Scribd has announced a major shift for its Everand platform, pivoting from an unlimited access subscription to a credit-based one.
The new system has rolled out in the U.S. from October 30 with international expansion planned for 2025.
The new model offers expanded access to titles from all major trade publishers with a two-tiered credit system.
Related Article: Everand’s detailed review
The Standard Plan ($11.99/ month) includes 1 credit that you can redeem for any premium title of your choice. The Plus Plan ($16.99/ Month) offers 3 credits to unlock any three premium titles of your choice.
Let’s take a detailed look at the old and new subscription models to understand what these changes mean for users
Everand’s Old Subscription Model
Everand’s previous subscription model was like Netflix where you had unlimited access to the entire catalog of audiobooks and eBooks (and other content) for a flat monthly fee.
The monthly subscription was $9.99/ month while the annual membership was $84.99 (or $7.09/ month)
This was a hell of a deal and made Everand one of the most affordable book platforms, offering audiobooks and eBook formats under one subscription.
Unlimited access to the entire catalog meant you could try new authors, narrators, and genres without any risk.
If you started listening to something, decided ‘meh’, and moved on, there was nothing to lose.
Monthly Limits – A Major Drawback of Old Model
Although Everand billed itself as an unlimited subscription service, there were monthly limits on some titles and a lack of transparency on how these limits worked.
“These limits are caused by each subscriber’s individual recent reading/listening activity. If you encounter a limit on a particular title, the title will be inaccessible to you until your next billing cycle.” According to Everand
Looking only for popular titles and new releases? you would likely hit the monthly limit sooner.
Everand offered no clarity on how monthly limits worked and users complained a lot about the lack of transparency from Everand.
Content ‘throttling’ was a major drawback of Everand’s previous subscription model, but many users still liked the full access to the huge catalog.
Everand’s New Subscription Model
Everand’s new offering introduces two types of subscription plans: the Standard plan, which costs $11.99/ month, and the Plus plan, which costs $16.99/ month.
The Standard plan unlocks one of the premium titles while the Plus plan unlocks 3 titles from the premium collection.
Both plans include
- 30-day Free trial [Read More: how to join Everand trial]
- Unlimited access to a Select Catalog with 20k+ audiobooks, eBooks, magazines, podcasts and sheet music
- Access to Scribd and SlideShare content
The Premium Catalog has over 1.5 million eBooks and audiobooks, including new releases and bestselling titles.
You can listen/read the unlocked titles as many times as you’d like for the duration of your subscription. You do not own these unlocked titles.
Know more about how Everand subscription works
What It Means for Users
The existing subscribers will be transitioned to new plans throughout 2025 (when their current subscription plans end).
The new credit system has pros and cons for existing and new subscribers.
Pros of the new subscription model
The major benefit is a richer catalog that comes with expanded partnerships with Big Five trade publishers (Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster).
The Big Five publishers will simultaneously release new content on Everand at the same time as they do on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Rakuten Kobo, eliminating previous windowing restrictions.
This change will give users access to most of the New York Times bestseller list titles.
Audiobooks and eBooks format are expensive so $11.99 for one bestseller or $16.99 for 3 popular titles is a strong value proposition.
Cons of the new subscription model
Everand was considered the ‘Netflix of books’, offering unlimited access to the full catalog of audiobooks and eBooks for a flat monthly fee.
Everand’s ‘all you can eat’ model was a unique selling point and very attractive for users, even with monthly limits on premium titles.
Most users preferred Everand over Audible because they could listen to/ read more titles with full catalog access.
In the new setup, the audiobooks/ eBooks you really want to get are all in the Premium selection which means you can only get 1 or 3 books of your choice depending on your subscription plan.
At $9.99/ month, Everand was the most affordable platform. Now, you have to pay $16.99 to unlock 3 premium titles of your choice, but the selection is pretty good compared to the past.
Unlimited access or credit-based model – what’s users favorite
I asked Reddit users what they think of the change. Most users pointed out that Everand has lost its unique feature of offering unlimited access to the entire catalog.
While some users want to try the new expanded premium catalog before making up their minds, most users are not happy with the change and are considering canceling their membership plans.
I think Everand’s Plus plan [$16.99/ month] is a better option as you get 3 books from the premium selection each month. The standard plan only unlocks 1 audiobook, which is not enough for avid audiobook listeners or eBook lovers.
It is tough for Everand to convince book enthusiasts that their new subscription model is better and offers more benefits to users.
What do you think? Is Everand subscription still worth it?
Furthur Readings
- 20 Most common questions about Everand
- Everand’s new plans & pricing
- Scribd to launch credit-based model
Sohail Ahmed
I love Audiobooks and this blog features my first-hand experience with all major audiobook apps and services … Know More