The Ultimate Guide to Free Trials for Kindle Unlimited

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Give your wallet a break—get more ebooks without breaking the bank

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: April 23, 2025 Fact Checked

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Free Trials

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Free Kindle Unlimited with a New Kindle

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Finding Free Books on Amazon

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FAQ

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Kindle Unlimited Alternatives

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Tips

Do you want to get a Kindle Unlimited subscription for free? While free trials are hit and miss, you can also check out some alternatives for free books or buy a new or refurbished Kindle to get a free 3-month trial of KU. Read on to learn more about free trials of Kindle Unlimited, discounts, and more.

Can I Get Kindle Unlimited for Free?

You might find free trials for Kindle Unlimited, some of which are advertised on Amazon Kindle's website and social media sites. If you buy a new or certified refurbished Kindle, you get 4 months of free KU. Some people have claimed that they were offered discounts to keep Kindle Unlimited.

Section 1 of 5:

Free Trials

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Be on the lookout for free trials. Amazon Kindle's website and social media accounts announce when there's a new free trial out for grabs. You might be able to snag one of these free trials, which may net you months of using Kindle Unlimited for free!
- Some people claim^{[1]
  X
  Research source} that if they have the free trial and cancel it immediately (you will have access to the free trial until the promo ends, not when you cancel it), they are given the chance to keep the subscription for much cheaper than the full price. Others claim that they see more free trial offers (like on Instagram) and are able to claim those, so they get a lot of free months of Kindle Unlimited.
- Some online posts say the 3-month free trial usually activates around Prime Week, so that's something to keep an eye on.

Section 2 of 5:

Free Kindle Unlimited with a New Kindle

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Buy a new or refurbished Kindle with a 4-month Kindle Unlimited option. You don't have to buy a new Kindle for this to work; certified refurbished Kindles also count for the reward.
- Your 4-month Kindle Unlimited membership will begin once your order has been successfully placed. If you want to start reading before you receive your Kindle, you can read with the free Kindle app for Android and iOS.
- For existing monthly or free trial Kindle Unlimited subscribers who redeem this offer, renewals will be temporarily suspended for the duration of the 4 months and will restart at its conclusion, unless you disable renewal during those 4 months. For existing Kindle Unlimited subscribers who are on prepaid plan(s), the 3-month plan will start when your current prepaid plan(s) end, and renewals will restart at its conclusion unless you disable renewal during those 4 months.https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=17285110011

Section 3 of 5:

Finding Free Books on Amazon

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1
Search free books on the Amazon website. That search might appear under the search bar as you're typing, so click or tap it to avoid typing the entire phrase. You can also perform this search using the Amazon app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad.
- You will see a list of free books.
- If a book has a "Kindle Unlimited" tag on it, you will need a Kindle Unlimited subscription to get that book for free. If you don't have a subscription, you can buy the book at the offered price.
- If the book has a "Prime" tag next to it, you will get the book for free with "Prime Reading" as long as you have an Amazon Prime account.
- You can also find prices for other options including audiobook, hardcover, and paperback.
  - When you find a book that you want to get, tap Add to library or buy it.
Open a web browser and go to justkindlebooks.com and look at a category for books you like. Once you click or tap it, you will be taken directly to all the free books in that category on Amazon.
Click this link to see a list of the top free Kindle sellers. It changes hourly, so the #1 today most likely won't be the same tomorrow!
Go to this link to see a list of books available for free with Prime Reading. Prime Reading is only available to subscribers of Amazon Prime.
If you subscribe (for free) to the First Reads newsletter, you'll get these options sent to you every month. Otherwise, go to the First Reads site and see the books offered for free.

Section 4 of 5:

FAQ

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1
Do students get Kindle Unlimited for free? Prime Student offers college students a 6-month free trial, followed by a discounted Prime membership. Benefits include fast, free delivery, Prime Video, Amazon Music Prime, Kindle Unlimited, unlimited photo storage, and Prime Gaming. After four years or if the student graduates, it converts to a regular Prime membership.^{[2]
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Research source}.
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Is unlimited Kindle free with Prime? No. Kindle Unlimited is an extra subscription. However, Prime comes with Prime reading, which makes a few thousand books available for free every month.
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Can you keep Kindle Unlimited books forever? Any books that you paid for and bought are yours forever. However, the books that you borrowed will disappear when your KU subscription ends.
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Do Kindle owners have to pay for KU to use their Kindle? New Kindle purchases come with a free 4-month trial of KU, but after that ends, you do not have to continue paying for Kindle Unlimited to be able to read your books.
- If you look at the alternatives, you can download and read books on your Kindle from any source, like Libby or Prime Reading.
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Why can't I cancel Kindle Unlimited? You can only cancel your KU subscription using a web browser. The option used to be available on the app, but it is no longer available.

Section 5 of 5:

Kindle Unlimited Alternatives

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Here are some alternatives that are cheaper for you to try:
- Libby - Libby offers free access to ebooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines. You just need a library card and are good to go! Download the Libby app for your iPhone, iPad, Android, Amazon Fire tablet, Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook, then sign in with your library card. Search for the book you want to borrow, and it will appear in your "Shelf" so you can read it!
  - Note that you can read a Kindle book on your Kindle, computer, tablet, or phone. Read more about getting Libby on Kindle in this wikiHow article.
- Prime Reading—This is free if you're already an Amazon Prime member, and you can access it the same way you would access Kindle Unlimited: through the Kindle app or web browser. Prime Reading has a very limited selection compared to Kindle Unlimited, but it might be worth it if you aren't an avid reader.
- Google Play Books - While there's no monthly subscription for renting books, a lot of books also aren't available to rent. Instead, search for your book and see if there's a rental rate. This is the better option for KU if you don't want to pay a monthly subscription, but just need to borrow a specific book. Check your library in the Google Books app to see how long you have left in the rental.
- Kobo Plus - Like Kindle Unlimited, Kobo Plus is a reading subscription that offers access to both ebooks and audiobooks. Depending on your preferences, you can sign up for a plan that offers just ebooks, just audiobooks, or both! The first 30 days are free for new subscribers, so you can test it out before you commit to spending money.
- Everand - This subscription offers access to unlimited ebooks, audiobooks, newspapers, magazines, podcasts, and even sheet music. Like many of the other options listed here, Everand offers a free 30-day trial.
- Project Gutenberg - Go to Project Gutenberg's site to download free ebooks. You can choose between downloading a Kindle or epub format of the book, so you can read your ebooks on your Kindle or other devices. A strong Pro for this is that you don't need any additional apps or software to read the books you download!
- Internet Archive - Go to the Internet Archive's book selection to download or rent books for free. Some books are available to download for free while others are offered for rent. You can read books in your web browser or in the Kindle app, but you can only read rented books in the online book reader.

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Tips

If you download a book in a non-Kindle format, you can easily convert it. For example, you can email PDFs to your Kindle email so you can convert PDFs to MOBI (what your Kindle reads). This wikiHow article will show you how to put books on Kindle that you don't get from the Kindle or Amazon store.

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