How Much You Need to Read for Kindle Unlimited to be Worth the Cost
Is it really "unlimited" reading?
With the advent of BookTok and the continued rise of Amazon's Kindle e-readers, a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited might seem like a home run. After all, it gives you unlimited access to over 4 million digital titles for just a small monthly price. But is it really worth it?
How much does Kindle Unlimited cost?
Kindle Unlimited is available for a monthly subscription of $11.99 USD. However, you can often find deals available for the service. (Some users who subscribe right now may find themselves eligible for a 3-month deal that only costs $.99, though it isn't clear how widely available this deal is.)
At $11.99 a month, access to over 4 million books, audiobooks, magazines, and more sounds like a great deal. And honestly, for some people it will be. However, there are some caveats to take into account before you sign up for Kindle Unlimited, most notably the limit to how many books you can check out at a time.
It's unlimited... but with limits
One of the biggest caveats you will find with Kindle Unlimited is that you can only check out a total of 20 books at one time. This means you'll need to return books anytime you're done with them. This isn't that big of a deal, but if you often find new books you might want to read and like to add them to your library, you may find yourself resorting to noting them down in your phone or a notebook instead. I have at least 50 books on my Kindle right now that I plan to read at some point, but other books have come up that have grabbed me instead. With Kindle Unlimited, you can't endlessly add books to your library, so that's something to keep in mind.
Do you read enough for it to be worth it?
Another question to ask yourself if you're thinking about picking up Kindle Unlimited is whether you actually read enough to justify that $11.99 price tag. Many books on Kindle are already heavily discounted, costing anywhere from $5 to $9.99. If you only read one book a month, then paying for a monthly subscription might not be worth it.
However, if you're someone that often reads three to four titles a month, then paying $11.99 instead of purchasing each book individually can be a great way to take advantage of Amazon's subscription service. Before subscribing, think about how much you're likely to read each month and then decide if the subscription is really worth it for you.
Kindle Unlimited is a mess to navigate
As a person that loves to just browse through the books that are available, Kindle Unlimited can be quite a mess to navigate. Sure, you can search books specifically to see if they are available in Kindle Unlimited. But if you enjoy just going through and browsing the digital shelves like you would at a library, then you're likely to find yourself a bit lost with all the options thrown at you.
Furthermore, there's a lot of genres on Kindle Unlimited that might not be exactly what you're into. The subscription service is chock full of adult romance books, so if that isn't something you enjoy, it's probably best to browse for books in a different way. This isn't necessarily a reason to forego the service altogether (after all, the Kindle Store experience has always left something to be desired) but it is important to keep that in mind going into a Kindle Unlimited subscription.
If you think the price fits what you're looking for, though, you can find a lot of great books on Kindle Unlimited, including some really heavy hitters from famous authors. There are also a ton of lesser known hits on the digital shelves that are available on Kindle Unlimited, making it a really cool way to check out new authors you might not have heard of before without having to justify buying the book outright.