When you’re comparing what it actually costs to offer kids content digitally, the sticker price on borrows is only part of the story.
The platform fee, the cost of simply having access to the service (separate from what patrons check out), is often the piece that quietly adds up year after year. That’s especially true when it’s tied to a second, separate kids-specific product with its own contract and its own renewal date to track.
Here’s how Hoopla is built differently.
No platform fee for kids’ video
Kids video isn’t a standalone product with its own access fee bolted onto your existing Hoopla service. It’s part of the same platform your patrons already use for audiobooks, eBooks, music, movies, TV, and more. That means no paying twice just to have access: once for the platform, and again for the content sitting on top of it.
One set of borrows to manage, not two
Running kids’ content on a separate platform usually means a second pool of monthly borrows or tickets for staff to monitor, budget against, and explain to patrons when it runs low.
With Hoopla, kids’ content draws from the same collection your library already manages. One dashboard. One budget conversation. One system for staff to learn instead of two.
Predictable for budgeting, simpler for staff
For collection development managers and directors thinking ahead to next year’s budget, that simplicity shows up in a couple of concrete ways.
On the cost side, there’s no separate contract renewal or platform fee increase to track for kids’ content specifically, since it’s already folded into your existing Hoopla agreement, and one less line item to defend when budgets get tight. On the staffing side, frontline staff members don’t need training on a second interface, and you don’t have to explain to patrons why the kids’ titles they’re looking for live in a different app with a different login.
What does this mean if you’re currently running two platforms?
If your library is paying a platform fee for kids’ content elsewhere, on top of what you pay for borrows on Hoopla, it’s worth running the numbers. That’s especially true now that competitor platform fees have climbed by roughly 30% for comparable content, with no guarantee the increases stop there.
In many cases, the answer is content and functionality your library already has access to through Hoopla, just without the extra invoice, the extra interface, and the extra explaining.
Have questions about your specific Hoopla contract or budget? Reach out to your account rep. They can walk you through exactly what’s included at no additional cost, so you know what you’re paying for—and what you shouldn’t be.
