Is Scribd Safe & Legitimate? What to Know Before Subscribing

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What we’ve learned from Scribd’s customer service reviews and more

Co-authored by Dan Rubianes and Elaine Heredia, BA

Last Updated: March 5, 2025 Fact Checked

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Is Scribd safe?

Is it easy to cancel?

What is Scribd?

How Scribd Works

Pros

Cons

How to Subscribe

How to Cancel

Key Takeaways

Scribd used to tout themselves as "Netflix for books," but is that still (or was it ever) true? Lots of former subscribers don't seem to think so, and their negative reviews of the service are making new users question if Scribd is safe to use at all. This helpful article will clear the air by explaining what Scribd is, whether it's safe or a scam, how it works, how to cancel it, and much more!

Is Scribd safe & legal?

Yes, Scribd is a safe & legal document, e-book, & audiobook subscription service. It's also not a scam or a virus. Despite that, many users complain about Scribd, saying they don't refund canceled subscriptions, that they keep charging after you cancel, and that they're misleading about how much content users can view.

Section 1 of 9:

Is Scribd safe?

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Yes, Scribd is safe to use and isn't a scam or a virus. Scribd is a legitimate company and a perfectly legal business. However, many former subscribers who reviewed Scribd online say they didn't enjoy their experience with the service and felt scammed or deceived. This is because Scribd has a confusing way of handling subscription cancellations and restricting how much content they'll allow users access to in a month.
- Scribd currently has a 1.5 out of 5-star rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and isn't BBB-accredited. To achieve that honor, Scribd would have to hold to BBB's accreditation standards, such as building trust with their customers, telling the truth, advertising honestly, honoring promises, etc.
- Trustpilot, where consumers can leave business reviews and rate their trustworthiness, shows a 1.4 out of 5-star rating for Scribd. 79% of the more than 3800 reviews are 1-star only.

Section 2 of 9:

Is it easy to cancel Scribd or Everand?

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Yes, although some subscribers say Scribd charged them after canceling. Scribd provides simple, step-by-step instructions for canceling your subscription, whether you signed up through Scribd or Everand. They also explain how to stop a subscription if you signed up through an app store, like Apple's App Store or Google Play.
- Several Scribd reviewers on Trustpilot complained that Scribd continued to charge their bank account every month for their service, even after the customer canceled. With that in mind, monitor your bank account after you cancel Scribd or Everand to make sure they stop charging you.
- If they don't, use Scribd's chat support feature on their website to ask for a refund and have them completely remove you from their subscription list.
- After you cancel your subscription, your Scribd or Everand account will be converted into the free version. This means you'll still have limited access to all 3 products.

Section 3 of 9:

What is Scribd?

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Scribd is a subscription service with a library of over 195 million documents. Anyone subscribed to Scribd can read, save, and download these documents (and even upload their own), which include academic papers, legal documents, manuals, and more. The subscription costs $11.99 per month and also comes with access to 2 separate products: Everand and Slideshare.
- In addition to documents, Scribd used to offer users "unlimited access" to e-books and audiobooks. In November 2023, however, they split up into 3 separate products: Scribd; Everand (their e-book and audiobook subscription); and SlideShare (similar to Scribd but for slideshow presentations instead of documents).^{[1]
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- You can also subscribe to Everand directly and still access Scribd and SlideShare.

Section 4 of 9:

How Scribd Works

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Scribd subscribers get access to Scribd, Everand, and SlideShare. For $11.99 a month, you can read any of the 195 million documents in the Scribd library (ad-free) and download them for offline viewing. You also get access to Everand's e-book and audiobook library, plus SlideShare and millions of presentations uploaded by Scribd community members.
- What’s Everand? Everand is a service where users use credits to unlock "premium" book titles. Everand launched its credit system in 2024, making their subscribers use it the same way they use Audible, Amazon's popular audiobook subscription service.^{[2]
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- Before that, an Everand subscription would give you access to all their titles, even the popular ones (or so they claimed). Many longtime users resented the shift to credits, saying it changed what made Everand unique and useful.

Section 5 of 9:

Scribd & Everand Pros

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Scribd and Everand subscribers get 3 products for 1 monthly fee. Whether you sign up for Scribd or Everand, you can still use all 3 products Scribd offers: Scribd, Everand, and SlideShare. The difference is if you sign up with Everand directly, you can choose the $16.99 tier and get 3 unlock credits per month instead of just one.
- Regardless, you'll still be able to read and download millions of documents, presentations, and book titles!
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You can save e-books and audiobooks and view them offline. Everand users can build a TBR ("to be read") list by saving titles they're interested in. This saves them from having to search for them again later. They can also download any items they've unlocked or have access to so they can enjoy them without an internet connection.
- Not sure what you want to add to your TBR? Try out our "What book should I read next?" quiz!

