Scribd is dubbed “The Netflix of Books”? Have you ever heard it?

In this Scribd review, I’m going to outline what is Scribd, how does it work, what you’ll get with Scribd and is it worth it. By the end of this review, you should be able to decide whether it’s worth your time and money or not.

What Is Scribd?

Founded in 2007, Scribd set out to become the #1 option in online libraries. It is the all-in-one subscription service for e-books, summaries, audiobooks, and magazines. In May 2017, Scribd even brought articles from trusted sources like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and more to its subscription.

According to company statistics, Scribd draws its collection of e-books from over 1,000 publishers including powerhouses such as Penguin Random House, Macmillan, HarperCollins and Simon and Schuster. Now, Scribd boasts over 40 million titles and 80 million monthly readers worldwide.

How Does Scribd Work?

You can sign up for a 30-day free trial, after which you purchase a monthly membership, and Scribd offers what they claim is unlimited access to their collection. It gives you unlimited access to e-books, audiobooks, sheet music, documents and magazines. You can find titles from publishers like Simon and Schuster, Penguin, Random House, Hachette, Harper Collins and Macmillan — but it’s lacking in indie authors and smaller production publications, making it hard to access some popular titles.

With Scribd app, you can save titles on up to four devices for offline reading and can open any given title on up to six devices.

How Much is Scribd

Like Audible or Kindle Unlimited, Scribd does have an awesome 30-day free trial. The one-month free trial period gives you room to explore the platform, try out the products, and decide on whether you want to continue using the service or if instead, you’d like to pass. But what’s next after that?

Scribd charges a monthly fee of $9.99 (Previously it is $8.99). It is an international service, however, not all books may be available for reading in your region due to copy and publishing rights. 

Also, please note that when you subscribe to Scribd, you’re only paying for access to the content, not the rights. So, you don’t ‘own’ the books you purchase on Scribd.

What Will You Get with Scribd?

Here’s what you get with a Scribd subscription:

• eBooks
• Audiobooks
• Digital magazines and newspapers from the United States, Australia and United Kingdom
• Documents such as research papers, court filings, business templates
• Sheet music
• “Snapshots” – short summaries on popular non-fiction books

Is Scribd Legit and Safe?

Of course, Scribd is legit and safe.

Scribd has been in existence for 13 years now and has millions of users that regularly use its platform. It shows that Scribd is a reputable company with a legit business model. For more evidences:

• TIME magazine named Scribd one of the ’10 Start-Ups that Will Change your Life’.
• Their founder, Trip Adler was named one of Forbes ’30 under 30′, one of Inc’s ‘35 under 35,’ and one of TIME’s ‘Tech Pioneers.’

However, line any other real business, not every will be satisfied with their services, and so it’s common to across a few complaints from subscribers.

These complaints are clear to see online – Scribd has a poor B rating on the Better Business Bureau and a 1.4-star rating from 1,664 user reviews on Trust Pilot. On the contrary, Scribd has a 4.4-star rating on Google Play from 540,385user reviews.

Scribd Review: Is It Worth It?

To be honest, for the $9.99 a month, I don’t think Scribd worth the money. Whilst Scribd gives the illusion of being completely unlimited, people who use the app a lot may find themselves faced with some titles greyed out if they consume too much content. Also, you only have access to the full Scribd library for the first 3 or 4 audiobooks per month. After that, they significantly restrict your selection.

If you only get through one book a month, maybe two and you like the subscription model, then a Scribd account would actually be a good choice. However, if you’re an avid reader and see Scribd’s marketing as an $9.99 all-you-can-read smorgasbord, then you’re in for a letdown.

Then, is there any alternative to Scribd?

• If you you’re the type who can read an endless supply of books every month, then Kindle Unlimited is the best choice for you.
• If you’re more of an audiobook person, then Audible is 100% the best on the market. Read our full comparison between Audible and Scribd.
• If you don’t have much time and looking for book summaries, then I would recommend Blinkist.