Cailin Riley Books

Awhile back, I did a post covering book programs like Kindle Unlimited and Book of the Month Club to ask the question of if they were worth the money. (You can read that post here.)

I thought that 2025 was a good time to examine this question again. After all, all of us readers and book lovers want to make sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck, right? Let’s dive in.

The current price on Amazon for a Kindle Unlimited membership is $11.99 a month plus tax. That price gets you access to more than 4 million select ebooks, magazine subscriptions and audiobooks. You can “rent” up to 20 books at a time and they stay in your library for as long as you have KU, or when you choose to return them.

I personally have been a KU member several times in my life and I will say that they do often have good titles available. If you’re a prolific reader, it can be a great way to save money on reading several titles. It’s also a great way to test out several books that maybe you wouldn’t normally want to buy.

But let’s briefly talk math.

Answering if a KU subscription is worth the money largely comes down to the type of reader you are and the books you choose to read. At $11.99 a month, you essentially make your money back if you choose to read at least 1 book normally priced at around $12, or two priced around $5. However, many of the books listed on KU are on the cheaper side, anywhere between $1.99 to $5. That means that if you’re reading those kinds of books, you would have to read several a month in order to get your money’s worth.

The average person only reads about 12 books a year, or roughly a book a month. Therefore, if you’re not a voracious reader and can only commit to a book or two a month, you’re more likely to lose value on a KU membership. On the other hand, if you can normally get through 3-5 books a month, it would probably be worth it.

So, what’s the answer?

You will likely need to read at least 3-5 books a month to make Kindle Unlimited worth the price. Reading 2 books or less a month most likely means you are better off just buying the books at normal Kindle price.