Kindle Unlimited vs Prime Reading – Which Service Should You Subscribe To?

Are you trying to choose between Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading? This article explores Kindle Unlimited vs Prime Reading to help you decide which is the best for you.

In the age of technology, more and more people opt for digital formats of their favorite books rather than their physical counterparts. 

While physical books still outsell ebooks by a long shot, ebook sales have gradually increased every year since 2013. Today, ebooks make up around 19% of the world’s total book sales by revenue.

Alongside the increase in the popularity of ebooks, we have also seen more and more online ebook subscriptions providers come onto the market. Among these are Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading, two of the largest digital libraries in the world. 

But this begs the question: Kindle Unlimited vs Prime Reading? Which is better? Which service should you subscribe to? 

Amazon Prime vs Kindle Unlimited: Subscription Comparison

Amazon Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited are two ebook services owned by Amazon. They’re both subscription-based and geared towards heavy readers. 

Along with ebooks, both Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited offer a variety of audiobooks, comics, and even magazines. 

Since they’re both owned by the same company, you might be wondering what the differences are between these services, which one is better, and how much these subscriptions cost. Let’s break it down.

Amazon Prime Reading Subscription

Amazon Prime Reading, also known as Prime Reading, is a kindle service that is part of the Amazon Prime subscription.

According to Amazon, Prime Reading is a sort of “private library” that lets Prime members read up to 1,000 different ebooks, comics, and magazines without paying a single cent more. Existing Prime members can find these books in the “Prime Reading” tab of their accounts. 

All 1,000 titles are available for download and can be accessed through a Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, or the Kindle apps on iOS and Android. 

Amazon regularly updates its Prime Reading section and some of the choices include: 

• Popular fiction and non-fiction titles 
• Selected audiobooks
• Children’s books
• Comic books 
• Literary classics 
• Magazines 
• Kindle singles 

Prime Readers can download a maximum of 10 titles at a time. If members want to read more titles, they’ll have to return one of the books they’ve already borrowed in order to download a new one. 

Since there are no deadlines or due dates, members don’t have to worry about rushing through a book before they need to be returned.

Another great advantage of Prime Reading is its Amazon First Reads service. Amazon First Reads allows members to choose and download up to six soon-to-be-released titles, giving you the chance to read said books before their official public release.  

What Other Benefits Do Amazon Prime Subscriptions Offer? 

Amazon Prime Reading is among the many benefits Prime members enjoy. Other subscription benefits include: 

Shipping Perks

• Free two-day shipping 
• Free same-day shipping 
• Amazon Day scheduled deliveries
• Amazon Key in-home, in-car, and in-garage delivery

Shopping Perks 

• Prime Day offers and exclusive discounts 
• Free Amazon Fresh subscription (previously cost an extra $15 a month) 
• Free Amazon Fresh delivery of orders over $50
• Early access to lightning deals 
• Prime Wardrobe subscription allowing you to try up to eight items at a time 
• Free standard shipping on Shopbop, East Dane, and Woot

Entertainment Perks 

• Prime Video subscription (access to 13,000 movies and TV shows, $5.99/month separately)
• Prime Music subscription (2 million song titles, $7.99/month separately)
• Prime Gaming subscription 
• Free access to original audio content

How Much Is Amazon Prime? 

In the US, Amazon Prime memberships costs $12.99 plus taxes per month. Their annual Prime package costs $119 plus taxes, allowing you to save approximately $40.

In the UK, Amazon Prime membership costs £7.99 per month. The annual package costs £79 per year, saving £16.88 per year.

According to Business Insider, approximately 59% of American households now use Amazon Prime. If you frequently buy products from Amazon, being an Amazon Prime member is definitely worth the cost. You’ll save a ton of money from shipping fees alone!

Plus, Amazon Prime’s benefits more than compensate for the cost of its monthly subscription. 

How to Get Amazon Prime 

You can get Amazon Prime by signing up via one of the below links. If you’re new to Prime then the great thing is that you can get the first 30 days for free!

Sign up for your 30 day Amazon Prime US free trial here

Sign up for your 30 day Amazon Prime UK free trial here

If you’re a student, make sure to opt for the six-month option, where you can enjoy six full months of Prime at half the cost. 

Enter your credit or debit card information when prompted, along with your billing and shipping address. That’s it! 

Kindle Unlimited Subscription

Kindle Unlimited is an online ebook service that allows you to explore, read, and download over 2 million titles.

Among these titles are those self-published by new writers and authors, giving you access to hidden gems that have yet to make an impact in the world of fiction or non-fiction. 

