15 Best Websites to Download Books for Free in 2023

Read, review, compare and select among the list of the top websites to Download Books for Free for your reading journey:

Books like the magic carpet of Aladdin take us to so many different places. They amuse, entertain, and educate us. If you love to read books, you are at the right place.

Most people visit Amazon and iTunes to buy books. But you don’t have to pay to read books online. There are many free online books downloading websites that allow you to read books without paying any money.

In this blog post, we have reviewed the best websites where you can find a treasure trove of books.

Let us begin!

Book Download Sites

Market Trends: The eBook publication global market size is estimated to be $3.7 billion in 2022. The market size decreased by 4.3 percent between 2017 and 2022. The following graph shows the eBook US market size at $ millions.

eBook US Market Size in $ millions (2017-2022):

Expert Advice: Common eBook formats include Mobi, EPUB, fb2, AZW, AWE2, and PDF. You need to install an eBook reader to read books you download online.

FAQs About Free Books Download

Q #1) What is an eBook and how does it work?

Answer: An eBook is a book in a digital format that can be read on a computer or mobile device. You can read classics, fiction, and non-fiction eBooks.

Q #2) Where to download free books?

Answer: You can find dozens of free eBooks online. But the download of the book should be allowed under the relevant copyright laws in your country. In the US, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 allows books published between 1923 and 1977 to enter the public domain.

Q #3) What do I need to read in an eBook?

Answer: You need to buy eBook reader software to read eBooks. In addition, you must have a PC, smartphone, or tablet device to read an eBook.

Q #4) What are the best websites for free eBooks?

Answer: The best websites for downloading free eBooks include Project Gutenberg, Manbooks, FreeComputerBooks, and Google eBookstore.

Q #5) Where can I find free PDF books?

Answer: You can find free PDF books on Google Play Books, Open Library, and Project Gutenberg websites.

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List of Top Free Book Download Websites

Popular list to download free books online:

1. Smashwords
2. Project Gutenberg
3. Manybooks
4. Open Library
5. FreeComputerBooks
6. Google eBookstore
7. LibriVox
8. Internet Archive
9. Bookboon
10. PDF Drive
11. Library Genesis
12. International Children’s Digital Library
13. Amazon Free Kindle Books
14. OBooko
15. PDF Books World
16. Authorama

Comparison Table of Best Free Book Download Sites

Tool NameBest ForProsConsRatings
*****

SmashwordsReading and Publishing eBooks• Clean Interface
• eBooks vetted by professionals
• Easy navigation with intuitive filtering
• Ideal for publishing and marketing eBooks• You may not find certain popular books here.
Project Gutenberg Reading books online and offline for free.• Unlimited free download and redistribution
• No registration or fee is required
• View a list of popular books
• Offline book catalogs allow you to know about the availability of books• Not all books are free
• Only a few international books
Manybooks Download books online for free.• Book categories make it easy to find the right book
• Easy to find Creative Commons and classic books
• Books in dozens of formats• Some sections of the site are not updated
Open Library Reading books in almost any format online for free.• Create a wish list by ‘sponsor’ book feature
• Available in multiple formats
• A plethora of free online books
• Preview books• A donation is required for sponsoring books
• Directs to an external website
FreeComputerBooks Computer programmers who want to download computer-related books for free online.• Book descriptions are useful
• A good collection of computer books
• Lecture notes by authors are informative
• Download books in multiple formats • Outdated design of the website
• The limited genre of books
Google eBookstore Reading books on mobile and PC platforms for free• Classic and modern books
• Read books from a mobile app or website
• Save book in an online account
• Read books online and offline
• A limited number of free books
• Account registration is required

Detailed reviews:

Best for Reading and Publishing eBooks.

Smashwords is a fantastic online website for eBooks that caters to the needs of readers, publishers, and authors. You’ll find a wide range of books on Smashwords. Its massive catalog boasts of books in multiple genres like horror, fantasy, romance, historical fiction, and non-fiction. The catalog currently boasts 400000 books vetted and correctly formatted for a comfortable reading experience.

Besides reading, Smashwords can also be used for publishing e-Books. The platform provides publishers and literary agents with intuitive marketing, distribution, and sales reporting tools so they can publish and market their books conveniently.

