You’ll be tired of hearing about these two Amazon services (and you’ve seen it hundreds of times on the platform’s website), but what does each one offer? And above all, what is the difference between them if the two are to read “free”? Quiet, that’s what we’re here for. We explain everything to you.
Amazon reading services
The great Amazon is more than an online store to shop. The company of Jeff Bezos has expanded so much in recent years that through its platform it is also possible to listen to streaming music ( Spotify ), watch movies and series ( Netflix ) and even read books for free.
Precisely for this last purpose, the firm has not one but two services that allow the reading of a good amount of books as a “free bar”, which can often lead to confusion. What exactly does each of them offer? Is it the same if you sign up for one or the other? how much they cost?
To try to get you out of all doubts, we will explain what Amazon Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited consist of: what content they have available, what allows you to do each of these services and how to access their services. Go for it.
Amazon Prime Reading
This is the service that “gives you” in a certain way Amazon when you open an Amazon Prime account. And although the most famous of this subscription is the fact that with it the vast majority of shipping costs are free (including 1 Day Shipping), the truth is that paying it you also have free access to Prime Video, Amazon Music and to our service of interest today, Prime Reading.
What you will find here is a selection of hundreds of books in electronic format (e-book) that is updated periodically and that you can access from any device with the Kindle app (available for iOS and Android) and from a Kindle, of course.
You will find all kinds of genres (narrative, police, romantic, science fiction books, comics in English, etc.) to which you can take a look entering the corresponding department of the Amazon website (provided you are already Prime, eye) :
- You enter Amazon.es and access with your data.
- Click on the icon on the left (next to the Amazon logo) and tap on “Books”.
- Select ” Prime Reading ” and you will see all the books available to read for free for being Prime.
- Choose the one you want and tap on “Read now” to read it at the moment, “Add to the library” or click on the image of the book, enter its tab and send it to a device
Ready. You only have to enjoy it whenever and wherever you want.
Prime Reading key points
- For who it is: people who read with relative frequency and like to give new and different books a chance.
- The best: enter the Prime subscription so you enjoy the rest of the advantages: Music, Video, shipments, etc.
- The worst: its catalog is shorter than the one available in Kindle Unlimited.
- Tip: You can subscribe for a month to Amazon Prime for free to try it and then unsubscribe, although you have to remember to do so before the 30 days expire so they don’t charge you for the next one.
Kindle Unlimited
It must have already been clear to you what exactly Prime Reading is and how it is accessed so it is the turn of Kindle Unlimited. This service is often confused with the aforementioned, and although it is true that the two ultimately offer the same experience, it has certain very important differences. The first one, and paramount, is that Unlimited works independently of the Amazon Prime subscription . You can have an account and not be able to access Kindle Unlimited or vice versa, since it is a service that is paid separately (9.99 euros per month).
Here again you will find a good amount of ebooks that you can access from any device with the dedicated Amazon app or from a Kindle device, but – here comes the second difference – far from the “hundreds” of titles that you can Find in Prime Reading, here you have more than one million books (which is said soon) available for your enjoyment.
Once you have paid for your Kindle Unlimited subscription, the steps to access the catalog are similar to Prime Reading:
- You enter Amazon.es and access with your data.
- Click on the icon on the left (next to the Amazon logo) and tap on “Books”.
- Select ” Kindle Unlimited ” and you will see all the books available to read without paying anything else.
- Choose the one you want and tap on “Read now” to read it at the moment, “Add to the library” or click on the image of the book, enter its tab and send it to a device.
A small difference that you will also find between the two services is when looking at the tab of a book. While with Prime Reading, you are only advised that you can read it for free when you are already Prime, with Kindle Unlimited always appears (pay or not the service) the notice that with this subscription it costs you 0 euros – in case you are already pointed, on the right you will see a message that is included in your account, in case you want to read it or send it to some of your equipment.
Kindle Unlimited key points
- For who it is: people read a lot (a lot), to which they compensate for a “free bar” of monthly books.
- The best: the catalog of available books is immense.
- The worst: it is paid.
- Tip: You can subscribe a free month to Kindle Unlimited to try it and then unsubscribe, although you have to remember to do so before the 30 days expire so they don’t charge you the next.