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The Complete Guide to Kindle Unlimited

If you are a voracious reader, chances are your reading habit often cause a dent in your wallet. There are several ways you can save your money and find new books to read. A library, sales or deals happening on retailers, and online book subscriptions through which you borrow e-books or audiobooks at a nominal fee.

I prefer e-book subscriptions, and my go-to is Kindle Unlimited by Amazon. I’ve been using it for quite some time now and have found a lot of books to read – some that have landed on my top reads list.

For those who don’t know what that is or trying to figure out if it’s worth the money, this post dives into the nitty-gritty of Kindle Unlimited Subscription and you can figure out if it’s for you.

What is Kindle Unlimited?

KU or Kindle Unlimited is an e-Book subscription offered by Amazon. For a monthly/yearly fee, subscribers to Kindle Unlimited get access to books, magazines, and even audiobooks from Amazon’s collection of millions of titles available on KU. 

You can borrow up to a specific limit of books (More on that below!) and there is no due date. You can keep the borrowed books till the end of your subscription. 

How does Kindle Unlimited work?

First, sign up for an Amazon Account if you don’t have one yet. Note: Only US users can access the Kindle Unlimited service from the .com website. There are many countries including India, which provide local Kindle Unlimited services. Make sure you set your location to one of these countries. 

Once you’re set, you can sign up for Kindle Unlimited either by downloading the free Kindle App from Android/IOS or via your browser. Good thing for first-time users: You get a free trial of 30 days

Amazon.in User? Click here to sign up to KU!

You can find Kindle Unlimited Books just like how you find your normal books. Search for a book. If you find a ‘Read for Free’ button on the Kindle Book page, you can start reading them with your KU Subscription!

How much does Kindle Unlimited cost?

Here is a list of Kindle Unlimited prices for some of the countries for monthly subscriptions. 

CountriesKindle Unlimited Subscription Cost*
USA (Amazon.com)$9.99 / month
India (Amazon.in)₹169 / month
Canada (Amazon.ca)$9.99 / month
UK (Amazon.co.uk)£7.99 / month
Australia (Amazon.com.au)$13.99 / month

* As on 11th August 2022. These prices are subject to change as per Amazon’s Policies.

The prices are lower if you subscribe yearly or on a three-month basis. If you’re not satisfied with the books, you can cancel the service at any time.

During sales and promotions, Kindle Unlimited has special offers for monthly or yearly subscriptions! Keep an eye out for them if you want to subscribe to this service for a longer duration at really less cost.

What is the Kindle Unlimited book limit?

You can borrow up to 20 titles on Kindle Unlimited. 

Kindle Unlimited doesn’t have a due date for returning the books. It allows you to keep 20 ebooks in your library. If you want to read another book and have reached the limit, return one of your current borrowed books. 

If you cancel the KU subscription, you can still keep the ebooks till your subscription period ends.

Kindle Unlimited vs Prime Reading

Amazon Prime is a premium membership wherein the users opting for the service get free delivery and several other benefits like free streaming on Prime Video and shopping offers.

Prime Reading is one such benefit that Prime members can avail. Users can borrow books from the Prime Reading catalog which is limited to around 1000+ titles.

Is Kindle Unlimited the same as Prime Reading?

No, Kindle Unlimited is a completely unique service and has a vast collection of millions of titles. Prime Reading has a rotating catalog of ebooks and all prime users can avail it.

Do Prime members get Kindle Unlimited for free?

No, Prime Members only get access to books available in Prime Reading.

Can I read unlimited books with Amazon Prime?

Amazon Prime users can borrow up to 10 books at a time. Same as Kindle Unlimited, once you have reached the limit, you have to return a book to borrow a new one. 

Kindle Unlimited vs Audible

Audible is a service offered by Amazon for users who prefer to listen to audiobooks. It offers subscriptions where you get one or two credits and can use them to buy any audiobook that you can keep forever.

Is Audible free with Kindle Unlimited?

Yes and No. Audible is a separate service. But you can access some audiobooks via Kindle Unlimited.

Do you get any audiobooks With Kindle Unlimited?

Yes, KU users have access to some audiobooks, but not the entire catalog of Audible. The users can listen to the audiobooks for free but cannot keep them forever.

Is Kindle Unlimited worth it?

Kindle Unlimited has its pros and cons. 

Pros:

  • You can read books on any device. If you switch devices, the ebooks you have borrowed will still be there in your app. 
  • Variety of books to choose from. 
  • No due dates on books. You can keep them for as long as you are subscribed to the service. 
  • You save a lot of money on ebooks. You can try new-to-you author without spending a dime and see if you like their writing style.
Cons:
  • Not all the books are available to borrow.
  • Large publishers do not offer their books in Kindle Unlimited. 
  • You will find self-published authors more than the established ones. But many times, I have found that the quality of the book is low in terms of writing.
  • You may find that some genres are pretty limited on KU. But, as a romance reader, I find a lot of options to choose from.

In conclusion, (and I speak for myself), I think Kindle Unlimited is worth it.

I am a Romance Reader and I do find a lot of options. Although, most often some contemporary romances I want to read are not available on Kindle Unlimited. There are other genres I love – Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance, and a lot of new self-published authors definitely write them well. 

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20th January 2024