Kobo Plus and How It Compares to Kindle Unlimited
Lots of authors are leaving Kindle Unlimited. If you’re on Facebook, Tik Tok, or Instagram, you’ve probably seen an author you follow mention their books are leaving KU.
You may remember that I wrote a blog post on why some authors are leaving KU earlier this summer. You can read that blog here, but I want to talk more about Kobo Plus. I mentioned it in my last blog about the topic, but let’s really talk it through.
What is Kobo Plus? Is it cheaper than Kindle Unlimited? Does it provide a better author experience for authors?
Let’s answer these.
#1- Kobo Plus is Kobo’s version of Kindle Unlimited. What is Kobo and Kobo Plus? Kobo’s a Canadian company that, in the past, catered mostly to the international crowd. Recent stats show that, while Americans usually go straight to Amazon when we hear about a book we want to read, Canadians split on that. Canadians and Europeans are much more likely to go to Kobo.
Because, Ryan Reynolds, until this year, Kobo specialized in those countries. They have a clean platform that doesn’t have different territories that can have pricing in one territory that differs from pricing in another (cough cough.) It was available in the US, but Kobo Plus was not available for Americans until April of 2023.
#2- Cost: Get this. It’s actually cheaper than Kindle Unlimited, and you can also get audio.
No Audible membership that only gives you one credit a month. No separate Kindle Unlimited subscription. You CAN get all you can listen audio in two of the available packages.
So, what’s the price? As of the time I write this, you can get all you can read eBooks for $8 USD a month. You can get all you can listen for $8 a month. If you want BOTH, it costs ONLY $10 a month. Here’s the link to the Kobo Plus pricing.
But Tori, Audible has me by the balls. If I cancel, I’ll lose the books I haven’t read yet but have used credits for?
True. But you can PAUSE your subscription for up to 90 days, buying you time to listen to the books you have. That’s also enough time for you to do your 30 day free Kobo trial to see if that works for you. You can then cancel Audible.
Which brings me to…
#3- You get a free 30-day trial. (Although, when I signed up for Kobo, they sent me an email with a special offer giving me 60 days. That may have been a temporary promotion.) You can search around and see if authors in Kobo Plus are for you for thirty days before you pay your $8.
#4- Let’s talk about authors. When an author is in Kindle Unlimited, they’re locked into the exclusivity of Kindle Unlimited. They can’t have their eBooks on any other platform. (That does not apply to audio or paperbacks.)
With the lower royalties being paid out and Amazon’s acceptance of AI and low content books that push the rank down for real creators, authors are disgruntled with the program. Many of us have simply picked up our balls (hahaha) and have gone home. Why would we be exclusive to a retailer that bans legitimate authors because their work is pirated, pays us a third of a penny for a page read, and has done nothing to stop the AI content mill that has pushed our author rank down so our visibility is reduced? (All while raising the Kindle Unlimited rate for our readers?)
Pretty much.
Now, this is not a dig at people that love their Kindle Unlimited. I have 4 pen names. One is going to stay in Kindle Unlimited, simply because it would be a pain to move my entire catalog wide (it’s huge under that pen) and readers for that niche like KU. Fine.
But I left with my romance pen name and two erotica names. Other authors are leaving in droves too. This is why.
#4 Kobo’s author rules: In comparison, Kobo Plus does NOT require authors to be exclusive. We can put our book on Kobo, make it available on Kobo Plus, and also have it on Amazon, (just not in Kindle Unlimited) on Barnes and Noble, Apple, Scribd, and in libraries. Hell, we can wallpaper the street, and Kobo wouldn’t care a bit about what we do with our work.
#5 How do authors get paid? We talked about how authors get paid per page read on Kindle Unlimited. Kobo Plus works a bit differently. We get paid per time increments. The magic number as I write this is 300 minutes. After 300 minutes, we get a payout. If our books are shorts, it may take a few people to read the book over time to get a payout. If our books are longer, it may take only one read through.
#6 Do they have things I’ll want to read? Ah…the five million dollar question. (Or $8 question, I guess.)
Here are links to some popular authors on Kobo that are enrolled in Kobo Plus.
The Cuffing Season Contract by Tori Ross
Come on…Did you think I wouldn’t promote my own books?
In all seriousness:
Priest by Sierra Simone BTW- MOST of her stuff is there. She also had a great blurb about Kobo Plus in her newsletter a while back. So, if you’re a fan…just saying.
Perfect Together by Kristen Ashley
Captured by Lauren Biel – Amazon banned the eBook version entirely. You can read it on Kobo Plus if you like DARK romance.
On His Six by Patricia D. Eddy
Dominik by Sawyer Bennett – It looks like most of her catalog is also out there.
And many more!
Do I think it’s worth it for authors to be in Kobo Plus? Yes. There’s nothing to lose since we don’t have to be exclusive.
Is it worth it for readers? Yes! It’s cheaper even, as long as you can find the books you want to read. (Remember to use that free trial!)
Happy reading