This subscription service offers the following: 

• Millions of popular fiction and non-fiction ebooks
• Exclusive Kindle Store titles
• 500 public domain titles 
• Thousands of audiobooks
• Digital magazines
• Comic books

Is Kindle Unlimited Worth It?

Despite having over 2 million titles to choose from, Kindle Unlimited doesn’t offer a lot of books from big publishers, especially those published by the “Big Five” (Penguin/Random House, Harper Collins, Macmillan, etc.).

As a result, there’s a possibility that you won’t find your favorite book or author in Kindle Unlimited. 

Even so, 2 million isn’t a small number! You’ll definitely find books worth your time and attention amongst Kindle Unlimited’s many titles.

Moreover, you can find best-selling books with prices much lower than what the Big Five publishers offer on the Amazon store if you’re a Kindle Unlimited member.

Another great benefit of subscribing to Kindle Unlimited is its magazine services. Kindle Unlimited allows you to select up to three magazine subscriptions every month at no extra cost. 

Similar to Amazon Prime Reading, you’ll have access to up to 10 borrowed titles until you return them or cancel your Kindle subscription. 

Does Amazon Prime Include Kindle Unlimited? 

No, Amazon Prime doesn’t come with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Prime Reading is the Prime-member equivalent of Kindle Unlimited but at a significantly reduced range. Compared to Kindle Unlimited’s 2 million titles, Prime Reading only has up to 1,000 titles. 

How Much Is Kindle Unlimited? 

Kindle Unlimited costs $9.99 per month. However, Amazon often launches free trials and limited-time discount offers that range from 20% to a massive 50% off. 

On top of that, Kindle Unlimited also has prepaid packages that allow you to subscribe in 6, 12, and 24-month increments, making it a great gift for book lovers. 

How Much Is Kindle Unlimited for Prime? 

Unfortunately, Amazon Prime subscriptions don’t offer reductions on Kindle Unlimited. As such, Prime members would have to pay the exact amount as non-Prime members: $9.99 per month, or $119.98 per year plus taxes.

How to Get Kindle Unlimited

You can sign up for Kindle Unlimited from the Amazon website. The Kindle Unlimited page will ask you to sign up using your current Amazon email and password. Once you do, select the subscription of your choice, input your credit card, and voilà! You’re now subscribed to Kindle Unlimited. 

As with Prime Reading, a 30 day free trial is available to new subscribers so you can test the service out.

Sign up to Kindle Unlimited and get 30 days free (US)

Sign up to Kindle Unlimited and get 30 days free (UK)

Keep in mind that Kindle Unlimited is location-specific so readers will need to sign-up for Kindle Unlimited through their local Amazon marketplace, if available. 

Once you’ve subscribed to Kindle Unlimited, you can now browse through the many available titles from the “Kindle E-readers & Books” option located at the sidebar menu.

You can also browse the Amazon store as you normally would and check from the title’s option whether the book is available with Kindle Unlimited or not. 

All books downloaded through this service must be accessed through the Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, and Kindle reading app for Android, iOS, and iPadOS.

Kindle Unlimited vs Amazon Prime: Similarities and Differences

Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime are two completely different subscriptions. Although they both offer a variety of ebooks that can be accessed through the same applications, they’re targeted towards two different kinds of readers. 

Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences of each: 

Similarities 

• Fairly low monthly cost 
• 30-day free trials 
• Accessible through Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, iOS, and Android
• Large selection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, comics, etc. 
• Majority of titles is exclusive to Kindle Store
• Very few books from big publishers 
• Belong to Amazon 

Differences 

• Kindle Unlimited offers 2 million titles, while Prime Reading only has 1,000 
• Magazines from Prime Reading can’t be read on Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for PC, and Kindle for Mac, as opposed to Kindle Unlimited 
• Kindle Unlimited doesn’t have extra perks like the Amazon Prime subscription  

Amazon Kindle Unlimited vs Prime: Final Thoughts

Amazon Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime Reading are great services for people who enjoy reading books. 

If you’re a true book lover and find yourself spending more time reading books, you might want to subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. After all, it has over 2 million titles to choose from. That’ll surely keep you busy all year long!

On the other hand, if you’d rather take advantage of Amazon Prime’s many benefits, it’s certainly worth subscribing to a Prime membership. 

Can’t decide which one is better? Well, why not both?

Sign up for your 30 day Amazon Prime free trial here

Sign up to Kindle Unlimited and get 30 days free (US)

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