Kindle vs. Kobo Showdown: Which eBook Subscription Reigns Supreme?

With the rise of streaming in movies, TV and music, book lovers who prioritise their reading have also not been left out – welcome to the world of Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus, two eBook subscription services, with each fighting for the bragging rights of your personal eBook collection. Let’s now take a look at the features of each and try to decide which of them will put some kindle in our hearts.

Kindle Unlimited: A Treasure Trove of Titles

The Endless Library at Your Fingertips

As for selection, Kindle Unlimited offers four million volumes to transport you to far-flung settings of fantasy, mystery, romance and more. You can borrow 20 books at once, and you’ll never have to worry about overdue fines because Kindle Unlimited has no due dates unless you don’t want to read any more books this month. At a cost of $11.99 a month, the price may be steep, but you can see why the selection would tempt a ferocious reader willing to keep all her books in the Amazon universe.

KINDLE UNLIMITED: Not Just for KINDLE Owners

A further misconception is that Kindle Unlimited is accessible only to Kindle device owners. Since it is delivered through the Kindle app, it is also available to anyone with a smartphone. Kindle Unlimited has gone mainstream. Anywhere the Kindle app can be downloaded is free territory: a literary banquet set out for everyone.

Kobo Plus: The Budget-Friendly Contender

Customization and Affordability Wrapped into One

Kobo Plus, perhaps the most vocal competitor, promises to be ‘easier on your wallet’. Plans start at $9.99 a month. And Kobo Plus offers three types of plans for people who have intense reading (and listening) habits – one plan for readers, and one for audiobook listeners: each for $7.99 per month. Kobo Plus for the focused reader.Next month, the company will ship its new Clara HD eReader. It will be the first eReader to offer the ability to search texts for themes; the first to provide an enhanced highlighting experience for users; and the first to support the Kobo Writing Life platform, which makes it easy to publish on the Kobo marketplace.

Kobo Plus: A Sanctuary for Authors and Readers Alike

What also sets Kobo Plus apart is that it takes a less exclusive approach to authors, and functions as a place where writers won’t have to make a choice about whether to enrol in KU. This gives the Kobo Plus sphere the widest possible pool of authors to draw from, meaning authors get the biggest possible audience for their works, and the Kobo Plus library is filled with a diverse group of voices and stories. It casts a very wide net: 1.5 million eBooks, and 150,000 audiobooks.

Kindle Unlimited vs. Kobo Plus: The Selection Dilemma

The Quest for Your Next Great Read

These services claim to have millions of titles, but the devil is in the details. With Kindle Unlimited, those millions of seas of literature come with a cost to swimmers: exclusivity, which could very well mean the inability to subsequently find certain titles outside of the Amazonian world; with Kobo Plus, which features far fewer titles, the exclusivity is not as large, and the openings for authors are far more inclusive, possibly leading to a more human world of literature – a larger one, if not a different, one. If you don’t mind taking a swim outside the closed waters of Amazon and Kobo and see what there is to discover, you should still investigate the titles on offer carefully so as not to end up with thousands of fishes to which you’re allergic.

The Verdict: Your Reading Habits Take Center Stage

Embracing the Digital Library Era

Whichever you choose, the real victor of this titanic battle comes down to your individual taste. For the hungry, omnivorous generalist reader, Kindle Unlimited offers the all-you-can-read buffet. Kobo Plus is the more curated, customised and value-driven victor for readers who want to be more selective and target their reading lists, without a massive cost.

About Kindle

Thanks to the Amazon Kindle line of products, it’s been possible to read digitally since the first e-readers came onto the scene in 2007. Kindle’s hardware emulates the experience of reading a book, but the tablets now include access to a wide variety of multimedia content as well. Kindle Unlimited, a Kindle ecosystem, invites you to enjoy Millions Of Titles Available To Read. Millions Of Titles Available To Watch. Millions Of Titles Available To Hear. Millions Of Titles. A Global Community Of Story Lovers