College textbooks can be incredibly expensive. If you pay full price for them, you could be looking at a total semester cost in the thousands of dollars.
That’s why reducing your textbook cost is one of my favorite ways for you to save money in college. There are several ways to do that, from buying older versions of textbooks, to selling them back after you’re finished with them, to borrowing textbooks from the library or friends.
But one of my favorite ways to save on textbooks is to rent them. Renting textbooks is far less expensive than buying them. And if you use one of the best college textbook rental sites, they may offer extra perks like free shipping and returns too.
The 11 Best College Textbook Rental Sites
Not sure where to start to find textbook rentals? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Here are the 11 best college textbook rental sites available today.
1. Chegg
Chegg is a website that offers several college student resources, from scholarships to internships, to tutoring and more.
They also offer textbook rentals which they say can net you savings of up to 90%. All of their textbook rentals come with 21-day risk-free returns. So if you decide to drop or switch classes, you can get your money back.
But the thing that makes Chegg one of the best college textbook rental sites is the fact they come with a 4-week trial to Chegg Study. Chegg Study is a subscription service that offers step-by-step textbook solutions for your toughest assignments. It also provides 24/7 access to Chegg’s Q&A experts.
Chegg Study normally costs $14.95 a month, but you can get a free month when you rent a book through their site.
2. Campus Book Rentals
Founded in 2007, Campus Book Rentals was one of the first companies to pioneer the concept of textbook rentals. So yeah — they know what they’re doing. According to their site, they’ve saved students over $116 million throughout their company’s history.
When you rent through Campus Book Rentals, you can choose semester (130 days), quarter (85 days), or summer (55 days) periods. And each rental comes with a 21-day free return guarantee in case you change classes or aren’t happy with your textbook for any reason.
When it’s time to return your book, Campus Book Rentals will send you a prepaid shipping label. And if you need to keep your book a bit longer than the due date, you can take advantage of their impressive 15-day grace period. If you need your textbook even longer than that, you can pay for a 15 or 30-day extension.
If you need to retake your class or want to re-rent your books for any reason, Campus Book Rentals will give you a discount. Finally, Campus Book Rentals offers excellent customer support that can be contacted via phone or chat.
3. Amazon
Amazon is one of the best college textbook rental sites because it’s…well…Amazon. You know what you’re going to get with Amazon. When you rent a book with them, you can have full confidence that you’re almost always going to get exactly what you asked for and it’s going to arrive on time.
All Amazon textbook rentals come with 30-day moneyback guarantees. Unlike many textbook rental sites, however, you will need to pay for shipping on your order if you’re not an Amazon Prime member. But you can get the shipping fee removed with orders of $35 or more. Return shipping is paid for by Amazon.
If you need to keep your textbook past your return deadline, you can pay for a 15-day extension. Otherwise, you’ll need to pay for another semester.
4. Bookbyte
Bookbyte is an all-inclusive textbook site that you can use to buy, sell, or rent textbooks. Their textbook rental feature is simple to use. Simply search the ISBN or title of the textbook you need and choose the “rent” option. Bookbyte offers 30, 60, 90 or 150-day rental terms.
Need to keep your book a little longer than you initially thought? Bookbyte will give you a 7-day grace period. Your order will need to be over $49, though, to get free shipping. That’s a little higher than the $35 free-shipping minimum that you’ll see on several of the best college textbook rental sites.
Bookbyte says that you can save up to 87% on textbooks by renting with them and that the average student has saved $112.93 per book.
5. CampusBooks
CampusBooks is one of the best college textbook rental sites available today because it’s not really one site at all.
Instead, CampusBook is a comparison site that will shop dozens of the best college textbook rental sites for you.
Since textbook rental terms vary by company, you can use CampusBooks filters to choose the rental terms that meet your needs. Another thing I love about CampusBook books is their “Buy Vs. Rent Superbot.” Just type in the textbook that you need for college and it will determine if it’s cheaper to buy or rent it.
Their Bookbag feature is handy as well. With Bookbag, you can add up to five books at once and CampusBooks will find you the best combination deal on the whole bundle.
6. Textbook Underground
Founded in 2016, Textbook Underground says that they’ve shipped over 76,000 textbooks to over 66,000 students. With their customizable rental periods, you can rent your textbook for the whole semester or just long enough to get you through a test.
Like other sites, Textbook Underground allows you to search multiple books at once, provides 21-day hassle-free returns, and will send you a prepaid shipping label when it’s time to send your textbook book.
