A smaller publisher with a subscription model, Perlego, charges users $18 monthly for use of its textbook catalog with a discounted rate for those who buy a year-long subscription up-front. That pricing comes in slightly lower than a similar model offered by Cengage, which charges $69.99 per semester for what it calls Cengage Unlimited, its full e-library, and another $50 for access to a related homework system that professors often assign with the textbook.
Users also get access to audiobook versions of their texts一available for about 60 percent of titles一along with study guides and a discount on a separate tutoring service for premium subscribers.
Subscribers to Pearson Plus pay $9.99 per month for one access to one digital textbook or $14.99 per month to access all of the more than 1,500 titles on the company’s platform, with each plan requiring a four-month minimum. The latest player to jump in is Pearson, which released Pearson Plus over the summer as a “pay-as-you-go” alternative to traditional textbooks. These days some publishers are trying a new sales model they say will save students money: textbook subscription services. Textbooks play a central role in discussions around higher ed affordability, and publishers have long been cast as the villain, pulling in high profits as textbook prices rise.
