Amazon’s multitude of services for readers are incredible, and one such service you will definitely want to check out is Prime Reading. But what is Amazon Prime Reading? This service is a great way to get ebooks, audiobooks, and more for free—which is a price we definitely can’t say no to!
If you’ve never heard of Prime Reading before, or if you’ve heard of it but don’t know how it works, now is the time to learn! Discover what you need to know to get access to Amazon Prime, and learn everything you need to know to find and read the free books now!
Get your free trial of Amazon Prime to access Prime Reading for free now!
What is Amazon Prime Reading?
So what is Prime Reading? This service is essentially a “private library” for Amazon Prime members, where Amazon curates 1,000 books, magazines, comics, and audiobooks for members to access for free.
As a Prime member, you are allowed to borrow up to 10 titles at a time. Once you’ve reached that limit, you can simply return the titles you’ve already chosen and borrow new ones. So even though you can only have 10 titles out at a time, you can read as many books as you want from within the 1,000 books they have curated for the Prime Reading library!
These 1,000 books rotate over time, as Amazon curates new books to add in to the library…so Prime Reading is not just a specific set of 1,000 books forever. On the whole, this library/book list is a pretty great perk that Amazon offers to their Prime members!
How Much is Prime Reading?
Since Prime Reading is a membership perk of Amazon Prime, you need to be a member of Prime in order to access this private library. This means you will need to join Prime, which costs $12.99 per month or $119 for a whole year.
The good news is that once you join Prime you get Prime Reading free! So there is no additional fee on top of your Prime membership cost. Even better, you can get a free 30-day trial of Prime so you can get instant access to the Prime Reading books for free! (If you are a student, you can get a free 6 month trial of Amazon Prime and Prime Reading).
Get your free 30-day trial of prime now to access Prime Reading now!
How to Subscribe to Prime Reading
To subscribe, literally all you need to do is sign up for Amazon Prime. If you’re already a member, all you need to do is make sure you are logged in to your Amazon account and that your Prime membership is current.
That’s it! You’re officially subscribed to Prime reading and have access to all the Amazon Prime free ebooks!
How to Use Amazon Prime Reading
After signing up for Amazon Prime or making sure you are logged in, it’s time to get started with figuring out how to use Prime Reading.
So how does Prime Reading work? There are a few methods you can use to find books that are eligible for this Amazon Prime free reading program.
1. Visit the Prime Reading Page
The first and easiest method to find Amazon Prime free books is to simply visit the Prime Reading page. Once you’re there, you can browse a list of all the currently available titles.
Then, when you see a title you like, you can click the “Read for Free” button to check out the ebook, magazine, comic, or audiobook. Once you click this button, the title you have selected will automatically become available to read on any of your devices that have the free Kindle app installed.
2. Click the Prime Reading Checkbox
The second method for finding Amazon Prime kindle books for free is to search the Kindle Store as you normally would.
To use this method, you first need to make sure that “Kindle Store” is selected from the dropdown menu on the left of the search bar, as seen in the image below:
Next, all you need to do is check the left sidebar and you will see a checkbox that reads “Prime Reading Eligible.”
When you click this checkbox, it will filter the results for you so only the Prime Reading free books will show up.
Alternatively, you can simply click this link and go directly to the Amazon Prime Reading books, as I have already filtered the results so it only shows you the current titles eligible to read for free. So if you’re wondering how to access Prime Reading, now you know how to find it on your own or you can simply click the link that will take you directly there!
But once you have accessed the eligible results and found one you like using this method, you can borrow it the same way as in the earlier method: open up the product page and then click the button that says “Read for Free.” It will immediately make the title available on all your devices with the Kindle app, and you’ll be all set to start reading!
3. Access Prime Reading from the Kindle App
So how does Prime Reading work on Kindle or the Kindle app? Well, that’s the third way you can access the Amazon Prime Reading library—directly from your Kindle, Fire tablet, iOS, or Android devices.
To find eligible titles from the Kindle app, simply open the app on your device and then navigate to the “Store” tab. You will then see a set of links below the search bar. One of these links says “Prime Reading,” and all you have to do is click it and you will be ready to start browsing titles.
Then, when you see a title you want, click the “Read for Free” button just as you did for the other two methods of finding Prime Reading books. After you click the button, your titles will become available on your device right away!
What Books Are in the Amazon Prime Reading Library?
So if you’re considering using Prime Reading but aren’t yet sure if it’s right for you, then you may be wondering: “What books can I read with Amazon Prime Reading?”
Especially if you aren’t a Prime member, it can be important to check out some of the available titles before you sign up. If this is the case with you, then you can browse the Amazon Prime reading list here.
Of course, keep in mind that the titles do rotate over time, so not everything in there will be available for free forever…and some new titles will be added in from time to time too. But this is a good way to take a peek into some of the available books before you decide whether getting Amazon Prime for Prime Reading is right for you!