Features:

• 400000 Well-Formatted eBooks
• Intuitive Genre and Category Filtering
• Marketing and Sales Reporting Tools for Publishers
• Dedicated Blog and Fan forum page

Pros:

• Clean Interface
• eBooks vetted by professionals
• Easy navigation with intuitive filtering
• Ideal for publishing and marketing eBooks

Cons:

• You may not find certain popular books here.

Verdict: Smashwords is a platform that intends to keep readers and eBook publishers happy with its comprehensive platform. It has a massive library of books to satisfy readers and offers marketing/distribution tools that can cater to the requirements of publishers and independent authors.

Price: Free

#2) Project Gutenberg

Best for reading books online and offline for free.

Project Guttenberg is one of the oldest depositories of free books. Michael S. Hart started the project in 1971. It is run by a large number of volunteers and everything is available gratis for free.

This website has over 60,000 books. The books are available in different languages. You can search for a curated collection of eBooks in different genres. The website also supports RSS, email, and social media sharing. In addition, an Excel-compatible list of eBook metadata is also available for offline viewing.

Features:

• Over 60,000 eBooks
• eBooks in multiple formats
• Top 100 trendy eBook list
• RSS Feed
• Social media sharing

Pros:

• Unlimited free download and redistribution.
• No registration or fees are required.
• View a list of popular books.
• Offline book catalogs allow you to know about the availability of books.

Cons:

• Not all books are free.
• Only a few international books.

Verdict: Project Gutenberg is one of the oldest online resources for downloading books online. We recommend this platform for anyone who wants to download books in different genres as it has a vast collection of free eBooks.

Price: Free

Website: Project Gutenberg

#3) Manybooks

Best for downloading books online for free.

Manybooks contain multiple types of books. You can find free books in numerous formats on this website. The best thing is that the books are listed in different categories. You can find action & adventure, romance, mystery and thriller, biography, young adult, historical fiction, and books in different genres.

It lets you browse books by language and authors. The website also contains a blog section that recommends interesting books. You can download books in many different formats, including PDF, Mobi, FB1, RTF, HTML, and much more.

Features:

• Supports Mobi, PDF, FB2, HTML, RTF, and more.
• Built-in book reader
• RSS feed
• Social media sharing
• Blog section

Pros:

• Book categories make it easy to find the right book.
• It’s easy to find Creative Commons and classic books.
• Books in dozens of formats.

Cons:

• Some sections of the site are not updated

Verdict: Manybooks is the best online resources that we recommend for free online book downloads. You can download books for free once you create an account. We did not find much to complain about on this wonderful site where you can find dozens of free book downloads.

Price: Free

Website: Manybooks

#4) Open Library

Best for reading books in almost any format online for free.

The Open Library allows you to read books online for free. You can place books you want to read on a digital shelf on the website. The books can be organized using a Reading Log and Lists. The virtual library explorer makes it easy to organize the books.

The website lists a large collection of books in different formats. You can find art, science fiction, fantasy, and biography books. In addition, you can find recipes and romance books on this website.

Features:

• Organize books using Reading Logs and Lists.
• Digital shelves
• Read free books online.
• Controlled digital borrowing.

Pros:

• Create a wish list by the ‘sponsor’ book feature.
• Available in multiple formats.
• A plethora of free online books.
• Preview books.

Cons:

• A donation is required for sponsoring books.
• Directs to an external website.

Verdict: Open Library is a good resource for reading books online for free. But one thing missing from the website is that we cannot download the books for offline reading. Also, you have the option to borrow books for a limited time.

Price: Free

Website: Open Library

Further Reading => Most Popular Apps to Read Books for Free

#5) FreeComputerBooks

Best for computer programmers who want to download computer-related books for free online.

FreeComputerBooks.com contains a large collection of books. You can find books on mostly computer-related topics. The website contains textbooks, lecture notes, and much more.

We found books on mobile computing, programming languages, big data, and networking communications. There are also books on sub-genres that will let you gain advanced knowledge about computer hardware and software architecture.

