Kobo unveils Kobo Stack

Cactus Chef · 11-11-2026, 10:15 AM

Surprised I haven't seen any mention of this on MR yet, given it's all over Reddit and Bluesky:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/stack

$3/mth subscription (in US) for the ability to finally be able to sync sideloaded content.

issybird · 11-11-2026, 10:30 AM

Huh. Not a good look, Kobo, when Kindle does it for free, gratis, nothing.

A send-to-Kindle clone was my greatest wish from Kobo, but not to the tune of $36/year. No thanks. I’ll still use my Kindles for that function.

Logseman · 11-11-2026, 10:42 AM

When Apple launched iTunes Match, they associated your music with their catalog. It wasn't always perfect, but then you had good metadata for all your collection. These guys aren't even offering this 15 years later.

Cactus Chef · 11-11-2026, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Huh. Not a good look, Kobo, when Kindle does it for free, gratis, nothing.

A send-to-Kindle clone was my greatest wish from Kobo, but not to the tune of $36/year. No thanks. I’ll still use my Kindles for that function.

My guess would be that Amazon--through their side business of AWS--can afford to be a loss leader on that functionality. Perhaps Kobo cannot.

I have to give kudos to Kobo for at least listening to feedback: lord knows that Sideloaded Sync, Send to Email to Upload, and Multiple Library Card Support were easily the top 3 most frequent requests/complaints I'd see on r/kobo. It's just a shame that the top two will be locked behind a paywall.

I may try it out for a year and see how much I really use it. I am already paying for a premium Instapaper subscription, though, so SaaS-fatigue is fast setting in...

Cactus Chef · 11-11-2026, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logseman

When Apple launched iTunes Match, they associated your music with their catalog. It wasn't always perfect, but then you had good metadata for all your collection. These guys aren't even offering this 15 years later.

Didn't that famously result in false-positives/collisions where people's personally-uploaded music to iTunes would then get replaced with what Apple thought was the same album but often wasn't?

issybird · 11-11-2026, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

My guess would be that Amazon--through their side business of AWS--can afford to be a loss leader on that functionality. Perhaps Kobo cannot.

Fair enough. I suspect that many will have the same gut reaction I did, though.

Perhaps if I were only-Kobo I’d consider it, because it’s very, very convenient and a huge increase in functionality. But since I’ve got a perfectly good foot in Amazon’s waters as well, it’s easy to do without (even though Kobo is my preferred purveyor). In any case, I think I’d balk at $3/month. I’m not sure what price I’d be willing to put on it.

Logseman · 11-11-2026, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Didn't that famously result in false-positives/collisions where people's personally-uploaded music to iTunes would then get replaced with what Apple thought was the same album but often wasn't?

As far as I used that in the past the collisions were pretty minimal.

Sirtel · 11-11-2026, 11:57 AM

Personally I don't consider the price too high to pay, but I prefer sideloading via calibre to other means of populating my Kobos (automatic metadata and collections, synopsis in book details, series info, omnibus numbering and a few other things). And I don't want to go to the trouble of emailing/uploading several thousands of ebooks to Kobo (I don't read directly downloaded books, because I edit the formatting and metadata). So I'm probably not going to use it. I might try it if/when it becomes available in my area.

salamanderjuice · 11-11-2026, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Huh. Not a good look, Kobo, when Kindle does it for free, gratis, nothing.

A send-to-Kindle clone was my greatest wish from Kobo, but not to the tune of $36/year. No thanks. I’ll still use my Kindles for that function.

Don't think of it as just a send-to-Kindle clone, it's $36/year to beta test a horrible version of the Kobo OS too!

Jokes aside, it does have SOME other benefits, it's also an extended warranty in some countries (though not the U.S) which is maybe kinda worth it. It also adds workbooks for journaling/planning which really seem like they shouldn't be a sub...

Aleron Ives · 11-11-2026, 04:31 PM

I'll give it to Kobo for finding a creative way to monetise the use of libraries. I guess Kobo decided the Overdrive integration was a bit too good when people were able to use multiple libraries at once, so they broke that functionality on purpose in order to reintroduce it later as a paid subscription feature.

PeterT · 11-11-2026, 05:07 PM

Huh. The multiple library support is not a paid service

salamanderjuice · 11-11-2026, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

I'll give it to Kobo for finding a creative way to monetise the use of libraries. I guess Kobo decided the Overdrive integration was a bit too good when people were able to use multiple libraries at once, so they broke that functionality on purpose in order to reintroduce it later as a paid subscription feature.

