Over the past few years, Amazon has been exposed as being a very unethical and unsustainable company. The rise of this information has led to many people becoming more conscious about where they’re shopping and that includes book shopping! So if you’re looking to avoid Amazon but you have no clue what the best alternatives to Amazon for books are, you’ve come to the right place! Whether you’re looking for alternatives to Amazon for physical books, audiobooks, or ebooks, I’ve got you!
Alternatives to Amazon for Physical Books
1. The Works
The Works is a UK retailer that has gained much popularity during the pandemic lockdown, especially because of TikTok. They generally hold many popular titles from famous authors including Rick Riordan, Tahereh Mafi, Tessa Bailey and Colleen Hoover. What makes The Works one of the best alternatives to Amazon for books is that their prices are very accessible!
I’ve certainly taken advantage of their amazing book deals, including titles from Taylor Jenkins Reid, Ali Hazelwood and even C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia series is only £10)!
With The Works, you can order online for delivery or free click and collect when you spend over £10!
2. Wordery
Like The Works, Wordery is one of the best alternatives to Amazon for books because their prices are accessible. Not only that, but they have a wide selection of books. Over 10 million according to their Our Story page!
Whenever I’m looking for specific books on my TBR, I generally go straight to Wordery because I know it would be there. I’ve been collecting the Saga graphic novels over the years and each one I’ve bought has been available to order on Wordery at a cheeky discounted price!
Best of all, delivery is free in over 30 countries and with your order, they gift you a free Wordery bookmark!
3. Foyles
Years ago, I found out about Foyles accidentally by stumbling across the store on Charing Cross Road near Soho in London. It’s the second biggest bookstore in London after Waterstones Picadilly with 6 floors filled with over 200,000 book titles. I love that they also have a cafe where you can study, work or read with a coffee (or hot chocolate) by your side.
You can also order from Foyles online, which has just as wide of a collection as their physical bookstore! So if you find yourself turning to Amazon to buy literally any physical book, I’m positive that Foyles will have it too!
4. World of Books
What makes World of Books (Wob) one of the best alternatives to Amazon for books is that they’re more eco-conscious. They’re the UK’s largest second-hand book retailer, selling used books that are in good condition to create a circular economy. As someone who loves shopping for second-hand books in charity shops, I absolutely love Wob.
I once used Wob to buy a second-hand book that I couldn’t find anywhere else online as it was by an Argentine author and was translated from Spanish. When I found it on Wob I knew then and there that Wob was a reliable bookstore!
5. Your Local Independent Bookstore
If this was a ranked list of the best alternatives to Amazon for books, shopping at your local indie bookstore would be near the top. Since it’s so easy for us to order books with a few taps on our phones, local bookstores are often forgotten about or not even considered an option, especially since the pandemic.
Shopping at your local indie bookstore doesn’t just help support small businesses but also helps to support your local community. The wider environmental impact of shopping at your local independent bookstore also means less packaging and a smaller carbon footprint!
As I’m based in London, I have tons of local indie bookstores all within walking distance from where I live.
But I understand that outside of London and even outside of the UK, indie bookstores may not be accessible, which leads me to…
6. Your Local Library
Okay, I have to say it. You don’t have to buy every book that you want to read. It’s okay to borrow books and your local library is an amazing way to do that! Nearly 800 public libraries have closed in the UK since 2010 and this is due to decreasing in-person visits. But libraries are one of the most accessible ways to read books, which is why it’s important that they stay open!
I’ve loved reading ever since I was in primary school and I always used to go to the library on Saturdays and stay there for hours reading all the books I wouldn’t have been able to access elsewhere. I also loved how every summer, my local library had a summer reading challenge where I was encouraged to read various books to win a medal and certificate.
Visiting your local library is definitely one of the best alternatives to Amazon for books, as they have a range of books, ebooks and even audiobooks to borrow!
Alternatives to Amazon for Audiobooks
7. Audiobooks.com
Audiobooks.com is exactly what it says it is. With Audiobooks.com you can access over 10,000 audiobooks and also 100 million podcast episodes! Like Audible, members gain a new credit every month (costing £7.99) which can use used to redeem any audiobook.
But what makes Audiobooks.com one of the best alternatives to Amazon for books? Well, in my opinion, I like that Audiobook.com doesn’t require a subscription to access sales and deals, unlike Audible. So if you want to access an audiobook at a discounted price on Audiobook, you don’t have to pay its monthly subscription to access it, you can simply buy it on its own!
8. BookBeat
BookBeat is a unique audiobook subscription service which allows you to enjoy audiobooks and e-books without having a credit system. Instead, there are 3 different subscriptions to choose from which is why I think it’s an amazing alternative to Amazon for books.
With BookBeat, you can choose from a Basic (£5.99), Standard (£9.99) or Premium (£14.99) subscription. The Basic subscription provides 20 hours/month of audiobooks, while the Standard provides 50 hours/month and the Premium provides 100 hours/month. I love this system, especially because some audiobooks take less time to listen to than others. Depending on the length, you can listen to a minimum of 2 books every month instead of being restricted to only having access to one book a month that is bought with one credit!
9. Scribd
Scribd is an app that offers ebooks as well as magazines, podcasts, sheet music and documents all for £10.99 per month. What makes it one of the best alternatives to Amazon for books is that you can actually read as many books as you can every month! There’s no limit to how many audiobooks you can read!
10. XigXag
XigXag is a subscription-free alternative to Amazon for books. How it works is that whenever you buy an audiobook, you get rewarded. So the more audiobooks you listen to, the less you pay in full for audiobook titles. Not only that, but when you buy an x-book, you can get both the audiobook and e-book at no extra cost!
11. Libro.fm
Libro.fm is amazing as they support local independent bookstores! When you sign up, you can choose an independent bookstore to support and they receive a portion of every audiobook purchase you make!
Like Audible, you receive one audiobook credit every month but for a monthly charge of $14.99 (roughly £12 if you’re based in the UK). Or if you don’t want to pay monthly, you can also make à la carte audiobook purchases!
12. Lismio
Lismio is a platform where you can listen to tons of audiobooks that are on Spotify for free! I listened to The Kiss Quotient via Lismio back when it was called Spooks and I still can’t believe that hardly anyone knows about this hidden gem! You willneed a Spotify Premium subscription to access Lismio’s audiobook library!
In addition to Lismio, Spotify now have a dedicated audiobook library where you can listen to tons of audiobooks for free (included in your subscription)!
Alternatives to Amazon for Ebooks
13. eBooks
eBooks.com is a huge ebook retailer with over 1 million ebook titles. Not only can you buy titles but there are tons of free ones you can access too! They offer ebooks in PDF, EPUB and Online reader formats.
14. Libby by OverDrive
Did you know you can borrow ebooks from your local library without even stepping foot inside it? With the Libby app, all you need is your library card number and your pin to have access to all the ebooks (and audiobooks) that are available to borrow from your local library.
One feature I love about Libby is that it can also be used on Kobo e-readers! After signing into your OverDrive account, it automatically syncs books from your Libby app onto your Kobo! I use a Kobo Clara 2E and I will forever enjoy this feature!
Download Libby by OverDrive now!
Now You Know the Best Alternatives to Amazon for Books
I hope you’ve found this list helpful in finding the best alternatives to Amazon for books! I’ve made sure to add some free alternatives to make this list as accessible as possible. And if you know any other alternatives to Amazon for books, please leave them in the comments below!
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