The Best Sites for Free eBook Downloads
Do you love coffee and a good book but can’t afford both? We put together a list of the best sites for free books across the web. Now go fill up that Kindle and get to procrastinating!
All the classics, the cheesiest romances, far-flung adventures in fantasy realms…who doesn’t love getting lost in a good book? There are tons of places across the web where you can download free eBooks 100% legally (so you can stop using DefinitelyLegalDownloads.Ru).
Here are the websites with the best selections of free eBook downloads:
Note: Did you know that PDF readers are AWESOME for reading eBooks? Kindles are great, but PDFs come with great features like 3D view mode (you can flip pages like a real book!) and markup capabilities (notes, highlights, etc.). Check out this totally unbiased article on PDF vs. Kindle to learn more.
Table of Contents
Google Play (Books)
#1 on the list of sites for free eBook downloads has to be the Google eBook Store. There are millions of books at your fingertips and many of them for free. Just search the free section and you’ll find titles from self-help to romance and everything in between.
You can find any format imaginable and even read reviews from other users. The selection isn’t as great as some of the other entries on this list, but the ease of use, the Google brand, and the reviews put it at the top spot.
Pros
- Offers millions of free books
- A wide range of genres
- Easy to use
Cons
- Selection isn’t as great as some of the other entries on this list
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg gives you access to 57,000 FREE eBook downloads online in almost any format. Download them, read them online, or get them on your Kindle. It’s up to you!
Mr. Gutenberg himself (the inventor of the printing press) would be proud! The site is a bit dated, but you can’t beat the selection (or the good cause). If you have some extra cash to spare, then consider a donation!
Pros
- Offers 57,000 free eBooks
- Download eBooks in almost any format
Cons
- Site looks a bit dated
The Open Library
The Open Library is, well, open! As in, it’s a totally open-source library that’s editable by anyone. The goal is a page for every book ever published. Over 100,000 books are borrowed every month and that number keeps growing (who says kids don’t read anymore?).
The best part? You might even find some free textbooks to check out once in a while (take that, student loans!). You can browse by subject, create a list, or even make edits to the catalog yourself. It’s definitely one of the best places for free eBook downloads, especially considering the simple layout.
Pros
- Open-source library
- Editable by anyone
- Offers some free textbooks!
- The selection keeps growing
- Website offers a simple layout
Cons
- You can only borrow books
Bookbub
This isn’t a totally free site, but it does have a great selection of cheesy romances available for free (for a limited time). On Bookbub, you can download in almost any format (Apple, Google, Kindle, etc.). The selection is pretty limited, but it deserves a place on the list since it’s one of the few sites with free eBook downloads for new release eBooks.
Pros
- Download eBooks in almost any format
- Offers a selection of free eBooks
- Features new releases
Cons
- Site isn’t totally free
- Selection is pretty limited
International Digital Children’s Library
The ultimate resource for parents, teachers, and children alike, the ICDL is a rich resource to promote learning and enrichment for children across the world (volunteers have even translated books into Korean!).
The library also features a range of activities including scavenger hunts and other fun classroom games. Of course, the main draw is all of the books you can read right online or download in a number of formats (we recommend PDF, by the way. Kids will love the 3D view mode!).
The only downside is the site is a bit tough to use and in serious need of a makeover.
Pros
- Great learning resource for children
- Features a range of activities
- Read online or download in a number of formats
Cons
- Website is a bit hard to use
Read Print
Thousands of free eBooks, discussion groups for the best titles, easy lists for tracking must-reads and past reads—Read Print is another awesome resource for free eBook downloads. Joining is free and gives you access to a bunch of cool features like favorite lists and joining book clubs.
We love that you can search for cool quotes from books (hark, what light over yonder windows… uhhh are we getting this right?) and the search bar is extremely easy to use. Unlike a lot of other sites, it actually spat back accurate search results for us!
Pros
- Thousands of free eBooks
- Offers discussion groups & books clubs
- Free to join
- Can create lists & search for quotes
Cons
- Selection doesn’t offer many new releases
The Literature Network
This honorable mention deserves a spot on this list just for the fact that it lets you learn so much about the authors behind your favorite titles. For example, if you wanted to read Romeo & Juliet, you could also get access to bios about Shakespeare (was he even real?), quotes, quizzes and more.
On The Literature Network, some of the books require a small fee, but there are tons of free options. Everything is alphabetical, so it’s kind of hard not to find what you’re looking for.
Pros
- Can learn about authors through bios, quotes & quizzes
- Offers a selection of free eBooks
Cons
- Some books require a small fee
The best things in life are free. Actually, the best things in life are free eBook downloads from these awesome free book sites.
Speaking of free, you can try Soda PDF for your eBooks for free at SodaPDF.com. We might be a bit biased, but it is WAY better than Kindle for reading books on the go, and its highlighting, note-taking, and annotation features are great for students going back to school or anyone who loves to write in the margins.
