1. Define the listening pattern
Monthly catalog hours equal books per month multiplied by normal-speed hours per book. We compare this with hourly allowances. For annual credit plans, we compare twelve months of planned books with the annual credit count.
2. Check the preferences
A plan must cover the entered volume and satisfy the retained-access choice to count as a fit. Annual plans are excluded unless upfront payment is enabled. Library borrowing is a conditional suggestion, never a guaranteed capacity.
3. Compare additional costs
Already-paid subscriptions have zero additional cost within their existing allowance. Music bills remain outside the comparison. Annual costs are divided by twelve for display, but the full upfront payment remains visible.
Individual-purchase costs use the editable per-book input. The initial $20 is a modeling assumption, not a market average or fetched price. For each plan that covers part of your month, we estimate buying the remaining whole books separately. We use the same entered cash price across stores: this is not a live quote or a member discount.
4. Build simple combinations
For hourly plans we divide the allowance by your typical book length and round down to complete books. At 15 hours and 12 hours per book, one book is covered; the next book must be bought in full. Unused hours do not create a partial-book discount. The model starts with the full monthly allowance, not your live remaining balance.
For annual plans we spread credits across twelve equal listening months. The annual subscription is paid upfront; additional books are paid for separately. The estimate is the yearly plan charge plus twelve months of additional purchases.
If you want to retain all books, a mixed plan based on Standard or Spotify does not fit: only its separately purchased books remain accessible after cancellation. We do not combine multiple paid subscriptions, optimize variable-length title lists, price extra-credit bundles or assign a guaranteed library capacity.
5. Rank the fits
The lowest additional cost among fitting options comes first. At equal cost, a non-library fit precedes a conditional library suggestion. Referral income plays no part. A recommendation above your budget carries a warning rather than silently changing your budget.
What we cannot verify
- Live title availability, library queues or personal offer eligibility.
- Every subscription, bundle, top-up and discount in the market.
- Future price changes, refunds or the value of your music subscription.
Corrections and freshness
Each provider fact has a source and verification date on our source register. Provider checkout controls the actual price. Recheck it when making a purchase.
Articles explain the calculations; they do not claim hands-on tests of every service. Editorial illustration is AI-generated and does not depict a specific product.