How to get Kindle Unlimited without paying full price

The original Amazon Kindle played a key role in allowing people to buy books without having to go to a brick-and-mortar store, but Kindle Unlimited took that idea a step further, creating a sort of Netflix for books, where readers could choose from millions of titles for a monthly fee. But last year, the subscription increased by about $2 per month to $11.99, leaving many readers wondering how to find Kindle Unlimited deals.

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If you’re a book addict like me, reading can be expensive, but now you can get most e-books for free and read them on your Kindle.

Kindle Unlimited discounts, and even free periods, aren’t actually that hard to find. Amazon regularly runs introductory offers that discount the monthly fee. You can also get Kindle Unlimited for free for 30 days, but these offers are usually only available to new subscribers, not existing members. However, there are other options to shave off the price a bit.

If you’re thinking about adding a reading subscription to your monthly budget, here’s how to find Kindle Unlimited deals and one-month (or three-month) free plans.

How much does Kindle Unlimited cost?

Kindle Unlimited requires a monthly subscription of $11.99. The subscription gives you access to millions of books in the Kindle Unlimited library. While it doesn’t include every book sold by Amazon, the subscription is known for including books from many popular best-selling authors. Unlike borrowing e-books from a library, Kindle Unlimited has no waiting period or return date, and you can borrow up to 20 titles at a time.

Although the service is most popular for e-books, Kindle Unlimited also includes audiobooks and some magazines. The subscription includes fiction and non-fiction for adults and children.

How to Get Kindle Unlimited for Free

Amazon is currently offering a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited. Similar to the Amazon Prime free trial, signing up for the trial gives readers 30 days to see if the service is right for them. After the 30 days, a monthly fee of $11.99 will be charged and will automatically renew if the trial is not canceled.

Finding a free reading service after 30 days can be a tough task, but not impossible. Some Kindle eReaders (both new and refurbished) come with 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for free. This introductory offer for new Kindle buyers is intended to introduce readers to the benefits of a subscription.

Finally, here’s a little-known way to get Kindle Unlimited for free: Amazon sells gift subscriptions to Kindle Unlimited. If someone ever asks you what’s on your wish list or your show of affection is to give your spouse a subtle gift hint, you can ask for a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Gift subscriptions are available in 6-month, 1-year, or 2-year options.

How to Find Kindle Unlimited Deals and Discounts

Amazon’s free trial of Kindle Unlimited is great for trying out the program, but what if you want to have access to your favorite e-books all year round? Amazon sometimes offers great sales and discounts, but most of the time, promotions are not eligible for current subscribers.

To find Kindle Unlimited deals, start by visiting Amazon’s subscriptions landing page, where current deals are listed — for example, at the time of writing, new subscribers can get it for two months for $4.99 before the price increases to the standard price of $11.99.

Amazon doesn’t advertise any discounts for students or military members on its reading services, but Prime Student includes two free months of Kindle Unlimited.

Bargain hunters will be more likely to find discounted subscriptions around major shopping days like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday. For example, on this past Prime Day, Prime members got three months free when they signed up for Kindle Unlimited. Amazon offered similar deals around Black Friday.

While most discounts are only for new subscriptions, there’s another way to save on the service that Reddit readers have been using for years: gift a subscription to yourself. The Kindle Unlimited landing page only allows you to subscribe on a monthly basis. However, you can purchase a 6-month, 1-year, or 2-year gift subscription. When you gift yourself a subscription, the price drops by about $1 each month.

In short, while Kindle Unlimited offers many discounts and free trials, these discounts are temporary. Free trials and discounts are usually only available to new subscribers. After the initial discount period, Kindle Unlimited will revert to $11.99 per month unless canceled.

Is Kindle Unlimited worth it?

The 30-day free trial with no cancellation penalty is designed to help readers decide if Kindle Unlimited is right for them, and readers should ask themselves some questions before deciding if Kindle Unlimited is the best approach for them.

• How quickly do you read? If you read a few books a month, a subscription might be much more affordable.
• Are you spending more than $11.99 each month on Kindle books? See what books you read last month and how much you spent.
• Does your favorite author appear among Kindle Unlimited titles? Not all books are included in the program, so browse the list of Kindle Unlimited titles to see if your favorite author or genre is included.
• Already have a Kindle? Kindle Unlimited is the best subscription for Amazon-branded e-readers, but other brands like Kobo have their own subscription options. Everand is another option for iOS and Android devices.

How to Cancel Kindle Unlimited Free Trial

Amazon said that customers can cancel their Kindle Unlimited subscription at any time, and that even if they cancel their membership, they will still have access to the service until the end of their billing cycle.

To cancel your Kindle Unlimited subscription, log into Amazon and go to the Manage your Kindle Unlimited membership page.

How to Find Other Free E-Book Deals

While a Kindle Unlimited free trial is a great way to read a few e-books for free, it’s not the only way to read free books on your Kindle.

If you are a Prime member with free shipping, you can enjoy Prime Reading for free. This service gives you access to thousands of free titles instead of the millions you get with Kindle Unlimited, but Prime Reading doesn’t cost you anything extra on top of your Prime membership fee. Prime Reading offers a smaller selection of titles, but the books available are rotated so you don’t have to read the same titles over and over again.

Many local libraries offer free e-book lending through an app called Libby. Just like borrowing a physical book, you need a library card, books aren’t permanent, and popular titles might require a reservation. But unlike a physical book, you can borrow a book at 2 a.m. in your pajamas without having to leave the house.

Finally, Amazon’s Kindle store often has a list of titles available for free. These books are often out-of-copyright classics or the first book in a series that publishers put out in the hope that readers will like it enough to buy a second copy.