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If you’ve ever used Amazon to buy anything, you’re probably aware of Amazon Prime. Initially, the sole Prime benefit was free two-day shipping, but it has since expanded to include other benefits at no extra cost, such as Amazon Prime Video. Prime Reading is another part of the multi-benefit subscription, but what is Prime Reading? Keep reading to learn all the ins and outs of the Prime benefit.
Key Takeaways:
- Prime Reading is included with every Amazon Prime membership.
- There are roughly 3,000 titles available with Prime Reading, including books, magazines, comic books and audiobooks.
- Kindle Unlimited is a separate service that costs extra, but contains a much larger selection of titles than Prime Reading does.
Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited are both services that let users add free books to their private libraries and retain them as long as their subscription remains active. If you’re more curious about the latter, you can check out our full Kindle Unlimited guide instead.
Furthermore, Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited work great with Amazon Fire Tablets or Kindle e-readers, so if you don’t have one you can read our Kindle model comparison and Kindle vs Fire comparison to learn more.
What Is Prime Reading?
Amazon Prime Reading is a program that allows Prime members to read a selection of e-books and magazines, as well as listen to certain audiobooks for free. Available Prime reading books include literary classics, children’s books and Kindle singles, as well as Amazon-exclusive e-books.
You’re not limited to one title at a time with Prime Reading, as you’re allowed to have 10 books checked out at any given moment.
There are some recent and popular fiction and nonfiction titles available, but if you’re looking for new titles, you’ll have more luck with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. If you’re interested in comic books and magazines, Prime Reading has those too. Available titles on Prime Reading include more than 500 comic books, as well as popular magazines like National Geographic.
How Do You Get Prime Reading?
Prime Reading is one of the Amazon Prime benefits that all members get access to automatically. Thus, all you need to do to access Prime Reading is sign up for a Prime membership and access the service either on your Kindle or through the Kindle app.
All you need to get access to Prime Reading is an Amazon Prime subscription.
Devices That Work With Amazon Prime Reading
Although Prime Reading works great with Amazon devices like a Kindle Fire tablet or Kindle e-reader, you don’t need one of these devices to make use of Prime Reading. Much like Amazon Prime Video, Prime Reading works on virtually every type of device through the Kindle app that’s available for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
If your Amazon account has an active Prime subscription, you’ll see the Prime logo on any free book or other Prime Reading work.
Prime Reading vs Kindle Unlimited
You can check out our Prime Reading vs Kindle Unlimited comparison to get a full rundown, but the biggest difference between the two programs is in the quantity of books and audiobooks available. Whereas Prime Reading is limited to a few thousand books and magazines, Kindle Unlimited contains more than 2 million titles.
Final Thoughts
That brings us to the end of our Prime Reading rundown. Although it’s not as extensive as its big brother Kindle Unlimited, Prime Reading is still an excellent bonus if you already have a Prime membership. That said, we don’t think the selection is impressive enough to warrant a Prime subscription just for that, but luckily you get a bunch of other benefits as well.
What did you think of our guide? Are you less confused about Prime Reading, Kindle Unlimited and Amazon’s ecosystem than you were before? Are there any details you think we missed or could have expanded on? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for reading.
FAQ
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Yes, Prime Reading is a part of your Amazon Prime subscription. In fact, it’s the only way to access the service.
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There are roughly 3,000 Prime Reading titles available to Amazon Prime members. That means there are more titles than we can list here. However, you can start browsing the available reading choices before signing up to get a sneak peek and see if there are any, like the editors’ picks, that interest you.
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Out of the roughly 3,000 titles available, just under half of them have audible narration, meaning you can both read and listen to them.
