Wondering Where to Read Books Online for Free? Try These 10 Platforms
Recently I ordered a hardcover book to be delivered to my local bookshop. While I was picking it up, I delightedly spotted another new release I was excited about. I added it to my checkout stack.
Those two books alone set me back $57.89. Lol. For a fast reader like me, who can easily get through 3-4 books per week, this is an unsustainable price. I decided to investigate where to read books for free online.
Here are ten amazing platforms I found where you can access books to read for free online.
| Platform | How to access | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Libby | Through your library. | Free, high-quality books, magazines, audiobooks. | Quality/quantity limited by your specific public library. |
| Hoopla | Through your library. | Sometimes has fewer limitations on popular books than Libby. | Fewer books available. |
| Internet Archive | Online, no account needed. | A huge, almost overwhelming amount of quantity. | Overwhelming amount of books, depends on people uploading them. |
| BookBub | Online, need account with book reading platform like Kindle. | Curated selection of recently published books. | Time-limited deals, limited selection. |
| OnlineBookClub | Online, create account. | Get paid to read some of these. | New, unreviewed books, varying quality. |
| Project Gutenberg | Online, no account needed. | Amazing selection of copyright free books. | Mostly older works. |
| RivetedLit | Online, create account. | Top, hot releases available. | Only YA and teens, time-limited deals. |
| Kindle | Online, with Amazon account. | Tons of content available. | Varying quality. |
| Tor.com | Online, through the newsletter and account. | Hottest sci-fi/fantasy. | Only one per month. |
| Wattpad | Online, create an account. | Tons of stories to read through. | Varying quality of work. |
If you’re interested in the video version of this article, check it out here!
Libby
My own public library works with Libby, an app developed by Overdrive. For the low low price of free, I can access an unbelievable number of titles. And in January of this year, Libby loaned its 1 billionth title — more than I could ever read in a million lifetimes!
Libby also gives you access to free audiobooks, free magazines, cookbooks, comic books, graphic novels, and curated lists. I find it very easy to browse and frequently find amazing new reads that I’d never heard of.
How to sign up for Libby?
First, find out if your local library supports Libby. Then, go to the app store or the Google Play store and download it. Sign in, and start browsing books.
Libby supports 22,000 public libraries all over the States, so you’re almost certainly able to join the program.
Hoopla
Hoopla is another great place to read free books online, also offered through a library program. I find it a good place to look for titles that aren’t currently available through Libby.
It also has access to free music, videos, movies, and audiobooks. While I find the selection of books and browsability are not as good as Libby’s, it’s still a good place to check for free books.
How to join Hoopla?
Again, start with your library and make sure they support it. Then, log in using your library card and start browsing.
Internet Archive
I love the IA’s mission. Their whole thing is about “building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form,” something I really believe in. Especially with digital content, it’s all too easy for it to be lost forever.
OK, off my soapbox. You can nab some awesome reads on the Internet Archive, no library card required. My fave on offer right now is Twilight. I will not apologize for enjoying Twilight; I have also purchased the books and supported the author that way.
IA offers 41 million books and texts, along with live concerts, 8.4 million videos, and almost one million software programs, including The Sims, among other things).
How to join the Internet Archive?
You actually don’t need an account to download or access content; you do need to register for a free account to upload content.
BookBub
This platform offers free eBooks available to download at no cost to you. What I love about this website is that it carefully curates books to be high quality, while still offering a wide selection. Much as I love PG and IA, they’re cumbersome to wade through. Some of the other options we’ll talk about below give free ebooks either limited in scale and scope, or of mixed quality.
BookBub’s value prop is simple: they offer books from top-tier publishers and critically-acclaimed independent authors. You can download these free ebooks on just about any device, including Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Android.
You can also follow authors to get updates on their work, or if they recommend any book available on BookBub.
How to join BookBub?
It could not be simpler. I found a free book I liked the look of (this one) and followed the links to download it through Google Play store. I was able to read it within 60 seconds of finding it.
You’ll need an account with one of Amazon, Apple, Nook, or Google to access the books, but that’s free and easy to do.
OnlineBookClub
This is actually a book review website I came across during my research on how to get paid to read. It’s simple. You sign up for an account for free. Then you choose any one book to review. They send you the book in an emailed PDF for free.
You have two weeks to read and review the book. Then you can earn money – between $5 and $60 – per review.
So not only do you get free books to read online, but you may actually be paid for it! OBC also provides a free Book of the Day alert, which emails you when well-reviewed books are free or very, very cheap.
How to sign up for OnlineBookClub?
Give your email address, and you’ll soon be sent the book you choose to review. You can only do one at a time, and the books will be, for the most part, unreviewed, self-published books that don’t get reviews through traditional channels. This means there is quality variation. But some are really solid books.
Project Gutenberg
I was big mad when I finally read Jane Eyre and loved it deeply and intensely. It felt like I’d discovered a secret – so many of the “old” books we were forced to read for school sucked, and yet Jane Eyre absolutely ripped. I actually got home from school and asked my mom angrily, “How come you didn’t tell me old books were so good?”