Is Prime Reading Worth It?
One common question people ask is whether Prime Reading is worth it. To me, it absolutely is!…but only if you have Prime already or will use many of the other benefits that come along with Prime.
There are TONS of Amazon Prime benefits, and you can see a full list of all the perks here. But some of the benefits include free two-day shipping, Prime Video, Prime Music, exclusive savings, Amazon Fresh for groceries, and other reading benefits including Amazon First Reads. So you should definitely take a look at all the benefits of Prime and see if it is right for you. If it is, then you should join and you will get free access to Prime Reading!
But if you do not already have Prime and do not think you will use any of the other benefits, I would say that access to the Prime Reading program is likely not worth paying for a Prime membership. After all, you will be paying $12.99 per month for access to only 1,000 free titles…which isn’t great, compared to other book subscription services.
BUT even if you don’t want to pay for Prime, don’t forget you can get a free 30-day trial which will allow you access to Prime Reading for free for 30 days. I’d say that offer is most definitely worth it!
Are Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited the Same?
Because Amazon has so many different perks and services for readers, there is often some confusion between the different programs. One thing many people wonder about is Amazon Prime Reading vs. Kindle Unlimited.
So are Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited the same? No, they are actually two completely different services.
Prime Reading is offered as part of the Prime subscription service, where you get many different benefits for $12.99 per month. This service gives you unlimited access to 1,000 Kindle ebooks, magazines, comics, and audiobooks.
Meanwhile, Kindle Unlimited is a separate subscription that costs $9.99 per month for just this one service. But one of the big differences is that Kindle Unlimited offers unlimited access to over 1.4 million Kindle ebooks, magazines, and audiobooks. So the difference in the number of titles offered is huge!
So if you’re just looking for a free add-on perk to your Amazon Prime membership, then Prime Reading is the way to go. If you’re looking for a more substantial reading service, then you might want to look at some other services including Kindle Unlimited.
Other Prime Reading FAQ
There are a lot of frequently asked questions about Prime Reading, so you’ll find answers to some of the most common questions here.
1. Is Prime Reading free?
Are Prime Reading books free? Yes and no. Yes, Prime Reading is free…if you already have an Amazon Prime membership. If you do not have a Prime membership, then you will need to sign up for Prime to access this “free” perk.
If you don’t want to buy Prime, however, you can at least sign up for a 30-day free trial which will give you access to Prime Reading for free for 30 days.
2. Is there a student discount for Prime Reading?
If you are a student, you can get Amazon Prime and Prime Reading for free for six months with a free 6 month trial! When the trial ends, you can continue your Prime membership and your access to Prime Reading for $6.49 per month or $59 per year.
3. Can you use Prime Reading on Kindle?
Another common question is what device to use to read Prime Reading books and whether you can access Prime Reading on your Kindle device. To access Prime Reading, you can use any device you own—Kindle, smartphone, computer, etc.—as long as that device has the free Kindle app installed.
So where is Prime Reading on Kindle? You can find and access your Prime Reading books using the methods outlined in the section above titled “How to Use Amazon Prime Reading.”
4. Can you keep Prime Reading books?
Prime Reading allows you to access or “check out” up to 10 books at a time. So as long as you have a Prime membership, you can keep those 10 Prime Reading books borrowed on your devices. However, you do not own these books forever but are simply borrowing them for a time.
5. When do Prime Reading books expire?
Your Prime Reading books do not expire or have a due date. The only time you would lose access to your borrowed titles is if your Prime membership itself expires or you cancel your membership.
As you only get access to a total of 10 titles at one time, though, you will likely want to return some of your Prime Reading books after you have finished with them. You can return titles at any time.
But if you prefer, you can keep checking out books all the way until you hit the 10 book limit, and then you will be prompted to return at least one of your books before you are able to borrow a new title.
6. Can Prime Reading be shared with others?
Amazon has an exciting program called Amazon Household, and this program allows you to share some of your Prime benefits with other members of your family.
To use this program, you can link up to two adult Amazon accounts and four teen and four child accounts into what is called a “household.” This is incredible, as only one account needs to pay for Prime and that account can share Prime benefits and digital content with all the other linked accounts!
So if you’re wondering, “Can I share Prime Reading with family?”…the answer is yes! Prime Reading is one of the benefits you are permitted to share with your Household on Amazon, which means all of the linked account can access this service to get free books!
If a Prime Reading book goes off the Prime Reading list, is it also removed from my list (if I have put it in my library and haven’t read it yet)?
Hi Tina! It’s my understanding that if you’ve placed it in your library (where you can borrow/download up to 10 titles at a time) then you should continue to have access to it until you decide to return it or exchange it for downloading another book. I have not personally had a book downloaded while it was removed from Prime Reading, but I believe you should be fine as long as it is in your library!