LitRPG's... Kindle Unlimited or Audible?

High Level Comparison

Kindle Unlimited

• Over 1.5 million titles

• 30 days free trial

• $11.99 per month

• Up to 10 books checked out

Audible

• Thousands of titles

• 30 days free trial

• $7.95 per month (plus) or $14.95 (premium)

• Listen any time

• Get 1 free book per month (premium)

One of the difficult decisions you need to make when you are on a tight budget but eager to get into enjoying good books (and especially Litrpgs), is how are you are going to consume them.

In an the ideal world, you would just buy any and all novels as they became available on any medium without worrying about the cost you are spending to read each one. Unfortunately, we are not all made out of money and getting the most bang for our buck means getting some type of subscription so we can consume multiple books for a standard monthly cost. Figuring out which type of subscription is going to take some figuring out however.

The first question you will need to ask yourself is:

"When do I plan to enjoy my books?"

If the answer to this question is "while driving on my long commute each day" or "while doing lots of chores around the house", then obviously you are going to lean towards a model that allows you to listen to books to keep your hands or vision free, so pretty much an Audible subscription.

If however, the answer is "when I'm relaxing on my couch" or "laying on my bed before sleep", then you may be able to actually read from your Kindle app or device, so a Kindle Unlimited plan might work best for you.

Another important question you will need to ask yourself is:

"How to I like to enjoy my books? Reading or listening?"

Although time and availability would be the biggest factor in considering which subscription to sign up for, your own personal preference should also be considered. After all, if you really don't like listening to someone else read a book to you then you likely aren't going to enjoy anything from Audible. At the same time if you simply don't have the time to read a book or feel it's a hassle then having the ability to just listen might be a lot more interesting.

The next question you may want to ask yourself is:

"How fast do I consume content?"

If you're the type that goes through books like water, and are impatient to start the next book in an series, then you may find an Audible subscription a bit frustrating. The fact is Audibles selection is far smaller than the written version (thousands compared to over 1.5 million), and there are sometimes delays between the release of the kindle version and the audible version. If you are type that really wants to consume the next book in a good series as soon as it's available and don't care about who is doing the voice over, then a Kindle Unlimited plan would likely suit you better.

However, if you really love the experience of listening to your favorite author or voice actor read your book series, and don't mind waiting a bit for the audible version to come out, then an Audible subscription might be your cup of tea.

A final question you may want to ask yourself is:

"In what way do I prefer to consume my content?"

If you are book reader as opposed to listener, then you will be using either the Kindle App on your phone\pc, or a Kindle reader device such as the Kindle Paperwhite. The good news is that you can switch between any device that supports the Kindle and be able to read any books you currently have checked out. It really depends on what's more comfortable for you and better for your eyes. If you are on the move a lot and constantly requiring to do stuff on your phone, it may be annoying to have to put down your Kindle Reader device and pick up your phone. In such a case you may be better off just getting a larger phone if possible and using the Kindle App. If however you like to have something solid and tangible to hold with your hands and can devote larger amounts of time of uninterrupted reading, then a Kindle Reader device might be best for you. Keep in mind also that some Kindle Unlimited books offer an Audible Narration version as well.

If you are a listener as opposed to a reader, you pretty much have a plethora of options to listen to your books. Anything that supports audible can be used such as your phone with the Audible app, or Alexa devices such as the Echo Dot, or an Echo Show. Many vehicles also now have Apple AirPlay software so you can connect your phone and listen to your books while taking trips or doing your work commute. You can also connect your phone to a wireless speaker. The possibilities are endless.

As you can see from the above questions and answers, the decision on which subscription model to take is really dependent on you and your preferences. Ideally, if you can manage to have both subscriptions you would really get the most out of your books, since with an Audible subscription you can listen to your stories read by some amazing voice actors out there that really bring the characters and novel to life. At the same time there are so many books available on Kindle Unlimited you will never run out of Litrpgs to read if you need that fix immediately. In the end, the choose is ultimately up to you, but either way we don't think you can go wrong by choosing either.