If you need to keep your textbook longer than the agreed rental period, you can pay for 15 or 30-day extensions.
7. Textbook Rush
Textbook Rush says that they offer prices that are up to 90% off retail. And they give free shipping on orders over $35.
One of the best things about Textbook Rush is that they offer 30-day moneyback guarantees. That’s 9 days more than the 21 days that many of the best college textbook rental sites offer.
When you receive your textbooks from Textbook Rush, there’s a good chance that they’ll arrive in a green reusable box. They recommend that you use it to send back your textbook rental when you’re finished with it.
Oh, and when do you do send your textbooks back, Textbook Rush will pay for the return shipping.
8. Textbook Rentals
Textbook Rentals is another comparison shopping company that searches multiple textbook rental sites at once.
Their comparison tables will show you the key information about each site that is willing to rent to you, including their shipping policies, return policies, and more.
Textbook Rentals will also display new and used textbook prices right below the rental prices. That way you can make sure that you’re truly going to save money by renting.
Another thing that makes Textbook Rentals one of the best college textbook rental sites is that they compare eTextbooks too.
If your class starts tomorrow and you can’t wait for a book to arrive in the mail, eTextbooks can be a great alternative. With eTextbooks, you get them as soon as you pay for them. Keep in mind, though, that while eTextbooks are convenient, you’ll usually have to pay a little extra for them.
9. ValoreBooks
Like other sites, ValoreBooks will shop multiple textbook rental sites at the same time. They say that their marketplace model compares books rentals from thousands of providers.
One of the things that makes ValoreBooks one of the best college textbook rental sites is their “low price guarantee.” If you rent a book from ValoreBooks and they find a lower price within 7 days, they’ll refund the difference.
Their flexible rental terms allow you to choose from one quarter to one semester. All rentals come with a 30-day money-back guarantee and free return shipping.
10. Knetbooks
What makes Knetbooks one of the best college textbook rental sites? Two words — free shipping.
Knetbooks offers free economy shipping on all orders. They’re one of the only textbook rental sites that I know of that doesn’t have an order minimum for free shipping.
Knetbooks offers three rental periods: semester, quarter or short-term. They also offer an impressive variety of rental extension periods. You can choose to extend your rental between 15, 30, 60, 90 or 130 days from your original due date.
Knetbooks offer a 25-day moneyback guarantee on all orders and free return shipping.
11. Cheapest Textbooks
Cheapest Textbooks is another comparison shopping site that will shop thousands of college textbook sellers at once. They say that their staff works hard to find all the best college textbook deals online, including available coupons and free shipping offers.
At Cheapest Textbooks, they’re all about helping you save the most money, whether that’s through buying or renting. They’ll show you all the buying, eTextbook, rental and selling options all on one page. They’ll even recommend the rental period that could save you the most money.
Tips for Using the Best College Textbook Rental Sites
If you’ve never used a textbook rental site before, here are a few ways to get the most out of them.
1. Use Your Textbook’s ISBN.
Most textbooks have several editions. Is it important for you to have the latest edition of your textbook?
If so, you’ll want to make sure that you search by the actual ISBN number as opposed to just typing in the title in the search box.
2. Decide if You Need Any Textbook Supplemental Materials.
Does your textbook come with supplemental materials like a CD or DVD? If so, there’s a chance that they could be missing from a textbook rental. Some professors may not require you to have your textbook’s supplemental materials. But if they do, you’ll want to pay close attention to the seller’s description.
If it’s not expressly said that the supplemental materials are included, you’ll want to reach out the seller for confirmation before making your purchase.
3. Highlight to Your Heart’s Desire…But Avoid Excessive Wear and Tear.
If you’re like me, you simply have to highlight in your college textbooks. The good news is that most of the best college textbook rental sites expect this and allow it.
However, you’ll still want to be gentle with your textbook rental. If you send back your textbook with stains or torn pages, the rental site could require you to buy the book outright.
4. Don’t Expect to Get an Access Code.
By their very definition, textbook rentals are used books. This means that if your textbook normally comes with an access code, there’s a great chance it will have already been used by another student.
If you really need the textbook access code, you’ll probably want to buy the textbook instead.
Conclusion:
By taking advantage of one of the best college textbook rental sites, you could save 50-90% on your textbook cost this year.
But it’s important to point out that there is no be-all-end-all college textbook strategy. At times, you may be better off buying a textbook at a discount and selling it back at the end of your semester.
But whether you rent your textbooks or buy them on the cheap, there’s no reason for your college textbooks to break the bank this year.