That's a free benefit of the upcoming/beta 6.0 OS, not the Kobo Stack subscription.

Aleron Ives · 11-11-2026, 06:21 PM

Oh, that's good to hear. Thanks for the correction.

:

kandwo · 11-12-2026, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

My guess would be that Amazon--through their side business of AWS--can afford to be a loss leader on that functionality. Perhaps Kobo cannot.

I have to give kudos to Kobo for at least listening to feedback: lord knows that Sideloaded Sync, Send to Email to Upload, and Multiple Library Card Support were easily the top 3 most frequent requests/complaints I'd see on r/kobo. It's just a shame that the top two will be locked behind a paywall.

I may try it out for a year and see how much I really use it. I am already paying for a premium Instapaper subscription, though, so SaaS-fatigue is fast setting in...

The same functionality is offered for free by small companies such as Pocketbook.

Syncing your reading position is offered by Koreader, Kobalt, etc. Hobby projects, completely for free.

And I would say that some of the most frequent requests are for them to release BW readers again. But hey, companies know best - we as costumers have no real clue what actually sells, I guess.

People have been asking for a new Kobo Mini for ages, for instance. And with the great success of Xteink and others I think it's fair to say that they missed a great opportunity there.

JBaby · 11-12-2026, 05:21 AM

No way would I pay $36 a year for this. Amazon and Apple give this away for free. I’m not a Kobo person, I’d jailbreak and sync via KOReader before I’d pay for this. Full disclosure I don’t use Send to Kindle either. I prefer to add books via USB. I have no need for reading on multiple devices anymore.

11-11-2026, 10:15 AM	#1
Cactus Chef Guru Posts: 999 Karma: 12382538 Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: East Coast, United States Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Clara HD, Galaxy Tab S5e, Kindle 4th Gen	Kobo unveils Kobo Stack Surprised I haven't seen any mention of this on MR yet, given it's all over Reddit and Bluesky: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/stack $3/mth subscription (in US) for the ability to finally be able to sync sideloaded content.

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11-11-2026, 10:30 AM	#2
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 22,286 Karma: 241025665 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	Huh. Not a good look, Kobo, when Kindle does it for free, gratis, nothing. A send-to-Kindle clone was my greatest wish from Kobo, but not to the tune of $36/year. No thanks. I’ll still use my Kindles for that function.

11-11-2026, 10:42 AM	#3
Logseman Orisa Posts: 2,010 Karma: 1035571 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Onyx Poke 5	When Apple launched iTunes Match, they associated your music with their catalog. It wasn't always perfect, but then you had good metadata for all your collection. These guys aren't even offering this 15 years later.

11-11-2026, 11:57 AM	#8
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 15,950 Karma: 251102653 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Personally I don't consider the price too high to pay, but I prefer sideloading via calibre to other means of populating my Kobos (automatic metadata and collections, synopsis in book details, series info, omnibus numbering and a few other things). And I don't want to go to the trouble of emailing/uploading several thousands of ebooks to Kobo (I don't read directly downloaded books, because I edit the formatting and metadata). So I'm probably not going to use it. I might try it if/when it becomes available in my area.

11-11-2026, 04:31 PM	#10
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,937 Karma: 17671736 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	I'll give it to Kobo for finding a creative way to monetise the use of libraries. I guess Kobo decided the Overdrive integration was a bit too good when people were able to use multiple libraries at once, so they broke that functionality on purpose in order to reintroduce it later as a paid subscription feature.

11-11-2026, 05:07 PM	#11
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 14,216 Karma: 84699364 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Libra H2O, Libra Colour	Huh. The multiple library support is not a paid service

11-11-2026, 06:21 PM	#13
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,937 Karma: 17671736 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Oh, that's good to hear. Thanks for the correction. :

11-12-2026, 05:21 AM	#15
JBaby Addict Posts: 278 Karma: 3755662 Join Date: May 2013 Location: Parsons, KS Device: 1st Gen Colorsoft SE, 2024 11” M4 iPad Pro & iPhone 15 Pro Max	No way would I pay $36 a year for this. Amazon and Apple give this away for free. I’m not a Kobo person, I’d jailbreak and sync via KOReader before I’d pay for this. Full disclosure I don’t use Send to Kindle either. I prefer to add books via USB. I have no need for reading on multiple devices anymore.