Features:

• Multiple formats including HTML, PDF, Mobi, and ePub.
• Recently added book section.
• Mobile and computer programming books.
• Advanced software engineering books.

Pros:

• Book descriptions are useful.
• A good collection of computer books.
• Lecture notes by authors are informative.
• Download books in multiple formats.

Cons:

• Outdated design of the website.
• A limited genre of books.

Verdict: We recommend FreeComputerBooks for computer professionals. The books available here are not for laymen or non-professionals since the topics are complex. The books available on this website are targeted at computer graduates.

Price: Free

Website: FreeComputerBooks

#6) Google eBookstore

Best for reading books on mobile and PC platforms for free.

Google eBookstore shows a list of free. Each book contains detailed descriptions so that you can know about the content of the book. We liked the preview feature that allows you to read a sample to get to know more about the book.

The website lists the top 100 free books you can read online. You can also export the books to ePub format for offline reading. You can find free books from notable authors on the side menu. The downloaded books are shown in the Google Play Books account.

Features:

• Text and Audiobooks.
• Books with reader’s ratings.
• Sample reading.
• Detailed book descriptions.

Pros:

• Classic and modern books.
• Read books from a mobile app or website.
• Save your book in an online account.
• Read books online and offline.

Cons:

• A limited number of free books.
• Account registration is required.

Verdict: Google eBookstore is a great site for online and offline reading. But a drawback we found of the site is that it has only a limited number of classic and modern books for download.

Price: Free

Website: Google eBookstore

Suggested Reading =>> Best Seller Audiobooks with Comparison

#7) LibriVox

Best for downloading audiobooks for free online.

LibriVox is the best online resource for downloading audiobooks. Here you can find dozens of books online for free. The website shows audiobooks filtered by author, genre, language, and title. You can find books in English and other languages.

Features:

• Over 16,000 Audiobooks.
• Compatible with iPods and mobile devices.
• Burn audiobooks on CDs.
• Books are sorted by Author, Title, Genre, and Language.

Verdict: Librivox is one of the best sites that we recommend for audiophiles. You can download many audiobooks for free by visiting the website.

Price: Free

Website: Librivox

#8) Internet Archive

Best for reading books online and sharing reviews with others.

Internet Archive contains millions of books that you can download for free. Anyone with a free account can borrow the books. Moreover, print-disabled people can access a list of DAISY files. The online site contains diaries, monographs, serials, maps, and more from all over the world.

Features:

• Over 20 million free books.
• Modern and classic books.
• DAISY file format for disabled people.
• Online forum.

Verdict: The Internet Archive is one of the biggest online resources for book lovers. We recommend this platform as it has millions of free eBooks. You can connect with other like-minded individuals through the online forum. The downside of the site is that you can only read books online and can borrow them for a limited time.

Price: Free

Website: Internet Archive

#9) Bookboon

Best for corporations for personal development and business skills.

Bookboon is a great personal development solution for corporations. Various notable companies such as Deloitte, AstraZeneca, and Zurich are using online resources for personal development. The website offers a blended learning environment consisting of eBooks, online courses, audiobooks, and more.

Features:

• Self-directed learning.
• Customer Support Team.
• Blended learning with eBooks, audio learning, and online courses.

Verdict: The website is great for corporations that want to improve the business skills of their personnel. We also recommend online learning resources to individuals who want to improve their professional business communication skills.

Price: Try for Free | Contact for a custom quote

Website: Bookboon

#10) PDF Drive

Best for downloading books in PDF format for free.

PDF Drive consists of dozens of books that you can read for free. The website contains millions of books that you can download for free. All the books are 100 percent legal. We particularly like the layout of the website. The books are categorized into different groups, which makes it easy to find the required content.

Features:

• Weekly Update
• No download limits
• Over 79 million books
• Social sharing – Twitter, Facebook

Verdict: The only downside that we found with the website is that it has books only in PDF formats. Your device must have a PDF reader installed to read books downloaded from the site.

Price: Free

Website: PDF Drive

#11) Library Genesis

Best for finding free books for academic purposes.

Library Genesis is a great resource for students and teachers. Free eBooks on different topics are available. A great feature of the website was support for advanced search with mask (*). It allows you to search by fields such as author, title, publisher, and year. In addition, you can select a simple or detailed search.

