Kindle Unlimited works only on Kindle e-readers and the free Kindle app, and Kobo Plus works only on Kobo eReaders, the Kobo app and kobo.com, so the device you read on picks the subscription. At ReadNext, we match books for Kindle and Kobo readers alike, and every pick starts from the device the reader uses.
If you read primarily on a phone or tablet, price and catalog determine which service fits your reading habits best. In the United States, Kobo Plus starts at $7.99 per month for ebooks, while Kindle Unlimited costs $11.99 per month according to DealNews.
Kobo Plus vs Kindle Unlimited by Price and Device
Device compatibility settles the choice between Kobo Plus and Kindle Unlimited before catalog size or subscription tiers come into play. A reader who owns an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite cannot load Kobo Plus books onto that hardware, because Kobo Common Questions lists Kindle devices and Sony Readers as unsupported. A reader who owns a Kobo Clara or Kobo Libra cannot access Kindle Unlimited titles on that screen, because Amazon restricts Kindle store downloads to Kindle devices and official apps.
If you read on a phone or tablet, you can install both the free Kindle app and the Kobo app on iOS or Android, so price, catalog and country decide instead.
Country availability also draws a strict boundary between both platforms. As documented on Kobo Plus Subscription Help, Kobo Plus is sold in 34 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and several European and South American nations.
| Feature | Kobo Plus | Kindle Unlimited |
|---|---|---|
| US Monthly Price | $7.99 (Read), $7.99 (Listen), or $9.99 (Read & Listen) | $11.99 (reported by DealNews; confirm at signup) |
| Catalog Size | Over 1.5 million ebooks, over 150,000 audiobooks | Millions of titles, thousands of audiobooks |
| Simultaneous Borrow Limit | No published limit | Up to 20 titles at a time |
| Free Trial Period | First 14 days free in the US (varies by region) | Offered to eligible accounts; length not published |
| E-Reader Hardware | Kobo eReaders (except Kobo Mini and Kobo Wi-Fi) | Any Kindle device |
| App Support | Kobo app (Android, iOS) and kobo.com | Free Kindle app (smartphone, tablet, computer) |
| Audiobook Access | Included in Listen ($7.99) or Read & Listen ($9.99) | Included with membership at no extra cost |
| Membership Pause | Not published | Allowed for 1 month (not during trials or promotions) |
Pricing Plans and Subscription Tiers
Kobo Plus splits its service into three distinct pricing tiers in the United States, as outlined on Kobo Plans. Subscribers who only want digital text pay $7.99 per month for Kobo Plus Read, gaining access to over 1.5 million ebooks. Subscribers who only want spoken audio pay $7.99 per month for Kobo Plus Listen, which opens over 150,000 audiobooks. The combined Kobo Plus Read & Listen plan costs $9.99 per month for both formats.
Amazon takes a single-tier approach with Kindle Unlimited. While Amazon’s own pages do not publish a standard monthly price on their promotional landing page, DealNews reports the standard US rate at $11.99 per month. Confirm the current price on the Kindle Unlimited signup page.
If you only read ebooks, Kobo Plus Read costs $4.00 less a month than Kindle Unlimited ($11.99 minus $7.99), which is $48.00 a year ($4.00 times 12). If you choose both reading and listening, Kobo Plus Read & Listen costs $2.00 less each month than Kindle Unlimited ($11.99 minus $9.99), generating $24.00 in annual savings ($2.00 times 12).
Free trials differ across both platforms. Kobo Plus provides a 14-day free trial for new subscribers in the United States, though Kobo Plus Help notes that free trial availability and duration vary by region. Amazon offers a free trial to eligible accounts on its signup page, but Amazon publishes no standard duration, and eligible accounts are automatically converted to a monthly paid plan once that trial concludes.
Gift memberships and prepaid terms follow different rules on Amazon. Per Amazon Kindle Unlimited Help, Kindle Unlimited can be purchased as a gift in 6-, 12-, and 24-month options, though Amazon publishes no specific pricing for these gift terms on that help page.
Borrowing Limits and Cancellation Rules
According to Amazon Customer Service, Kindle Unlimited allows members to borrow up to 20 titles at a time across supported genres, with magazine issues counting directly toward that 20-title limit. Borrowed titles carry no return due dates, but when you reach the 20-item ceiling, you must return an existing title before checking out a new one.
Kobo does not publish a borrowing limit for Kobo Plus. Subscribers can add titles showing the Read with Kobo Plus badge directly to their library and keep reading without managing a strict 20-slot shelf count. However, only books carrying the official Kobo Plus indicator belong to the program, meaning unbadged titles in the Kobo store require an individual retail purchase.
Cancelling either service ends access to borrowed books. Under Amazon Membership Terms, when you cancel Kindle Unlimited, your membership remains active until the next scheduled billing date, after which you lose access to all checked-out content. Amazon offers no partial refunds for unused months of a prepaid plan, though members can pause their subscription for a single 1-month period if they are not on an active promotion or trial. Kobo says that if you cancel Kobo Plus, you no longer have access to your Kobo Plus books.
Amazon also allows members to share Kindle Unlimited content with designated family profiles through an Amazon Family account. Amazon also says titles in the Kindle Unlimited catalog can change at any time.
