O'Reilly subscription
The most recommended of 6 online bookstores
People recommend it for skimming several books on a topic before choosing one, plus labs and videos. Critics find the app clunky and say buying single books is cheaper.
People recommend it for skimming several books on a topic before choosing one, plus labs and videos. Critics find the app clunky and say buying single books is cheaper.
40 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 24
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 11.75 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 24 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good value for the price
“I think it is worth that, but I don't think I'd pay much more.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “I find the $500 to be a pretty clear win as far as value goes.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “it was pretty well worth it”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” - Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me”
- Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me”
Free or discounted via libraries or ACM
“I feel like this is a little known secret (discount via ACM) that more folks should know about.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “free access to academic libraries, IEEE, ACM, O'Reilly, etc”
Comment from 7 Dec 2025 in “OMSCS Open Courseware” “lets people access Everything from O'Reilly for Free”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Books Are Not Remotely Too Expensive” - Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me”
Compare several books on a topic
“The main advantage of the subscription to me is being able to evaluate several books on a topic to pick the one that is the best fit for what I need.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “I'm also on a $200/year plan and for me too the fact that I can skim multiple books on a single topic before settling on one is well worth the money.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Clunky app and interface
“I couldn't work without it, although LLMs are becoming a good substitute for some subjects. The mobile app is a roach motel though.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “the app is pretty kludgey and it's way more locked down than other publishers who will give you chapter PDFs”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “Doesn't fix the UI issues but does at least shift the ROI calculus.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” - Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me”
Often cheaper to buy books
“I cancelled my O'Reilly subscription because it's cheaper for me to buy the books from the publisher.”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore” “it would be far more cost–effective to simple let us request hard copies of whatever books we wanted”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “It's far more cost effective to buy individual books than paying for the subscription”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” Dislikes subscription-only access model
“I've become fundamentally opposed to DRM on media and subscription-only access is the ultimate DRM.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me” “Final nail in the coffin was when O'Reilly decided to aggressively push their subscription model.”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore” Not used enough to justify
“I cancelled my O'Reilly sub because I didn't read enough to make it worth the price”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Nobody cracks open a programming book anymore” “realized I cannot make full use of it recently”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “No more O'Reilly subscriptions for me”
Other online bookstores people recommend
The four most recommended other online bookstores, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Reilly subscriptionThis page | 24 | 16 | 60% | 4 | 11.75 yrs3 owners | — |
| Bookshop.org | 15 | 2 | 88% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Kobo Store | 11 | 3 | 79% | 5 | — | Approved |
| AbeBooks | 8 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
| ebooks.com | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“neither wanting an out-of-date book or an AI-centric recent title”
“I cancelled my O'Reilly subscription because it's cheaper for me to buy the books from the publisher.”
“I cancelled my O'Reilly sub because I didn't read enough to make it worth the price”
“Final nail in the coffin was when O'Reilly decided to aggressively push their subscription model.”
“it's good to read aan edited book on a topic”
“being able to dip into topics, just for fun, written by people telling a story”
“lets people access Everything from O'Reilly for Free”
“O'Reilly started doing the same.”
“Coding agents made me really get something back from the money I pay for my O'Reilly subscription.”
“access all training/materials from them and Manning”
“it was pretty well worth it”
“I would have more respect for O'Reilly if they didn't include them then.”
“I would certainly never subscribe again at current rates.”
“remember being disappointed that it was a more limited subscription”
“O'reilly is very responsive and open to direct feedback”
“the app is sadly horrendous”
“realized I cannot make full use of it recently”
“And, as far as expenses go for a research institute, $4k/mo is very inexpensive.”
“I still use it via browser at work quite often.”
“It's far more cost effective to buy individual books than paying for the subscription”
“I couldn't work without it, although LLMs are becoming a good substitute for some subjects. The mobile app is a roach motel though.”
“I'm also on a $200/year plan and for me too the fact that I can skim multiple books on a single topic before settling on one is well worth the money.”
“well worth the cost for me”
“the app is pretty kludgey and it's way more locked down than other publishers who will give you chapter PDFs”
“I find the $500 to be a pretty clear win as far as value goes.”
“I think it is worth that, but I don't think I'd pay much more.”
“The reason was entirely the terrible state of their app.”
“I've become fundamentally opposed to DRM on media and subscription-only access is the ultimate DRM.”
“The main advantage of the subscription to me is being able to evaluate several books on a topic to pick the one that is the best fit for what I need.”
“check your local one! It seems really common.”
“Made it very difficult to cancel, knowing that I will have to pay full price if I ever want it back”
“I feel like this is a little known secret (discount via ACM) that more folks should know about.”
“It was a easy sell to my department”
“Doesn't fix the UI issues but does at least shift the ROI calculus.”
“I think the labs and videos are quite good, plus the occasional opportunities to do live-chats with the authors.”
“it would be far more cost–effective to simple let us request hard copies of whatever books we wanted”
“It is by far the best source for high quality tech content out there.”
“A lot less than $500/year.”
“O'Reilly is way too expensive”
“free access to academic libraries, IEEE, ACM, O'Reilly, etc”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.