How many songs The Beatles cover?

The first British Beatles LP Please Please Me (1963)

We didn’t sing our own songs in the early days — they weren’t good enough John Lennon

We started as a little covers band Paul McCartney

The Beatles officially covered twenty-five songs by other artists. All but one were released between 1962 and 1965, with half on their first two UK albums in 1963: Please Please Me and With the Beatles.

40% of the songs on the first two Beatles albums were not original compositions. The majority emerged from their live set, with many dating back to Hamburg, where their marathon sets drove a demand for material. 

All  the songs they recorded came from singles or their 'B' sides. LPs sold far less in this era and were generally out of their price range.

The repertoire

The selection of songs they recorded was eclectic - see this Spotify playlist.. The bulk were pop songs, soul imports, and country standards, with a single show tune. 

All the songs covered were from the recent past, and most were outside the pop chart mainstream.  The most famous artists were generally avoided - no Elvis, for example - as were songs that had reached the higher reaches of the UK singles charts.