Audiobook Catalog and Narration Features
Kobo Plus sells audio as its own plan or bundled alongside text. The Kobo Plus Listen tier ($7.99 per month) and Read & Listen tier ($9.99 per month) open over 150,000 audiobook titles. Kobo Plus works on Kobo eReaders (except the Kobo Mini and Kobo Wi-Fi), the Kobo app for Android and iOS, and kobo.com.
Kindle Unlimited bundles audio access into its single monthly subscription at no extra charge. The Amazon Kindle Unlimited Audiobooks Hub states that members can listen to thousands of audiobooks by opening a downloaded title in the latest version of the Kindle app and tapping the headphones icon at the bottom corner. In the Kindle app, users locate these books by filtering specifically for audiobooks or looking for the with Narration headset badge on product pages.
Amazon does not say Kindle Unlimited audio plays on Kindle e-readers. For other audio, Amazon’s Bluetooth Help says Kindle e-readers play sound only through a paired Bluetooth device, and only models released in or after 2016 support Bluetooth. Readers should not expect subscription audiobooks to function on e-ink Kindle devices without verifying format indicators on individual book listings.
Amazon Narration Help lists the Audible apps, Fire tablets and Amazon Echo as other places to listen, but the Kindle Unlimited hub describes only the Kindle app, so check a title’s page before relying on another device. Furthermore, Amazon notes that syncing position between devices is supported on borrowed and purchased titles, but experiencing Immersion Reading and running the Audible player inside Kindle apps requires purchasing the title outright.
Kindle Unlimited does not include Audible’s catalog or Audible credits. Audible is a separate membership. Read & Listen, formerly called Whispersync for Voice, keeps your place when you switch between an audiobook and its Kindle eBook in the Audible apps on Android, iOS and macOS, and on Fire tablets.
Prime Reading as a Kindle Unlimited Alternative
Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited are separate Amazon offerings. According to Amazon Prime Reading Help, Prime Reading is an included benefit of an Amazon Prime membership, whereas Kindle Unlimited is billed separately regardless of whether you have an active Prime account.
Prime Reading offers a rotating selection drawn from the broader Kindle Unlimited library. Prime members can borrow up to 10 eligible titles at a time from a large selection that includes books with Audible Narration, Amazon Originals, comics, and magazines. Once you return a borrowed item, you can select another from the rotating collection.
If you already pay for Prime and read only a few books a month, check whether Prime Reading carries them before paying for Kindle Unlimited. Readers who want more than 10 titles at a time need Kindle Unlimited’s 20.
File Formats and DRM on Each Device
Reading outside a proprietary app depends entirely on file formats and digital rights management. According to Amazon KDP Help, DRM-protected Kindle books can be read only on Kindle apps and Kindle devices. Amazon explicitly states that readers cannot transfer protected books to non-Kindle hardware or use them on third-party e-readers.
Publishers can choose to sell a Kindle book without DRM, and buyers of those books can download it as a PDF or EPUB file; whether a book is DRM-free is the publisher’s choice.
Kobo devices use a far more open file environment for purchased and sideloaded files. As outlined on Kobo File Formats Help, Kobo eReaders support EPUB, EPUB2, EPUB3, PDF, FlePub, and MOBI files, along with text, image, and comic formats such as TXT, HTML, RTF, CBZ, and CBR. Kobo also supports Adobe DRM and Social DRM, and EPUB or PDF files that arrive as an ACSM file are Adobe DRM files you load through Adobe Digital Editions.
Even with Kobo’s broader file compatibility, Kobo Plus subscription titles circulate strictly within the Kobo ecosystem. You cannot download a Kobo Plus title to sideload onto a Kindle e-reader. Each subscription remains locked to its respective native application and supported family of dedicated e-readers.
Verdict on Choosing Kobo Plus or Kindle Unlimited
Pick Kindle Unlimited if you own an Amazon Kindle e-reader, read regularly on the free Kindle app, or want the larger catalog (millions of titles against Kobo Plus’s 1.5 million ebooks). The service also suits patrons who want access to popular series and rotating magazines within a single monthly fee.
Pick Kobo Plus if you own a Kobo eReader, read primarily in one of the 34 supported countries, and want a lower monthly cost ($7.99 for Kobo Plus Read against $11.99 for Kindle Unlimited per DealNews). Kobo Plus also fits readers who want an audiobook-only plan: Kobo Plus Listen at $7.99.
This recommendation flips if you read too few books for a subscription to pay. Divide the monthly price ($7.99 for Kobo Plus Read, $11.99 for Kindle Unlimited per DealNews) by what you usually pay for an ebook; if you read fewer books than that each month, buying titles or borrowing from your library costs less.
If you want to evaluate dedicated reading hardware before picking an ecosystem, compare the devices in our breakdown of Kindle vs Kobo. For a deeper assessment of Amazon’s standalone reading program, read our analysis on whether Kindle Unlimited is worth it, or examine how Amazon handles spoken audio in our guide comparing Kindle Unlimited vs Audible. You can also estimate your pace with our Reading Time Calculator or explore our general hub on How to Read More, and Better to build a regular reading routine.