2026 update to Publisher Price Watch

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Greetings library colleagues!

Just in time for PLA, we have updated Publisher Price Watch for 2026. We select 20 popular titles from each of the Big Five publishers and pull prices for each in various formats:

  • Print retail (Amazon)

  • Print list

  • Kindle

  • Audible

  • OverDrive eBook

  • OverDrive eAudio

For 2026, we observe:

  • HarperCollins library eBook license prices have increased at an annualized rate of 17.3% per year since 2022.

  • Hachette library eAudio licenses increased 36% between 2025 and 2026. Hachette also has the highest average rate of increase at 13.1% every year in the last four years, followed closely by HarperColllins (11.5%) and Macmillan (11.6%).

  • On eBooks, license prices on books from Macmillan and Simon and Schuster are steady.

  • Library license prices on both formats from Penguin Random House are steady.

You can view the details, read about the methodology, and more here. If you have questions about Publisher Price Watch, please contact us.