a month The, $7.95 / month Avail following content with this plan, Originals Audiobooks Podcasts Sleep Tracks Meditation Programs | Free 30-day trial for a month The, $14.95 / month Avail of all content of Plus plan along with 1 title free |
Here are the price plans for Spotify.
| Platform | Spotify |
| Free tier | Yes, but ads-supported |
| Premium Individual | $9.99/ month |
| Premium Family | $15.99/ month |
| Premium Student | $4.99/ month |
| Alternatives | Spotify Duo and Spotify Kids$12.99/ month |
Winner: Spotify is the winner of the price war, as it offers more flexible price plans and more music content.
AudioBooks and Podcasts
If we talk about the music content, you will be pleased to know that Spotify offers a huge range of content in its single-price plans, whereas, Audible is specially designed for audiobooks, by Amazon.
Spotify has only around 350,000 audiobook collections while Audible has more than 500,000 audiobooks, so, now you know where to go if you are an audiobook lover. However, if you want to enjoy time by listening to music or podcasts, Spotify should be your choice.
With Spotify, you can enjoy a wide range of audio content, like your favorite music, songs, podcasts, and audiobooks as well.
Winner: In the battle of Spotify vs Audible, I will vote for Spotify as it offers diverse content in the same plan, whereas Audible is only limited to audiobooks.
Music Discovery
However, both apps have different algorithms to suggest new and trending music, but Spotify is again leading the way. This feature will help you to listen to the newly released songs on the market according to your taste or the artists you listen to.
Audible has only a few options because we already know, it is an audiobooks library. But still, it will suggest content based on your purchased history. For instance, if you have purchased a specific audiobook from any writer, you will receive a notification from the same writer next.
On the other hand, Spotify is the beast in music recommendation. It will analyze your whole listening habits, like what you like and dislike, scroll upwards, or click to listen, and will suggest music related to that.
It is not only this, Spotify also has other strong music recommendation factors, such as Release Radar, Discover Weekly, Made For You, and many others, which will suggest songs according to your previous listening history.
Winner: In the music recommendation section, Spotify has won due to its offering of more options.
Device Compatibility
In the device compatibility war, both apps had a tough competition to conquer the battlefield and finally one won it. So, are you curious to know who is the winner?
Both music services, Spotify and Audible provide a wide range of device compatibility to their users. Like, you have the option to connect Spotify to multiple devices, such as Android, iOS, Windows, Playstation, Xbox, Smart devices, Amazon Fire, and much more.
Audible, on the other hand, also amazes its users by offering connections with iOS devices, iTunes, Amazon Kindle, Sonos, and Smart devices.
Winner: Confused about who won the war? Of course, Spotify is the winner as it offers connection to those devices that are in common use and are available everywhere, while Audible devices are rare and not everyone uses them.
Audio Quality
In the audio quality comparison, I found that one music app was always a step ahead of the other. So, let’s see either Spotify was leading the Audible or Audible was ahead of Spotify.
Like its price plan, Spotify also offers more flexibility in audio quality than Audible. In the freemium version of Spotify, you can listen to music at 96 kbps on a mobile device and 160 kbps on a desktop.
Whereas, Audible does not have a freemium version at all. But in its free trial, it offers an audio quality between 32 kbps to 64 kbps, which is obviously lower than Spotify.
In the premium plan, Spotify again offers better audio quality which is 320 kbps in the Ogg Vorbis format, while Audible offers audio quality between 64 to 128 kbps in AXX format.
| Audio Quality | Spotify | Audible |
| Low | 24 kbps | 32 kbps |
| Normal | 96 kbps | 64 kbps |
| High | 160 kbps | Not available |
| Very High | 320 kbps | 128 kbps |
Winner: Now, you know that Spotify is the winner of the audio quality test as it provides better audio, especially for music listening, whereas, Audible audio quality is more suitable for audiobook listening.
Conclusion
Comparing Spotify and Audible was a kind of difficult task, as both apps have different directions. Audible is the library of spoken word content, like audiobooks, whereas, Spotify is the hub of music and songs.
However, I still managed to compare their few features, such as price plans, audio quality, music discovery, and device compatibility. And, believe me, I found Spotify on the top of every feature, as it has amazing offerings for its users.
However, choosing any app between Spotify and Audible also depends on your preference. Go for Audible, If audiobooks attract you, as I am a music lover, my choice is Spotify.