If you’ve spent any time looking for alternatives to Kindle Unlimited or Audible, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Scribd mentioned.

For years, it was pitched as a subscription where you could read ebooks and listen to audiobooks from one big library.

But today, Scribd is mostly focused on documents. Think PDFs, research papers, presentations, sheet music, and similar uploads.

The ebooks and audiobooks now live in a separate service called Everand.

That’s the app readers actually use when they subscribe for books, and inside it you’ll find ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, and a catalog of titles you can unlock each month.

Many readers still search for “Scribd” when they’re really trying to learn about Everand, since that’s where the reading subscription now lives. So when people say they’re using “Scribd to read books,” what they’re almost always talking about these days is Everand.

For the rest of this review, that’s the part we’re focusing on, since Everand is the service that competes with things like Kindle Unlimited and Audible.

How Everand compares to Kindle Unlimited and Audible

If you’re thinking about trying Everand, the real question most people have is how it stacks up against the other major reading subscriptions.

They’re all monthly subscriptions, and they all give you access to books or audiobooks, but the way they work is actually pretty different once you start digging into the details.

Kindle Unlimited is focused almost entirely on ebooks, especially books published through Amazon’s ecosystem. You can borrow multiple titles at once and read them as long as they stay in your library.

Audible works more like a credit system. Each month you get credits you can exchange for audiobooks, and once you use a credit, that book is yours to keep even if you cancel.

Everand sits somewhere in the middle.

Instead of credits or a strict borrowing limit, the service works with monthly unlocks for premium titles, along with a smaller catalog of books you can read or listen to without using an unlock.

So depending on how you read — lots of ebooks, mostly audiobooks, or a mix of both — one service may fit your habits better than the others.

The easiest way to see the differences is to put them side by side.

How Everand pricing works

At first glance, Everand looks like a pretty standard subscription.

You pay a monthly fee and get access to the catalog.

But once you start using it, you’ll notice it works a little differently than something like Kindle Unlimited.

Instead of giving you completely unlimited access to everything in the library, Everand uses what they call an unlock system.

Each month, your subscription gives you a certain number of premium unlocks, which you can use to read or listen to titles from the main catalog. Once you unlock a book, you can keep reading or listening to it as long as your subscription stays active.

Alongside those premium titles, there’s also a smaller unlimited catalog you can dip into without using an unlock.

So the way most people end up using Everand is a mix of both. They’ll use their unlocks for the books they really want, and then browse the unlimited catalog whenever they feel like trying something new.

As far as pricing goes, Everand currently starts at around $11.99 per month, though the exact plan options can change depending on your region and what promotions are running.

That puts it roughly in the same range as Kindle Unlimited, and a bit cheaper than Audible’s standard plan.

Where the real difference shows up isn’t the price, though. It’s how many premium titles you plan to read or listen to in a typical month, since that’s what determines whether the unlock system feels generous or a little limiting.

Everand features worth knowing about

Once you actually start using Everand, the experience feels pretty straightforward.

You open the app, browse the catalog, and start reading or listening. But there are a few features built into the platform that make the experience smoother once you get used to them.

Offline reading and listening

One of the more useful features is the ability to download books and audiobooks for offline use.

So if you’re traveling, commuting, or just somewhere without a reliable internet connection, you can download titles ahead of time and access them later.

This works for both ebooks and audiobooks, which makes it convenient if you switch between reading and listening depending on where you are.

Syncing across devices

Everand also keeps your place synced across devices.

So if you start reading on your phone and later open the same book on a tablet or laptop, the app will pick up right where you left off.

That sounds like a small thing, but once you get used to it, it’s surprisingly helpful.

Audiobook playback controls

If you listen to audiobooks regularly, Everand includes the usual playback tools you’d expect.

You can adjust narration speed, set a sleep timer, and jump backward or forward if you want to replay a section.

Nothing revolutionary here, but the basics are handled well.

Highlights and bookmarks

For ebooks, Everand lets you highlight passages and bookmark sections as you read.

If you tend to save quotes, mark interesting sections, or go back and reference things later, this makes that easy to do.

Recommendations and discovery

And finally, the platform does a decent job recommending new titles once you’ve been using it for a while.

The app tracks what you read and listen to, then surfaces similar books in the home feed.

Like most recommendation systems, it’s not perfect, but it does help surface books you might not have discovered otherwise.

Uploading your documents to Scribd

Now, up to this point we’ve mostly been talking about Everand, since that’s the part people use to read ebooks and listen to audiobooks.

But the original Scribd platform still exists, and it actually does something a little different.

Scribd is primarily a place where people upload and share documents.

So let me ask you something for a second… do you have anything you’d like to share with the world?

Now, Scribd isn’t a full publishing platform like Amazon or Kobo where you upload an entire book and sell it. But it is a place where people share all kinds of written material.

Things like book lists, study guides, research papers, worksheets, presentations, and other documents that readers might find useful.

Uploading something is pretty simple. You add your file, give it a title and description, decide whether you want it public or private, and Scribd handles the hosting so people can read it online.

The platform supports several common document formats, including PDF, DOC/DOCX, PPT/PPTX, and XLS/XLSX, and files can be up to 100MB in size.

For authors, this usually isn’t about publishing an entire book. Instead, it can be useful for things like sharing sample chapters, companion materials, or research notes that might help readers or students.

So while Everand handles the reading subscription side of things, Scribd still serves a purpose as a document-sharing platform.

Who Everand is actually good for

At this point you’re probably wondering whether Everand is actually worth paying for.

And the honest answer is that it depends on how you tend to read or listen to books, because Everand sits in an interesting middle ground between Kindle Unlimited and Audible.

If you’re someone who reads both ebooks and audiobooks, Everand can be pretty appealing. Instead of paying for two different services, you get access to both formats in one subscription. It’s also a good fit if you like browsing and discovering new titles, since the catalog includes a mix of newer releases and older backlist books.

Where things can get a little more complicated is the unlock system.

Since premium titles require an unlock, readers who go through a lot of books each month might find the limits a little restrictive compared to something like Kindle Unlimited, where you can borrow several books at once.

And if you’re someone who mostly listens to audiobooks and wants to keep the titles you buy permanently, Audible’s credit system may make more sense.

So the way I usually look at it is pretty simple.

If you want one subscription that gives you both ebooks and audiobooks, Everand is definitely worth considering. But if you primarily read ebooks or primarily listen to audiobooks, a more specialized service may fit your reading habits better.

Is Everand worth it?

At the end of the day, Everand is one of those services that makes a lot of sense for the right kind of reader.

If you like switching between ebooks and audiobooks, having both formats available in a single subscription can be really convenient. Instead of juggling multiple apps or paying for separate services, you open one app and just pick the next thing you want to read or listen to.

And if you’re someone who enjoys browsing through different titles rather than sticking to a strict reading list, Everand’s catalog can be fun to explore.

The main thing to understand going in is the unlock system. Since premium titles use monthly unlocks, the experience is a little different than something like Kindle Unlimited, where you can borrow several books at once, or Audible, where you exchange credits for titles you keep permanently.

But if your reading habits fit within that system, the subscription can still offer a lot of value.

So if you’re looking for a service that combines ebooks and audiobooks in one place, Everand is definitely worth taking a look at.

And if nothing else, the free trial makes it easy to try the platform for yourself and see how it fits your reading habits.