Amazon has renamed Kindle Unlimited to Kindle+. The US price stays at $11.99 a month, and the borrowing rules haven’t changed. The one substantive change, reported by ZDNet, is that AI-narrated audiobooks are joining the catalogue.
What Kindle+ actually changes
Amazon updated its subscription explainer page on October 22 to reflect the new Kindle+ name. Members can still borrow up to 20 ebooks, audiobooks or comics at a time. There are no due dates while you stay subscribed.
Amazon’s page says thousands of ebooks come with companion audiobooks. ZDNet reports that this audiobook list will now include titles narrated by AI. Those recordings come from Virtual Voice, a tool Amazon offers free to authors who self-publish through Kindle Direct Publishing.
ZDNet also says Amazon will not raise the price of Kindle+. Amazon’s own page simply lists the current US price of $11.99 a month plus taxes. Android Central reports that the expanded audiobook selection is US-only for now, with other countries to follow later.
Why the AI narration matters to subscribers
For listeners, the practical question is whether a given audiobook has a human or an AI narrator. As of October 23, Amazon’s Kindle+ page doesn’t mention AI narration at all. We haven’t been able to confirm whether these titles are labelled as AI-narrated in the Kindle app.
ZDNet points to the risk this poses for professional narrators, since authors can now get narration at no cost. There’s a subscriber angle too. Free AI narration could let Amazon advertise a bigger audiobook library without paying human narrators for it. You pay the same $11.99 either way, so a higher audiobook count may be worth less than it sounds.
How to use Kindle+ on Android and iPhone
You don’t need a Kindle e-reader to subscribe. Kindle+ works in the free Kindle app on Android and iOS, as well as on Mac, PC and the web.
Amazon lists the service in the US, the UK, India, Brazil, Japan, Germany and many other markets. Its page confirms only the US price, so check your local Amazon store for pricing elsewhere.
- Price: $11.99 a month plus taxes in the US
- Borrowing limit: up to 20 ebooks, audiobooks or comics at once, with no due dates
- Prime: not included; Prime members get a curated slice of the catalogue and one free First Reads book a month
- Cancelling: access lasts until your next billing date, with no refund for fees already paid
Weighing a Kindle device too? Amazon has also raised Kindle, Echo and Fire TV prices and blamed memory costs.
Sources: Amazon, ZDNet, Android Central