Features:

• Academic books
• Search using MD5 tags
• Tor Mirror download
• Torrent downloads

Verdict: Library Genesis is a great book for downloading academic books. The website is targeted at academics. But I also recommend the website for general readers who want to improve their knowledge of different technical fields.

Price: Free

Website: Library Genesis

#12) International Children’s Digital Library

Best for finding free children’s eBooks.

International Children’s Digital Library contains dozens of children’s books. The online resource is a project by the University of Maryland. You can find a long list of books that are sorted by color, language, format, and genre.

Features:

• 4000+ books are available.
• Books in different languages.
• Books are sorted alphabetically.
• Genre, color, language, shape, format, character, fiction, and non-fiction filtered books.

Verdict: International Children’s Digital Library is great for parents looking for a digital version of books. A downside about the site is that you can only read books online. There is no option to download the books for offline reading.

Price: Free

Website: International Children’s Digital Library

#13) Amazon Free Kindle Books

Best for finding great Amazon Kindle eBook deals.

You can find dozens of Amazon Kindle eBooks. You can find audible audiobooks and paperback editions. The books can be filtered by customer reviews, genre, language, and a lot more.

Features:

• Kindle Unlimited.
• Prime Reading.
• Filter by genre, author, published dates, customer review ratings, and language.
• eBooks with narration.

Verdict: Amazon Free Kindle eBooks are great for anyone who likes classic or modern books. It is easy to find an eBook of the desired genre. But a downside of the site, in my opinion, is that you have to pay for reading well-known classical and modern books.

Price: Free

Website: Amazon Fire Kindle Books

#14) OBooko

Best for downloading dozens of free eBooks online.

OBooko is another great online website that we recommend for downloading eBooks for free. You will find dozens of free eBooks on this site. It has over 3000 free eBooks. And the best thing is that there are no ads or viruses. The site has clean eBooks with no plagiarized or copied literature.

Features:

• Over 3000 eBooks.
• Free books in epub, pdf, and Amazon Kindle formats.
• 100 percent legally licensed.

Verdict: OBooko is a great site for reading books on almost any topic. You will find eBooks in ePub, pdf, and Kindle formats.

Price: Free

Website: OBooko

#15) PDF Books

Best for downloading different types of eBooks in PDF format.

PDF Books World is another good website for downloading free eBooks. Here you will find high-quality PDF books. The books found here are digitized versions of the paperback edition. You can find books on various topics, including children, fiction, and academic books on this website.

Features:

• Digitized books of classic paperback editions.
• Books in different genres including children’s books, fiction, and non-fiction books.

Verdict: We found the site layout to be neat and clean. You will not have much difficulty downloading the right file. One downside is that you will have to register for a free account. We think it would be better if it allowed an anonymous download of eBooks.

Price: Free

Website: PDF Books World

#16) Authorama

Best for reading classic and modern books for free.

Authorama offers a plethora of eBooks for free. You can download books to read offline or online. The books are sorted by the last name of the author. There are a lot of classics on these websites such as The Poetics by Aristotle and Die Gottliche Komodie by Dante Alighieri.

Features:

• List of classic eBooks.
• Books by +130 authors.
• HTML text.

Verdict: Authorama is a good website for downloading free books. The best thing I like about the site is that the books are sorted by the author’s name. This will make it easy for you to find the right book for reading online.

Price: Free

Website: Authorama

Conclusion

You can download eBooks for free from the websites reviewed in this blog post. The websites with the largest collection of free eBooks include Open Library, PDF Drive, and Internet Project Gutenberg.

Internet Archive is the best online resource for people with disabilities. The website contains a large collection of books in DAISY format intended for disabled people. We recommend LibriVox to download free audio eBooks. If you want to read classic eBooks, we recommend Authorama.

Bookboon is the best website for corporations that want to train personnel with professional learning material. Lastly, FreeComputerBooks is the recommended website for computer professionals to download books for free.

Research Process:

• Time has been taken to research this article: It took us about 10 hours to research and write on the topic of free book download sites so that you can download free books online.
• Total Website Research: 30
• Top websites shortlisted: 15

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