How To Gift An Audiobook

The internet has made way for an audiobook revolution, with an estimate of around 45% of American adults claiming to have listened to an audiobook at some point in their lives.

As it becomes a more common medium for people to consume books, many online services now offer different ways to buy, sell, and share audiobooks.

So let’s say you’re looking to gift an audiobook to somebody. This could be for a birthday gift, or perhaps you’re just hoping to share a book that you particularly enjoyed.

Either way, it can be difficult to navigate the various online services and find a way to do this without much bother.

How does gifting an audiobook work? What is the best online service to do this through?

If you find yourself overwhelmed by the process—don’t worry! We’re here to help you with that.

In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at the different ways you can gift an audiobook, showing you how to do each step of the process to make it easy. 

So let’s get right into it! 

How Does Audiobook Gifting Work: A Brief Overview

Gone are the days when audiobooks are too big to share over the internet, with modern download speeds huge books can be downloaded in a matter of minutes.

Audiobook platforms also offer large libraries for users to store their books and switch between them on the go. 

Because of this, it can be easier to share your favorite book with somebody, simply by sending them it online.

Of course, most audiobooks are copyright protected, so you’ll need to go through one of the most popular online platforms in order to do this. 

There are a few of these that you can use to gift an audiobook, but the top two are undoubtedly Audible and Google Audiobooks.

Audible is the most popular, with countless titles that you’ll be able to choose from. 

For the purpose of this article, we’re going to highlight how to gift audiobooks on only these two platforms, but you should know that there are alternatives out there should you choose to use them for whatever reason. 

Gifting An Audible Audiobook

So let’s start with the most popular option. Audible is Amazon’s audiobook platform, as you might expect it’s quite easy to send and receive audiobooks (also see, ‘Is Audible Free To Prime Members?‘).

There are a few different methods to gift an Audible book, but let’s start with the simplest one. 

Follow these steps below to get easily gift an audiobook. 

Step 1. Sign into your Audible account on the device you’re using to connect to the internet. If you don’t already have an Audible or Amazon account, all you need to do is create one! It only takes a few minutes. 

Being an Audible member is especially beneficial if you’re purchasing multiple audiobooks. You can also choose to give an Audible gift membership which offers the recipient access to a wide selection of audiobooks (also see, ‘How To Gift Someone An Audible Membership‘).

Moreover, an Audible membership provides you with exclusive discounts, free Audible audiobooks, and access to audio shows. As an Audible subscriber, you can also share your audiobooks with other family members and friends (also see, ‘Are Podcasts Free On Audible‘). 

Step 2. Go to the Audible Gift Center to search for the Audible book you want. There is an extensive Audible library of books, so you might need to look a little, especially if the book you’re looking for is obscure. Make sure you have enough Audible credits.

Step 3. Look down at the book’s buying menu. This could be in different places depending on the device you’re using. To gift Audible books, click on the small gift icon and the words ‘Give as a Gift.’ 

Step 4. Select how you want to send the gifted book.

There will be two main options here, the first will be via email and the second will be a code that you can print off and physically give to the gift recipient. 

Step 5. If you’ve chosen to deliver it via email then you’ll need to enter the person in question’s email address. Make sure you get this one right, or else the gift might end up somewhere else entirely! 

Step 6. From here you can add a note as well as the date you want to send it. If it’s for a birthday or special occasion, this is a great time to send a message wishing the person in question well! 

Step 7. From here you can confirm and buy the book in question. Make sure to check over the information and settings you chose before going through with your purchase.

You’ll be emailed a confirmation, so you should check this also. 

Audiobook Gift On Google Audiobooks 

Google Play Books & Audiobooks is another place where you can buy audiobooks.

It’s a less popular option, but there are some books on it that you won’t be able to find on the free Audible app and vice versa, so you may want to gift them here.

Gifting is just as easy as Audible, but it’s a little more hidden.

Step 1. Open up your Google Play Store App, this is most easily done on a mobile device.

Step 2. Search for the audiobook that you’re looking to send as a gift.

Step 3. Navigate to the top of the menu, where there is an option for ‘more.’ 

Step 4. From this menu, locate the ‘Gift’ button and press it.

Step 5. From here, you’ll be able to enter the email address of the person you’re looking to gift to. You’ll get a confirmation in your email just like with Audible.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it! Those were two of the easiest ways to gift an audiobook.

Once the person in question has received their audiobook, they’ll be able to follow the instructions to get access to the book and download it into their library.

Both platforms give you fairly intuitive paths to gift, and if you ever find yourself getting lost, all you need to do is retrace your steps and make sure you’ve selected the right options.

We hope that this article has outlined how easy it is to gift an audiobook and that you’re now a lot more confident about the process.

Gifting an audiobook can be an incredible gift, offering somebody a portal into a new world, whether it be non-fiction or a classic fantasy story.