Amazon Kindle: Reading App

Books & Reference

7.4~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.8 Google Play·100M+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-01

Screenshots

Kindle app Library tab in dark mode, with a Search Kindle bar above a grid of book covers

Challenges screen with a 21-day reading streak calendar and a 2026 Reading Challenge at 15 of 30 books

Aa menu Layout tab with four page colors and an Update Page Using System Theme option over white-on-black text

Highlighted passage with a Highlight, Look up, Ask, Note and Copy toolbar above a dictionary entry for perceived

Recap of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at 78% read, with Story so far and Full story tabs

Audible player for Lord of the Flies beside the matching Kindle page, with the spoken word highlighted

About Amazon Kindle: Reading App

Amazon's free reader opens Kindle Store purchases, Kindle Unlimited loans and EPUB or PDF files sent through Send to Kindle, and syncs your page and highlights with a Kindle e-reader. Android users buy inside the app; on iPhone, the Get Book button hands you to a browser. The catch is ownership: every purchase is a license that only Amazon's apps and devices will open.

App information

DeveloperAMZN Mobile LLC

Version14.146.100(2.0.74785.0) (Android) · 7.68 (iOS)

Size146 MB (Android) · 208 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesYes

Content rating13+

Requires (Android)Android 9.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 17.0+

Interface languagesNL, EN, FR, DE, IT, JA + 4 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.8 from 4,825,614 ratings

Installs100M+

Updated by developer2026-09-24

Data checked2026-10-01

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-10-01. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

Kindle App Review: Your Library Syncs Everywhere but Never Leaves Amazon

Buying books in the app: Buy Now on Android, Get Book on iPhone

The reader costs nothing, and neither do samples, the Prime Reading shelf for Prime members or the monthly Amazon First Reads pick. On Android, Buy Now completes the order inside the app and may charge your Google Play payment method; Amazon restored this in the US in January 2025, after pulling it in 2022 rather than pay Google's commission. On iPhone and iPad, Get Book, added in May 2025 after the Epic v. Apple ruling, opens the Kindle Store in your browser for a 1-Click checkout. Preorders and gifts need the browser on both, and some state laws require teens to have a parent buy or borrow titles for them.

Assistive Reader: free text-to-speech that needs Enhanced Typesetting

Assistive Reader sits under More in the Aa menu and reads aloud with your phone's own text-to-speech voice, highlighting each word. Controls change the speed and jump back 30 seconds, and a long press on a word starts reading from there. It covers only titles marked Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled, bought from the Kindle Store or borrowed via Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading, in a language your device supports. It pauses when you open the menu, and an April 2025 Google Play review with 212 helpful votes says playback stops when you switch to another tab. Whispersync reviews with hundreds of helpful votes describe Audible narration restarting from the beginning.

Kindle Unlimited at $11.99 a month, and books you license rather than own

Kindle Unlimited costs $11.99 a month plus tax in the US after a 30-day trial for new members; check the current price in the app, as it varies by region. It covers more than 5 million ebooks and thousands of audiobooks, 20 borrowed at a time, and loans vanish when membership ends, with no refund of fees paid. Purchases are licenses too: Amazon's US checkout now says so, a change Android Police tied in February 2025 to California's AB 2426. On February 26, 2025, Amazon also removed Download & Transfer via USB, which let owners save purchased books to a computer. Send to Kindle accepts 13 file types, including EPUB, PDF and DOCX, up to 200 MB each, but store purchases have no export.

Recaps and Ask this Book on iPhone first, and the data used for ads

Amazon's AI reading tools reached iOS before Android. Recaps summarize earlier books in a series, Story So Far catches you up inside the current one, and Ask this Book, live for US readers since December 2025, answers questions about a highlighted passage from the pages you have read. Engadget reported in June 2026 that Android should get all three by year's end, and the Authors Guild objected in December 2025 that writers and publishers cannot opt their books out. On Android, the Data safety form lists approximate location shared with other companies for advertising, plus device IDs and search history collected for marketing. Apple's label lists search history for Amazon's own marketing, but no cross-app tracking.

Pros

Send to Kindle takes EPUB, PDF and DOCX files up to 200 MB
Android users buy inside the app with a Buy Now button
Assistive Reader reads books aloud with word-by-word highlighting at no cost
Kindle Unlimited lends up to 20 titles at once after a 30-day trial
Four page colors, an OpenDyslexic font and a Low Vision preset theme
Page position, highlights and notes sync with Kindle e-readers and tablets

Cons

Purchases are licenses, and Download & Transfer via USB ended February 2025
Recaps, Story So Far and Ask this Book are still missing on Android
No purchase PIN: reviewers report accidental 1-Click buys and awkward refunds
Reviews describe Whispersync losing audiobook positions and older Android tablets losing support

Download From Google PlayDownload From App Store

We don't host any files. These buttons open the official Google Play and App Store listings.

Verdict

We score it 7.4. Store purchases, Kindle Unlimited, Send to Kindle and free text-to-speech in one reader earn most of that; Whispersync glitches, iPhone-only AI tools and license-only purchases cost the rest. Take it if you already buy from Amazon, pay for Kindle Unlimited or want your place synced with a Kindle e-reader. Skip it if you want book files you can move to any app, a PIN before every purchase, or Recaps on Android today.

Core function8.5Store purchases, a 5 million-plus Kindle Unlimited catalog, Send to Kindle files and free text-to-speech share one reader.

Ease of use7.0Four page colors and preset themes help, but reviewers cite unwanted recommendations, a merged library and no purchase PIN.

Monetisation7.5Free app with in-app buying on Android; iPhone purchases detour to a browser, and Kindle Unlimited costs $11.99 monthly in the US.

Performance6.52024–2026 reviews describe Whispersync losing audiobook positions, vanishing downloads and older Android devices losing support.

Privacy & permissions6.5Android shares approximate location for advertising; Apple's label shows search history used for marketing, without cross-app tracking.

7.4out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Can you buy books in the Kindle app?

Yes on Android, and only through a browser on iPhone. The Android app has a Buy Now button that may charge your Google Play payment method. On iPhone and iPad, Get Book opens the Kindle Store in your browser, where you finish with 1-Click and the book syncs to the app. Preorders and gifts need the browser on both.

Can the Kindle app read books aloud?

Yes. Assistive Reader, under More in the Aa menu, reads books with your device's built-in text-to-speech voice and highlights each word, with speed control and a 30-second rewind. It only works on books with Enhanced Typesetting, in a language your phone supports. A human narrator means buying the matching Audible audiobook.

How much is Kindle Unlimited and is it worth it?

In the US it costs $11.99 a month plus tax, with a 30-day trial for first-time members; prices vary by region and can change. It covers more than 5 million ebooks and thousands of audiobooks, 20 at a time. It suits readers who finish several catalog books a month, but check your favorite authors are included first: loans disappear when you cancel.

What happens to my Kindle books if I cancel or leave Amazon?

Purchased books stay in your Amazon library, but they are licenses that open only in Amazon's apps and devices, and Download & Transfer via USB was removed on February 26, 2025. Kindle Unlimited loans stay readable until your next billing date, then disappear, with no refund of fees already paid.

What is the best free alternative to the Kindle app?

Libby is the closest free option: it lends library ebooks and audiobooks with a library card, and US libraries can deliver loans as Kindle books. Google Play Books lets you upload your own EPUB and PDF files and read them across devices, with notes on PDFs uploaded after January 20, 2026.