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How to pause an Audible Membership: the ultimate guide

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Looking to find out how to pause an Audible membership? You’ve come to the right place – we’ll explain the intricacies of the process.

Audible.com is an audiobook giant owned by Amazon and currently dominates the market. As a member, you can access its vast library and countless Audible Originals.

However, you may also want to pause your Audible membership for a certain period. This article will tell you how to do just that. 

What an Audible membership offers

Subscribing to Audible is a great way to read thousands of books with just a few clicks. This membership eliminates the need to lug around massive books and find space when traveling. You need only access your account to download your novels to any device, including Android and iOS gadgets.

There are many Audible membership benefits. Each month, the platform gives you one credit that lets you buy any book in their library. Just make sure to purchase a novel that’s more valuable than your subscription fee to make the most of this offer.

Besides books, Audible unlocks other content. You can listen to originals, sleep tracks, podcasts, and meditation programs from any device.

Another reason Audible is popular is that it provides frequent discounts. For instance, some membership plans give you 30% off books purchased after buying an audiobook with your credits. This is a great way to grab multiple audiobooks without paying a hefty monthly membership fee.

Furthermore, the Audible website offers an unmatched audiobook collection. It finds new titles before other providers to help you get your hands on coveted books soon after their release.

Finally, exploring your account is a seamless experience. There are no crazy glitches and the interface has a dark mode that can improve your focus and reduce eye strain.

Cancel or pause Audible memberships

The Audible app offers two options when you want to take a break from your listening—canceling and pausing. The platform lets you cancel Audible memberships whenever you want. You can also restart your Audible plan at any time without starting over. By contrast, you can only pause your Audible subscription once every 15 months.

That’s why canceling is usually the better option. You can do it whenever necessary and become an Audible member once again at your convenience.

However, pausing might be preferable in some cases. Suppose you’ve saved up many Audible credits and want to stop your next billing. Pausing your account is an excellent decision since it halts payments for three months. This allows you to hold onto your unused credits.

After pausing your subscription, you lose access to your Audible Plus Catalog and Audible Premium Plus Membership. The good news is that you can still enjoy the books you’ve already bought, but you might not be able to get new credits.

Pausing your audible membership

Putting your Audible account on hold, or pause, is relatively straightforward and doesn’t take as long as canceling a monthly Audible membership. Here’s how to pause your Audible subscription:

  1. Go to the Audible page on your smartphone browser or desktop site and enter your login credentials.
  2. Navigate to the upper-right menu that mentions your name and press your Account Details page. You should now see your membership details. Besides the Pause Membership button, it also contains “Cancel Membership” and “Switch Membership” options.
  3. Press “Pause Membership.”
  4. Confirm your decision by pressing “Continue” when prompted to put your account on hold for three months. This will pause your Audible membership.

If you decide to resume Audible early, you need only visit the same window to end your pause. Otherwise, the platform will automatically activate the plan and bill you after three months.

You can contact customer support if you encounter an error. Most errors occur because you’ve already paused your membership sometime in the past 15 months, making you ineligible. Nevertheless, reach out to customer care to verify the root of the problem.

How to cancel Audible

Are you tired of using Audible? Whether you're running out of credits, on a budget, or simply not using the service as much as you used to, you might want to cancel your membership. But before you do, here's what you need to know.

What you need to know before canceling your Audible subscription

First things first, if you are canceling your membership because of a billing issue or to pause your membership, you can easily do so without necessarily canceling the membership. Check out the Audible support page for instructions on how to modify your membership or cancel payments.

Secondly, if you're unsatisfied with the service, customer support might offer you a free month or other incentives to keep your membership active. So, before pressing the "cancel" button, take some time to consider whether you want to continue the service or not.

Thirdly, if you have unused credits, make sure to use them before canceling your membership. Once you cancel your membership, you will lose any unused credits. You can use your credits to purchase audiobooks, regardless of whether you have an active membership or not.

Lastly, if you decide to cancel your membership, keep in mind that you will lose access to any audiobooks you have purchased through Audible. Make sure to download any audiobooks you want to keep before canceling your membership. You can still listen to your downloaded audiobooks even after canceling your membership.

What happens after you cancel Audible

If you decide to cancel your Audible membership, all of your credits will be deleted with immediate effect. This means that you will lose access to any content you've purchased through the service. Nonetheless, you can continue to listen to any books you have downloaded and stored on your devices.

It's important to note that if you cancel your Audible membership, you won't be able to access any exclusive member benefits, such as discounts on audiobooks or access to Audible Originals. Also, if you decide to rejoin Audible in the future, you may not be able to get back any credits or benefits that you had previously.

Before canceling your Audible membership, it’s important to consider putting it on hold instead. This will allow you to keep your credits and benefits for a shorter period of time, without being charged a monthly membership fee. You can put your membership on hold for up to three months, and you can do this once every 12 months.

Canceling your Audible subscription

It's easy to cancel your Audible membership. To cancel: 

  1. Simply log in to your account
  2. Click on the "Account Details" page
  3. And select "Cancel Membership" 

From here, you may be prompted to answer a few questions before confirming the cancellation. Once you've done so, you'll receive a confirmation email with details of the date when the cancellation will take effect.

Note that if you terminate your Audible membership, you will no longer have access to any audiobooks you have purchased through the service. But downloaded audiobooks will be yours to keep and listen to whenever you like, even if you delete the app. If you decide to leave Audible and return at a later time, your account will be restored to the point where you left off, and all of your previously purchased audiobooks will be available to you again.

Listen to audiobooks with Speechify Audiobooks

If you’re unhappy with Audible or simply want a more affordable audiobook subscription service, we recommend Speechify Audiobooks. For plans starting at more than 30% cheaper than Audible, you get access to thousands of audiobooks, many of which are also available on Audible. Enjoy a wide range of audiobook categories—including romance, science fiction, biographies, politics, self-improvement, and so much more.

Explore the world of audiobooks today with a free trial of Speechify Audiobooks.

FAQ

Can I pause my Audible membership and keep my books?

You may prefer pausing an Audible membership as it lets you keep your books. In fact, during a pause, you’ll still be able to listen to your library. However, you won’t be able to access borrowed titles from Audible Plus because the platform automatically claims them when your subscription is on hold.

Will I lose my credits if I pause my Audible membership?

You won’t lose your credits if you pause your Audible plan. This move stops payments for three months so that you can hold onto unused credits. However, keep in mind that you won’t receive monthly credits during the hold if you’re on a credit-earning plan.

What is the difference between pausing and canceling Audible?

There are several differences between pausing and canceling Audible. On one hand, canceling a plan means the platform doesn’t charge you for another month. After that, subscribers need to continue to pay if they want to use Audible.

On the other hand, pausing means Audible won’t renew your billing period or charge your credit card the next month. However, it will restart automatically after three months unless you continue canceling once your pause is over.

Can I resume my Audible membership at a later time?

You can pause your Audible membership once every 12-month period. If you’ve already paused your membership in the past 12 months, you won’t be able to pause it again until the year is up. Audible subscriptions can be paused for up to 3 months.

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.