Through Project Gutenberg, you can read so many free classics like Sherlock Holmes, anything by the Brontes, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, and many, many more. Do not wait like I did – hop on these free books and read them ASAP.
Gutenberg is a really great project. Their mission statement is short and sweet: To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. That’s definitely a mission I can get behind.
The really neat thing is you can download Project Gutenberg’s books on pretty much any device. I read loads of PJ books for free through the Books app on my iPad, but I can read Jane Eyre on my laptop for free right now.
They primarily focus on the classics, but there are some contemporary works available for free, too.
How can I join Project Gutenberg?
Another free repository. I was able to freely and easily access Irish Fairy Tales with no issue whatsoever, without needing to create an account or sign up.
Riveted
If you’re looking to read free books that are more popular or on best-seller lists, your best bet is to try RivetedLit. They offer free YA and Teen reads through the publishing house Simon & Schuster. The one that caught my eye was Yolk, which was free to read through May 31st. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was also available.
Many people bash YA, but especially if you’re looking for free ways to read, I don’t think you should turn your nose up at it. Also, separately, I love YA books, especially at the price point of $0.00.
How to sign up for RivetedLit?
You just have to register with an email address. It’s very simple. I was able to get my eyes on TATBILB within a few minutes. There’s also no limit on the number of free books you can read on this online site.
Kindle
I lived in Germany for a year, where I didn’t have access to library books in English. To tide me over, I relied on Kindle. As a marketing strategy, many authors self-publish their first book in a series for free, and then the sequel is priced between $3 and $10, typically.
A second marketing method ofte means authors make their books free for a limited time, to drive reviews and downloads, then increase the price once the sale is over.
This means you get 1) a chance to read and support a newer, self-published author, and 2) a free book online.
I think it’s easy to overlook free Kindle books, because you assume the quality matches the price. But I disagree. Many fantastic authors self-publish their work on Kindle. I loved, for example, Susanne O’Leary’s Secrets of Willow House, currently free on Kindle.
To find more free books, I used to just go to the “Top Free” lists on Kindle and download whatever looked good to read on my iPad.
How to sign up for Kindle?
It’s easy to get confused. I’m not talking about Kindle Unlimited, which is a book membership. To get access to free books on Kindle, you just need a free Amazon account. With that, you can access free ebooks to download onto your Kindle or iPad without paying a penny.
Tor.com
I have a soft spot in my heart for Tor because they are the publishing house of two of my favorite series: Gideon the Ninth and The Atlas Six. Better – they often give you access to download free books online. The best way to access this content is by signing up for their free eBook of the Month club, which wings you a time-limited eBook download absolutely for free.
The nice thing is that these tend to be hot releases, really popular books that you’d normally pay for at a bookstore.
How to sign up for free Tor ebooks?
Just sign up for the newsletter! That’s it; no need to create an account. Give them your email, agree to the terms and service, and sign up for any extra newsletters that catch your eye. (I signed up for the Fantasy and Science Fiction releases, personally.)
Wattpad
Many aspiring authors publish fiction serially on Wattpad. Now, I know Wattpad gets a bad rap as being full of “my parents sold me to One Direction” fantasies, but there’s actual solid content on there, too. And much of it is free to read.
As a bonus, if you’re thinking of becoming an author yourself, I found the Wattpad community to be a wonderful place to find editing buddies, peers, and potential connections for authorship.
Some of the best stories on Wattpad have gone on to become popular, critically acclaimed novels, so there is quality available on Wattpad. I quite liked The Golden Rule, which is currently free to read online.
How to join Wattpad?
Make an account, find some stories, and start reading. You can create an account separately, or log in using Google or Facebook accounts.
FAQ about where to download free books online
Those are the top ten places to read books for free online. Let’s get into some FAQs about these platforms, whether they’re safe and legal, and other places to look.
Is it safe and legal to read books from these places?
Yes, absolutely. Even the Internet Archive, which has been questioned in the past, is safe and legal to use. Despite the court case, it is still totally allowed to download and read books on the Internet Archive – and everywhere else I mentioned!
Where else can I read books for free online?
I recommend checking out the r/freeEBOOKS subreddit. Users frequently upload where they find and download books to read for free.
Is it wrong to not pay the author for their books?
A few things here.
When you check a book out of the library, you’re supporting the author. Plain and simple.
Many authors have chosen to make their works available for free, either on Kindle as a marketing tactic, or through deals with publishing houses like Tor. When you engage with those offers, you are supporting them.
Many archives, such as the Gutenberg project, contain content that is either uploaded without copyright by the living authors, intentionally, or the copyright expired. That’s 100% ethical.
I advocate supporting authors financially when you can. I very happily spent my $57 on those hardbacks, and frequently purchase books from authors I adore because I want them to keep making the stuff I love. That being said, you have a right to financial stability, too.
I never advocate stealing PDFs of books online. Authors need to make a living, too. But these are great ways to support authors when applicable and find great books for free online.
Hopefully you enjoyed this blog post on where to read books for free online. Enjoy these, and remember to give back to the author when you can.
