Publishing · pricing
Kobo pricing
Kobo publishes 2 tiers. Below is each one, what it adds over the tier beneath it, and where the ladder stops being worth climbing for most people.
As of 1 September 2026, Kobo pricing is free across 2 published tiers. Figures are the vendor's list prices as recorded on this page's last check; the vendor's site is the final word.
- Entry price
- Free
- Model
- Free store and app; hardware sold separately; optional subscription
- Tiers
- 2
- Free tier
- Yes
Kobo plans, side by side
Every published tier in ascending order of price, with the number of features each one lists. An absence here means the record does not itemise it, not that the tier lacks it.
| Plan | Price | Features listed | Step up from the tier below |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kobo app and store | Free | 3 | Entry tier |
| Kobo Plus | $9.99/month | 3 | +$9.99/month, 3 more features |
What each tier adds
The set difference between each tier's feature list and the one beneath it. Where a tier lists nothing new, the vendor has either stopped repeating the inherited list or the tier raises limits rather than adding capability, the record does not distinguish the two, so this page does not either.
Kobo app and store
FreeThe entry tier. It covers free app and store, pay per ebook or audiobook, hardware sold separately, from around $110 for entry e-readers, full library of individual purchases.
Kobo Plus
$9.99/monthOver Kobo app and store, this tier adds:
- Unlimited access to a Kobo Plus catalogue
- Available in supported countries only
- Layered on top of the regular store
Where Kobo stops being free
Kobo app and store, Free
- Free app and store, pay per ebook or audiobook
- Hardware sold separately, from around $110 for entry e-readers
- Full library of individual purchases
Kobo Plus, $9.99/month
The first thing you pay for:
- Unlimited access to a Kobo Plus catalogue
- Available in supported countries only
- Layered on top of the regular store
What the product covers
The full Kobo feature record, grouped as the catalogue groups it. This is the product as a whole; the record does not map every feature onto a specific tier.
Other
- E-ink devices
- EPUB support
- Built-in Libby integration
- Kobo Plus
- Kobo Store
- Note-taking models
People bring Kobo in for a reader who wants dedicated e-ink hardware instead of reading on a backlit phone or tablet, someone who borrows heavily from a public library and wants overdrive integration built directly into the device, a reader outside the amazon ecosystem who wants an open epub-based alternative to kindle, someone who wants the option of both buying individual ebooks and an unlimited subscription from one store. If that is not the job you are buying for, the alternatives to Kobo are worth a look before you commit to a tier.
How that compares in Publishing
Too few publishing tools in this directory publish a starting price to quote a meaningful median, so the table below is a like-for-like list rather than a ranking.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Rated | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kobo (this page) | Free | Free store and app; hardware sold separately; optional subscription | - | |
| Everand | $11.99/month | Per user per month, unlimited | - | vs Kobo |
| Scrivener | On request | One-time purchase | - | vs Kobo |
| PublishDrive | Free | Flat-fee subscription, no commission on paid plans | - | vs Kobo |
| BookBaby | On request | One-time purchase per project | - | vs Kobo |
| Kindle | Free | Free app, revenue from book purchases and optional subscription | - | vs Kobo |
| Wattpad | Free | Free with ads; paid ad-free subscription and optional in-app coin purchases | - | vs Kobo |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry, they are not reviews hosted on Softwr. How each figure is used is set out on the Kobo badges page.
Before you pay for Kobo
Three things this page cannot tell you, and all three change the bill. The record carries a price and a billing period but not the unit - per-seat and flat-rate pricing are indistinguishable in this data, so a five-person team may be looking at five times the figure above. It carries no annual rate, so any discount for paying yearly is not something this page can quote. And it carries no trial length.
What it can tell you is the shape of the ladder: 2 tiers between Free and $9.99/month, with the jump itemised above. Because there is a free tier, the cheapest way to answer the rest is to use it before paying anything.
Kobo runs on ios, android, web, kobo e-readers, and is published by Rakuten Kobo Inc. of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The full record is on the Kobo review, and the rest of the category is under best publishing tools.
Kobo pricing questions
- How much does Kobo cost?
- Kobo publishes 2 tiers, from Free for Kobo app and store up to $9.99/month for Kobo Plus. The entry tier costs nothing.
- Does Kobo have a free plan?
- Yes. The Kobo app and store tier costs nothing and covers free app and store, pay per ebook or audiobook, hardware sold separately, from around $110 for entry e-readers, full library of individual purchases. Paying starts at $9.99/month for Kobo Plus.
- What is the difference between Kobo app and store and Kobo Plus on Kobo?
- Kobo Plus costs $9.99/month against Free, and adds unlimited access to a kobo plus catalogue, available in supported countries only, layered on top of the regular store.
- Which publishing tools can I use without paying?
- 5 of the 8 publishing tools listed alongside Kobo have a free tier: PublishDrive, Kindle, Wattpad, Webtoon, Goodreads.
- What am I actually paying for with Kobo?
- The record lists 6 features across 1 area: other. In practice it is brought in for a reader who wants dedicated e-ink hardware instead of reading on a backlit phone or tablet, someone who borrows heavily from a public library and wants overdrive integration built directly into the device, a reader outside the amazon ecosystem who wants an open epub-based alternative to kindle.
- Does Kobo charge per user?
- The record carries a price and a billing period for each of its 2 tiers, but not the unit that price is charged in. Per-seat and flat-rate billing look identical in this data, so check the vendor's page before budgeting for a team.
- Are these Kobo prices current?
- They are what the catalogue entry holds, refreshed when the entry is. Vendors change pricing without notice and nobody at Softwr re-verifies each tier by hand, so treat this as a structured summary and the vendor's own pricing page as the authority.
- What should I compare Kobo against before paying?
- The closest publishing tools in this directory are Everand, Scrivener, PublishDrive, BookBaby. Each has a side-by-side comparison with Kobo covering price, platforms and features.