Top 10: Ebook Subscription services

September 26, 2024 | Author: Maria Lin
These platforms provide access to a wide range of books for a fixed monthly fee. Some of the most popular ebook subscription services are listed below.

See also: Top 10 Ebook Subscription services

2023. Wattpad Premium subscribers now have access to 5 free monthly Wattpad Originals



Imagine, if you will, a grand and slightly eccentric narrative experiment devised by Wattpad, now called "Premium Picks." Under the great umbrella of its freemium model, Wattpad offers Premium and Premium+ subscribers a rather splendid deal: five of their Wattpad Originals, gratis, each and every month. Gone are the days of individual content payments—this is a curated buffet, handpicked by Wattpad’s team of literary connoisseurs, blending celebrated blockbusters with unsung gems from both literary legends and bright-eyed up-and-comers. The catch? Well, not so much a catch as a clever ticking clock: these tales are freely available until the first of the next month. After that, should you wish to resume your journey through an unfinished story, your wallet may politely nudge you. To keep things lively, Wattpad has thoughtfully added a countdown timer to the Premium Picks screen and a system of cheery app nudges, lest you miss the arrival of the next story feast.


2023. Kobo launched e-book and audiobook subscription service Kobo Plus



In a move that could be described as either bold or delightfully inevitable, Kobo Plus has materialized in the US and UK, offering a subscription service that is suspiciously akin to Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, but with its own twist of intergalactic flair. For a modest monthly fee—$9.99 in the US or €12.99 GBP in the UK—readers can beam into a library boasting over 1.3 million e-books and 100,000 audiobooks, a collection growing faster than the improbability of hitching a ride on a passing spaceship. The ingenious twist? Subscribers can pick either e-books, audiobooks, or both, starting at $7.99 per month for a single medium ($9.99 for the combo). Meanwhile, Kindle Unlimited floats along with a flat $9.99 per month, sticking with the unified approach like a Vogon poetry recital. For those navigating the literary cosmos, Kobo Plus might just be the towel you didn’t know you needed.


2022. Harlequin Plus - new ebook and print subscription service



Harlequin (a leading publisher of commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction) has launched a new subscription service Harlequin Plus that provides users access to both digital books and print titles. It is a completely distinctive service that stands out in the market. The service is available now in the United States and costs $14.99 per month. Content can be accessed via the website and apps for Android and iOS. A free 7-day trial is offered if you want to try it out. A subscription to Harlequin Plus grants users four entertainment options, including curated bundles of new book releases, an ebook library, romantic movies and casual games. One of the most appealing features is the Book bundles; each month, subscribers can choose either an ebook bundle delivered instantly or physical copies sent to their homes.


2020. Mangamo - new unlimited subscription service for Manga



Mangamo is a new unlimited subscription service for iOS that offers a free two-month trial and after that, it costs $4.99 per month. The main draw is that all their manga is in English and they have teamed up with 11 manga publishers, aiming to release over 300 titles spanning more than 1,000 volumes in the next three months, with new chapters added daily. Mangamo provides what every fan desires: an easy and affordable way to access a large amount of new manga while supporting the publishers and creators so they can continue producing the manga you enjoy.


2019. Perlego - textbook subscription service



Dubbed “Spotify for textbooks,” Perlego allows students to access textbooks on a subscription model. It hosts over 300,000 eBooks from more than 2,300 publishers and the service is cross-platform—accessible via the web as well as iOS and Android apps—and available in several languages. In addition to U.K. publishers, Perlego now also features content from major publishers in Germany, the Nordics and Italy. For students, the appeal is clear: textbooks are becoming increasingly costly to buy and public libraries are often underfunded. In the U.K., Perlego provides access to its entire digital collection for £12 per month. As long as the required textbooks are available on the platform, this is significantly more economical.


2019. Kobo Plus introduced audiobooks



Unlimited ebook subscription service Kobo Plus has now included audiobooks and introduced several new tiers. Kobo has consistently used Plus as a testing ground for a potential expansion into other countries (currently, it is only available in the Netherlands). You can subscribe to the unlimited ebook component of Plus for €9.99 per month or just the audiobook portion for €8.99 per month. If you wish to access both reading and listening options, the cost will be €12.99 per month. Kobo Plus features an audiobook collection of approximately 20,000 titles. Some are in English, while others are in Dutch.


2018. Perlego - Spotify for textbooks



The new service Perlego offers students and professionals unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of academic and professional eBook titles for £12 per month. To achieve this, it collaborates with 650 publishers, including prominent names like Oxford University Press, Princeton University Press, Macmillan Higher Education and Cengage Learning. Publishers receive 65 percent of each subscription on a usage-based model. Perlego claims it helps publishers monetize their content to a large group of budget-conscious students who might otherwise purchase their books from the used-book market or download pirated versions. It also provides publishers with detailed insights into the usage of their titles.


2018. Amazon discounts Kindle Unlimited to compete against Scribd



In a dazzling feat of marketing that could only be described as cunningly obvious, Amazon has launched a scheme where they’ll let you frolic through the pages of Kindle Unlimited for two whole months for the irresistibly random sum of 99 cents—before cheerfully slapping you with a $9.99 charge once the clock strikes "promotion over." Officially, this is to celebrate World Book Day, though one might suspect it’s also a cheeky attempt to elbow Scribd off the stage. Scribd, of course, has been quietly offering its $8.99 buffet of audiobooks and ebooks from major publishers, leaving Amazon to cobble together its library from the wild frontier of Kindle Direct Publishing. The result? A quality gap you could park a spaceship in. So how does Amazon fight back? With ludicrous discounts for the unsuspecting, naturally—because nothing says competition like a bargain that’s too good to think about.


2018. Scribd reintroduced unlimited audiobooks and eBooks



Scribd has reinstated an unlimited audiobook and ebook subscription service. This allows users to read as many ebooks, magazines, newspapers, sheet music and audiobooks as they wish each month while remaining a subscriber. Casual readers who consume a few books per month from major publishers will find Scribd's service appealing. However, avid readers may encounter restrictions—not in a literal sense, of course. After reaching a certain number of titles, users will lose access to the full Scribd catalog and will only be able to read from a restricted selection. The exact threshold for this limitation is not specified. Amazon Kindle Unlimited serves as Scribd's main competitor but is available only in select regions and lacks many titles from major publishers.


2015. eBook subscription service Entitle is shutting down



Entitle is one of the numerous companies now involved in the Netflix-style e-book subscription model. They struggled to distinguish themselves in a competitive market dominated by Amazon, Scribd and Oyster and were unable to generate sufficient revenue to remain operational. Starting July 21, 2015, Entitle will be shutting down and is advising its current customers to switch to Scribd. Previously known as eReatah, Entitle offered plans allowing members to read two books per month for $9.99, three books per month for $14.99, or four books per month for $19.99. Members will retain and have permanent access to any books they download, regardless of their subscription status with Entitle and these books can be read on up to six devices. The Entitle e-reading app for iPad, iPhone and Android devices was recently launched for book reading.

Author: Maria Lin
Maria Lin, is a seasoned content writer who has contributed to numerous tech portals, including Mashable and bookrunch, as a guest author. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of California, where her research predominantly concentrated on mobile apps, software, AI and cloud services. With a deep passion for reading, Maria is particularly drawn to the intersection of technology and books, making book tech a subject of great interest to her. During her leisure time, she indulges in her love for cooking and finds solace in a good night's sleep. You can contact Maria Lin via email maria@bookrunch.com