Section 6 of 9:

Scribd & Everand Cons

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Scribd and Everand subscriptions can be frustrating to cancel. Some former subscribers claim they canceled their subscription only to be charged again the next month or a few months later. Others say they canceled and immediately lost titles they saved, which they planned to read during their remaining days of service. They also either couldn't find or add the titles that were in their save list back.^{[3]
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- The users whose service was restricted after they canceled Scribd or Everand feel like they didn't get their money's worth. When they asked for refunds for the partial service, Scribd denied their request. It's currently Scribd's policy to only offer refunds for unused subscription time if the subscriber didn't use their Scribd or Everand account at all.^{[4]
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- Scribd requires subscribers to contact them within 30 days after a charge they want to dispute goes through their bank account.
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Everand's "unlimited access to a select catalog" claim is potentially misleading. People interested in using Everand may be drawn in by the words "unlimited access." But if they read carefully, they discover that their unlimited access is restricted to a pool of only 20,000 books – none of which include premium titles, which are always published more recently and are the most popular. Users can only read those titles if they unlock them with monthly credits.
- Before they rolled out a new subscription structure for Everand in 2024, Scribd claimed they were "Netflix for books," giving subscribers the impression that they would be able to access Scribd's full e-book and audiobook library for a monthly fee. Many subscribers soon realized, however, that Scribd controlled which books they had "unlimited access" to read.^{[5]
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  Research source} This led some of them to think of Scribd (and later Everand) as a scam.
- Everand's 2024 subscription structure introduced the credits system and set more specific guidelines about what kind of "unlimited access" users would get with their plan.

Section 7 of 9:

How to Subscribe to Scribd or Everand

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Sign up for Scribd or Everand on one of their websites. Go to scribd.com or everand.com and click "Download free for 30 days" or "Read free for 30 days" in the upper right corner of the homepage. Then, sign up with your preferred email address and a password for your account. You'll also be required to provide a credit or debit card number. And if you're subscribing to Everand, you'll need to choose either the Standard subscription tier for $11.99 or the Plus tier for $16.99.
- For the first 30 days, your service will be free. After that, Scribd or Everand will bill you for the subscription once a month.
Open your Apple or Android device's app store and type "Scribd" or "Everand" in the search engine. Select the app you're looking for from the top search results and download it. When it's installed on your mobile device, open it and follow the prompts on the screen to sign up with a new account.

Section 8 of 9:

How to Cancel Scribd or Everand

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Cancel Scribd or Everand through your account page on the website. Go to scribd.com or everand.com and click "Sign in" in the top right-hand corner of the homepage. Enter your login information and go to your account page. Navigate to the Subscription & Payment Details section on your account page and click "End My Subscription" or "Cancel Subscription." Read and review each page of the cancelation process carefully without skipping any of them.^{[6]
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- When you receive a confirmation message and an email saying your subscription is canceled, that's how you know the cancelation process is complete.
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Unsubscribe an Apple or Google Pay subscription on your mobile device. If you subscribed to Scribd or Everand through an app store on your iPhone or Android, you may need to cancel it by going back into the app store or opening your phone's settings. Here's how to do that using Apple's App Store or Google Play.^{[7]
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- Canceling through the App Store: Open the settings on your Apple device. Select your Apple ID, then tap Subscriptions. Tap Scribd or Everand (whichever one you're subscribed to) and then Cancel Subscription.
- Canceling through Google Play: Open the Google Play app on your Android device and tap on the profile picture in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Tap Payments & Subscriptions, then Subscriptions. Find Scribd or Everand in the subscription list, then tap Cancel subscription.

Section 9 of 9:

Is Scribd Safe? In a Nutshell

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Scribd is a safe subscription service, but not a lot of people like using it. Many past subscribers of first Scribd and then Everand are dissatisfied with how few e-book and audiobook titles they had access to. Some also claim they were charged for their subscription even after they canceled. However, as long as you understand how the new Everand credit system works, you may have a more pleasant experience.
- If you're not happy with Scribd or if it just doesn't sound like it's for you, you can also try Audible or check if your local library offers books on Libby or Hoopla for free.