10 Best Ways to Get Free or Low Cost Kindle Books
Owning a Kindle has been a gamechanger for me. Not only do I never have to worry about packing half a suitcase of books when I take a trip, I can instantly download whatever I fancy reading rather than having to take a trip to the bookshop or wait for a delivery.
However, Kindle books can be expensive, often the same price or even more than the paperback version. On the contary, Kindle books can also be subject to special offers, big discounts, or free altogether.
Here’s 10 ways to get free or low cost Kindle books in the UK.

Free or Low Cost Kindle Books using Amazon
Firstly, there are different ways to get free or low cost Kindle books within the Amazon site itself. The fact that there are numerous different options on Amazon causes a great deal of confusion for many customers in the first place.
For example, if you currently use Amazon Prime you may not even realise your current membership offers you some free Kindle books.
Read on to discover the different free Kindle books Amazon currently offer.
Amazon’s Free Kindle Ebooks
Even without a Kindle Unlimited or Amazon Prime membership, anyone can get certain Kindle books for free. Simply go to the Amazon homepage and type “Free Kindle Books”. The titles available for free will change regularly, but my search returned thousands of results.
A quick caveat – don’t expect to find your favourite best selling author’s latest novel in this list, but it is an excellent opportunity to find new authors you may otherwise have not splashed the cash on.
There will likely be a lot of titles that are not your thing, but filtering by genre and review rating will help you hone in on the titles you’re most interested in.

Kindle Unlimited
Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service costing £7.99 per month, but you can sign up for a free 30 day trial which can be cancelled at any time.
Kindle Unlimited allows users to access over 1 million Kindle eBooks, popular magazines and audiobooks. The selection available rotates on a regular basis.
What’s more, you don’t even need a Kindle to access this content. Download the Kindle app and you can read your free Kindle books and magazines on a mobile phone or tablet. You can “borrow” up to 10 items at a time, after which you can simply “return” items in a click to swap for new ones.
Prime Reading
If you’re already a member of Amazon Prime, you might not even realise you have access to free Kindle books with Prime Reading. This is a different service to Kindle Unlimited, so it can be easy to get confused.
What is the difference between Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading?
Although there can be a lot of crossover with the titles available in Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited, don’t assume a title is mutually exclusive on both platforms. Prime reading gives you access to around 1000 regularly rotated titles versus Kindle Unlimited’s 1 million titles.
Prime Reading is also limited to books as opposed to including magazines and audiobooks.
The best way to check what’s available is to head to the Kindle Store on the Amazon website and select “Prime Reading”.
Just like Kindle Unlimited, you can access up to 10 books at once and then simply return them and swap when you’re finished.
Although Prime Reading has a more limited selection of books, as it is included within Amazon Prime many people may prefer this option to access the range of other benefits Amazon Prime provides including free next day delivery, Amazon Music and Prime video.
Just like Kindle Unlimited, Amazon Prime membership is free for 30 days and then £7.99 per month which can be cancelled any time.
Kindle Daily Deals
By heading to the Kindle Daily Deals tab, you can find a selection of books for 99p. This is the place to find books by well known or best selling authors at a fraction of the usual cost. The titles change regularly, but I have found books by best selling authors such as Karin Slaughter, John Grisham, Jojo Moyes and Jenny Colgan to name a few.
There is a little icon that helpfully tells you if the book is available for free on Kindle Unlimited, but often they are not so I’m happy to pay 99p.
Amazon Classics
It is also possible to get free Kindle ebooks of classics that are no longer within copyright. A quick search at the time of writing revealed free versions of The Great Gatsby, The Railway Children and The Old Curiosity Shop, to name a few.
These titles may change regularly, so click to see what is currently available.
Free Audiobooks via Audible
Although this is not strictly a Kindle reading experience, it is another way to access free books via Amazon with a 30 day free Audible trial.
Just like Prime and Kindle Unlimited, this renews at £7.99 per month and can be cancelled any time.
The difference with the Audible trial is you can access premium books (1 at a time) that are not otherwise free on Amazon’s other subscription offers. Similar to Kindle Unlimited, there are also thousands of free titles that can be accessed for no additional cost as part of the membership.
I have to admit, listening to fiction novels as opposed to reading is not something I can ever see myself doing, but as an avid podcast listener I think I would find it much easier to access non fiction and informational content via audiobook, such as business and finance titles.
I find I struggle to stay focused when trying to read titles like this on my Kindle. What’s more, they can be played directly to your Echo device.
Many people love consuming books via audio so they can workout, drive or do chores as they listen, rather than finding the time to sit down and read.
Free or Low Cost Kindle Books via other platforms
There are also a number of third party sites and services offering free or low cost Kindle books.
Sign up to BookBub
Bookbub is a free service that lets you track free and lowcost ebooks according to genre, author and platform. As well as tracking free and low cost Kindle titles, you could search titles available on Apple Books, Kobo and Google.
Signing up takes a couple of minutes and I was able to select my genre, author and platform preferences easily to filter to Free Kindle titles.
OverDrive or Libby Through Your Public Library
In a similar way to Kindle Unlimited, your local library may have a free ebook lending service. My local library here in the North West of England use Libby. To sign up, you just need your existing library card number.
Overdrive is another similar service; it is down to the preference of your local area as to which service is used.
In a similar way to the other free ebook options, the selection was not infinite but there was around 4000 titles available. However, some were already borrowed so you had to put a hold request on them.
Check your local library for details to discover if they offer this service.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a completely free collection of eBooks that can be downloaded for free with no signup or device required.
Again, don’t expect to find your favourite contemporary best selling author here, but a quick search via “Most popular downloads” found classics available including Mary Shelley’s Frankenstien, The Importance of Being Ernest and Sense and Sensibility.
Centsless Books
Centsless books is another website offering free Kindle books. On the day I checked, the selection was the same as the titles being offered on the free section of the Amazon Kindle Store, but this may not always be the case.
You could also subscribe to their mailing list to get free updates and reminders about new titles.
Free Kindle Books and Tips
Free Kindle Books and Tips is another website showcasing free and low price Kindle Books. You can subcribe to their mailing list where you will then recieve emails alerting you to new free and low cost titles.
What is the best eReader or Kindle device to read on?
As stated above, you can access any Kindle ebook without an eReader simply by downloading the free Kindle app to any mobile or tablet.
However, there are two main places I do most of my reading – in bed at night, and on vacation. For this reason I much prefer reading on an e-reader device, as at night when I don’t want to be staring at a brightly lit screen; or on a sunlounger where a screen would be difficult to see, (not to mention getting covered in sand and suncream).
If you’ve never looked at the difference between reading on a tablet and a dedicated eReader before, an eReader has an appearance much more like paper and ink compared to a tablet screen, making it easy to read outside in bright sunlight.
My personal choice is the Kindle Paperwhite, which features an automatic backlight for night reading that is not the same as the glare from a phone screen.

About the Author
Melissa is a working parent who left behind a senior management salary for a better work/life balance. Following her own money saving and money making strategies she was able to clear debt and live a life she loves. Blogging, selling digital products on Etsy and selling preloved items on eBay are her favourite side hustles. Read her story here.
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