One minute review
Scribd started out as a document-sharing platform in 2007, but grew from there to become a subscription service for eBooks and audiobooks, like Kindle Unlimited and Kobo Plus. There's a pretty decent library of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, podcasts, sheet music, and of course the aforementioned stuff too. Users can still download them, and will find everything from court documents to academic papers, even recipes, on the platform.
That's not Scrib's main feature, though: In its current form, Scribd is intended to be a real threat to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited reading platform, and the potential is there. They both cost the same, but what each platform offers is a little different.
First of all, Scribd has a lot more variety in its library (as we mentioned before), but the number of ebook and audiobook titles is much more limited compared to Kindle Unlimited. In fact, Scribd has more audiobooks than ebooks, but it's definitely a better selection than what you'll find on Kobo Plus, for example (which is only available in certain markets at the time of this writing).
While Kindle Unlimited offers magazines to its US subscribers, other markets can't access them, and Scribd can fill the gap. However, the number of magazines available on Scribd is limited, and if you're really into print magazines, you'll find Readly to be a better option in terms of titles offered and user experience. And while podcasts are a great addition to Scribd (something you won't find on Kindle Unlimited), most of them are available for free on other platforms.
What's really interesting about Scribd, though, is the availability of something called Snapshots. These are short snippets of popular eBooks, perfect for anyone short on time but who loves keeping up with the latest titles. And then there are the sheet music, from classical to country, from pop to Disney.
While you can read on the Amazon platform with any Kindle device or app, Scribd is only available online in a browser or via iOS and Android apps. That might not be a problem for some, but if you already have a Kindle or Kobo e-reader, switching to reading on a phone or tablet might not be the most satisfying experience.
Scribd Pricing and Availability
- Same price as Kindle Unlimited
- Free access to other apps as perks
- Free 30-day trial
A monthly subscription to Scribd will set you back $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99. That's exactly the price of Kindle Unlimited in the US and UK, but Scribd costs a dollar more if you're in Australia.
Unlike Kindle Unlimited, however, your Scribd subscription does give you some perks, like free access to six other platforms covering music and movie streaming (such as Mubi and CONtv+Comics), plus educational apps (such as Peak Pro and CuriosityStream).
You can subscribe to Scribd from anywhere in the world, just pay the equivalent US price if your country doesn't have an official Scribd site.
Scribd Library and Content
- many audiobooks
- Limited ebooks
- Good collection of magazines and podcasts.
As we mentioned at the beginning of this review, there is a lot to Scribd. As versatile as it sounds on paper, the individual libraries of each content type are limited. Let's start with the obvious: eBooks. While there's plenty here to keep you busy for a long time, you might be disappointed if you're looking for something specific. Some missing examples we found were David Graeber's The Dawn of Everything and Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy.
However, the number of audiobooks on Scribd is much more impressive. Some titles that don't have ebook versions on Scribd can be found in audiobook format. For example, Neil Price's Children of Ash and Elm and Mary Beard's SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome are only available as audiobooks. Another example of the shortfall in e-book titles is Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series: all 10 are available as audiobooks, but none in e-book form.
Interestingly, most of the e-book titles we've listed are available as user-downloaded PDF documents, although it's not clear if these are legitimate downloads or not.
As for magazines, you won't get as extensive a collection as at Readly, but there are some great options on Scribd, including Time, Marie Claire, and National Geographic. It's also missing some obvious big names, like Reader's Digest and Cosmopolitan. That being said, the newsstand spans multiple genres, including news and current affairs, technology, and lifestyle.
There's also a pretty decent collection of podcasts, including Grounded with Louis Theroux, Day X, Revisionist History, and Criminal. Pretty much everything we're looking for is found on Scribd, however, they're also available for free on the Apple and Google Podcast services.
We don't know exactly what sheet music does on Scribd, but if you're an avid musician, you can strike gold and that alone may be worth the cost of the subscription to you. There are many sheet music, from songs from Disney to Broadway, from Mozart to Frank Sinatra, to Beyonce, Adele and Taylor Swift.
Buyer beware though, there could be questionable charges in the Documents section. All of these are uploaded by users, and while some may be useful to students and researchers, some may not have been obtained legally. But you might find some really delicious recipes in this section.
User Experience
- Mobile apps are easy to use
- Clumsy browser interface
- Formatting issues in some ebooks
Scribd can be used in a desktop, phone, or tablet browser, with apps available for Apple and Android operating systems. If you use all three types of devices for Scribd, rest assured that your account syncs in near real time. So you can use your phone to listen to an audiobook on the go and pick up right where you left off on your computer, for example, when you get home.
Signing up is easy, and you get a 30-day free trial to try out the service before you have to pay the monthly fee.
Using the Scribd app on mobile or tablet is quite simple and intuitive, and browsing the catalog is easy with sections for different genres and categories. The different types of content are neatly organized at the top of the app, and there are even curated lists for anyone who wants to find a new story to get lost in.
When you find something you want to read or listen to, simply save it by tapping the bookmark icon. If you can't decide what to read, there are editor-curated lists you can explore and Scribd's algorithm will constantly recommend titles based on your saves. You can even download items to read or listen to offline, and there's theoretically no limit to how many you can download at one time (we don't go past downloading five items at a time). times).
The quality of the audiobooks, based on the titles we've heard, is excellent, but if your device goes into sleep mode due to inactivity, the narration will stop unless you use the timer feature to put the app into sleep mode. suspension (the crescent moon icon). Audiobooks require the screen to be on at all times for it to work non-stop.
The quality of the e-books, for the most part, is excellent, but we did find a few that had formatting issues, not the kind you'd expect from a page that tries to automatically fit the screen size. We found quite a few with just one word on a line or large blank spaces after a paragraph (next one starts on the next page).
Note that the Scribd app itself doesn't have a dark mode option, but if your device's settings are selected for dark mode, all content on Scribd will appear on a black background.
Reading magazines is a mixed experience: none of the covers can be viewed full screen and you can only read one article at a time, without scrolling through the entire issue here. That said, each article is well formatted, with all the accompanying images nicely placed to avoid weird line and page breaks, no matter what screen size you're viewing it on.
However, the browser experience is not as good as it is on mobile or tablet. The interface is easy to navigate and use, yes, but it lacks elegance and isn't as well-organized as other services, sporting heavy design and wonky formatting throughout. That said, we believe that most users would prefer to read (or listen) on a portable device, so the online interface shouldn't be a problem.
The only drawback that could be a deal breaker for some potential Scribd users is the lack of eReader support. If you already own a Kindle, Amazon's eBook/Audiobook subscription service will be much more convenient for you. It's a similar case with Kobo users: where Kobo Plus is available, it would seem like a better option (and cost the same too). Scribd will likely have to go through some red tape to partner with some of the best e-reader brands, but if that can be worked out, then Scribd has the potential to give Kindle Unlimited a run for its money.
Should I subscribe to Scribd?
