I love audiobooks as a gift.
Whether it’s a Beverly Cleary collection for a child to listen to on repeat, a buzzy new bestseller you know your sister will love (but won’t ever read if you give her a hard copy), or an obscure non-fiction title for your history buff dad, it’s a no-fail gift.
It’s super simple to gift an Audible book and I’ll show you step-by-step directions to do it!
But first, a couple of things to know about gifting an Audible audiobook.
- You don’t need to be an Audible member to give an Audible book as a gift. As long as you’re logged in with your Amazon account, you’ll have all the options for gifting I’ll describe below. Note that if you are NOT an Audible member, the price of the audiobook is usually going to be quite a bit more expensive. For instance, the Ramona Quimby collection is $42.20 for non-members, but only $29.54 for members. So it may be worth it to sign up for an Audible membership before you send an Audible book as a gift because you’ll come out even or ahead plus get at least a month of Audible Plus and an audiobook of your choice to keep forever. (If you have an Audible Plus membership, rather than Audible Premium Plus, you will not get that member pricing).
- The person you are giving the Audible book to as a gift does not need to be an Audible member. They WILL need to download the free Audible app in order to listen, but giving them an Audible gift book does not require them to sign up for a membership or pay anything.
- You can use your membership credits to gift audiobooks. Drowning in extra credits? This is a great way to use them up – when you check out, it’ll give you the option to pay for them with a credit card or use your credit to pay for them instead.
- You cannot gift Audible books from Amazon.com. This is a bummer, because sometimes there are smoking audiobook book deals on Amazon and you won’t be able to gift them. You can only gift Audible books from the Audible site.
- You cannot gift Audible books from the Audible app if you’re using an iPhone but if you’re using an Android device, it will allow you to gift directly from the app.
All that said, here’s are step-by-step directions for how to gift an Audible book.
How to Gift an Audible Book
Go to Audible.com and search for the title you want to gift.
When the title in question comes up, click on it and you’ll see a button on the right hand side that says “More Options.”
Click that button and choose “Give as Gift.”
A screen will open that lets you fill in the information for your giftee, write a note, and choose what day the email is sent to them (or you can choose to print off a gift note with the redemption code and deliver it yourself).
Then, when you check out, it will show you the price and give you the option to pay with a credit card or to use your Audible credits to pay for it.
(Spoiler – it will be cheaper 99% of the time to use your Audible credits to give an Audible gift. Audible always will offer you an option to buy more credits if you run out and usually at a cheaper price than your monthly membership fee (generally $10-12 each). So it makes no sense to pay $20-30 for an audiobook gift when you could use your credits instead).
And there you have it! Your Audible gift is on its way!
Any questions about how to gift an Audible book to someone? I’m happy to help!
Whitney says
I did find that if you buy credits on a promotion you cannot use them to buy a gift. Only with membership credits. “Promotional and free trial credits, as well as extra credits purchased on top of a membership plan cannot be used to purchase a gift”
Janssen Bradshaw says
Yes! Thanks for mentioning that.
D Sabe says
This was the ONLY site that had useful instructions on gifting an audible book. Thank you!!!
Janssen Bradshaw says
Oh good!
tim says
Thanks for the info on how to gift w credits.
I want to gift an awesome book that I have in my library. In this case I don’t see the “more options” menu.
Any ideas in this case?
Thanks, tim
Janssen Bradshaw says
Click on the title in your library and then it’ll take you to the page for that book and you’ll see “More options.”
Tammie says
I have the same problem as Tim. I’d like to gift a book that I already have in my library (I wouldn’t gift one that I wasn’t sure was wonderful.) But there is not a “more options” menu when i select the book in my library.
Janssen Bradshaw says
You can’t do it from the iphone app – you’ll need to find that book on the Audible.com site!
Molly says
Same question as Tim & Tammie.
Snorre says
My friend can’t figure out how to get the book on audible app. You do not need to register card to use app right?
Joanne says
i’m curious if there’s any difference if i’m using US audible trying to gift to an UK audible account. any difference for the other party to receive them or would i need to sign in to the same audible market
Tim says
I thought I had to buy the book first and then gift it. It seems I should have clicked on the more options to purchase and then gift. If I already bought the book with a credit can I still gift it?
Marilyn says
I am not an Audible member but want to gift a book to someone who is. I tried to follow your instructions but when I click on the book title I don’t see a price or a “more options” button – only the offer of a green book if I join Audible. Can you help?
Janssen Bradshaw says
Email me a screenshot of what you’re seeing (janssen@everyday-reading.com) and I’ll try to help trouble shoot.
Andrew says
Sending a gift is fine, But the resulting redeem gift link requires having an Amazon account or creating one. How does one avoid this as you stated? The Android phone does have the Audible App, though it does not seem to be involved. For a teenager or someone who does not want an Amazon account this is an obstacle.
Amy says
Got it! Gift from the website as does not work in app from iPhone… So helpful, thanks!!
Gaelyn Scarlett says
I also have this question! I hope it will be answered by someone. Andrew, did you find out the answer? Janssen, can you let us know? I’d like to gift an audible book to my 14-year-old without having to buy any paid memberships or paid subscriptions for her.
Janssen Bradshaw says
The recipient will have to have an Amazon account – it won’t require a membership or subscription, but you must have a free account set up.