If you're a bookworm you already know the answer
Kindle Unlimited is the Netflix of books. That term may be thrown around a lot, but it’s true: the program gives you access to a huge amount of content for a fixed price per month, and you can access as much or as little as you want. The collection of books in Kindle Unlimited isn’t curated by Amazon, but you can check reviews to see what fans think.
If you read a lot of books, Kindle Unlimited is absolutely worth it. Here is everything you need to know.
Table of Contents
What Is Kindle Unlimited?
When you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, you gain access to the Amazon Kindle Store. More than one million books are available through the service across a wide variety of genres. While many people still associate Kindle Unlimited with independent publishers, there are many titles available from large publishing houses.
For example, you can read several of the Harry Potter books on Kindle Unlimited. If you browse through the Kindle Store, you can tell at a glance which books are enrolled in the program and which ones are not. Underneath the title of the book, to the right-hand side of the cover, you will see text that says $0.00 kindleunlimited.
Kindle Unlimited subscribers can check out up to 10 books at a time. If you try to check out more than that, Amazon will prompt you to return a book you have already checked out. It’s as simple as clicking Return and Continue.
After you download the title from Kindle Unlimited, it will automatically appear in your Kindle library on the device you chose. You don’t need a Kindle to take advantage of Kindle Unlimited; just download the Kindle app for iPhone or Android and you can read on your mobile device.
Thanks to the Kindle Cloud Reader, you can even read Kindle Unlimited titles on your computer in-browser, or you can use the desktop app.
Kindle Unlimited has titles you won’t find anywhere else. For a book to be enrolled in the Kindle Unlimited program, it must be exclusive to the Amazon Kindle Store for at least three months, after which time the author can choose to publish elsewhere.
However, if an author wants to publish a title somewhere else, they will have to remove it from Kindle Unlimited, which means it will no longer be available to read. If the title is still on your device when it is removed from the Kindle Unlimited library, it will be removed from your device.
If you’re concerned about authors being paid for their work, don’t worry. Authors receive payment per page read for any titles borrowed through the program. Amazon implemented this payment standard as a way to encourage higher-quality submissions. After all, an engaging book that gets read will earn the author more than one a reader puts down.
Is Kindle Unlimited Worth It?
Kindle Unlimited costs a flat rate of $9.99 per month, although you can sometimes snag deals like $0.99 for three months. These are few and far between and usually only available during major sales periods, like Black Friday.
This means you are ultimately paying almost $120 per year for Kindle Unlimited. At a glance, this may seem like quite a bit, but ask yourself: how many books do you read in a year? Or in a month?
The average price for a book on Kindle ranges from $3 to $5, and sometimes significantly higher than that. Assuming you read two to three books per month, Kindle Unlimited pays for itself. However, if you’re a voracious reader that devours a novel in a few hours and you find yourself spending more than your monthly grocery budget on books, Kindle Unlimited is worth checking out.
Kindle Unlimited is home to more genre fiction than literary fiction. If you enjoy high-brow literature, you might not find a great selection. However, if you like science fiction, mystery, and romance, you’ll find no end to the potential books you can read.
If you’re interested, Kindle provides a 30-day free trial. Try the service out for yourself. If you find you read more than three books in that time, Kindle Unlimited would definitely be worth the investment.
Kindle Unlimited is a great program for insatiable readers, especially with the summer months on the way. If you only read one or two books per month, though, you’re better off sticking to sales and purchasing titles you want.
