Best App to Read Books for Free in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

Libby, by OverDrive, is the best free reading app for most people. A public library card opens your library digital collection, including current bestsellers, new releases, audiobooks and magazines. Loans return automatically, so there are no late fees, and you can download books for offline reading. In supported regions, US libraries can also send ebooks to a Kindle.

The main cost is patience. Popular titles carry waitlists, and loan periods are set by your library. Catalog size also varies by library system, so two readers in different cities may see different books. If you can get cards from more than one library system you legitimately qualify for, your choice grows a lot. Start here before you pay for any book subscription.

Hoopla fixes Libby biggest frustration. Because libraries pay per borrow rather than per licensed copy, there are no waitlists: if your library offers Hoopla and the title is in its catalog, you borrow it at once. The catalog also covers comics, music and video alongside ebooks and audiobooks, which makes it a good family app.

The limit is your monthly borrow allowance, which your library sets, and the catalog skews toward midlist titles, audiobooks and comics rather than the newest bestsellers. Used together, Libby and Hoopla cover far more than either alone. Check whether your library offers both before you assume one is enough.

The Kindle app is free, and it offers far more free reading than many people realize. Public domain classics, promotional titles and daily deals cost nothing, and you can send your own EPUB and PDF files to the app through Send to Kindle. Reading position, notes and highlights sync between the app and Kindle e-readers.

The catch is lock in. Kindle purchases are licenses tied to Amazon, not files you can move freely to other readers. Buying books inside the iPhone app is also restricted, so Apple users need to buy in a browser. Still, as a free reader for classics, deals and your own files, it is hard to beat.

Google Play Books is a solid free reader, especially on Android. It offers free titles, samples and public domain books, and you can upload your own EPUB and PDF files to your library. That makes it a good home for books you already own in file form, including Project Gutenberg downloads.

The store does not match Kindle for range, and its audiobook offering is thinner than Audible or library apps. Reading features are clean and reliable, though, with adjustable fonts, night mode and offline downloads. If you read on Android and want one app for free books and your own files, this is a strong pick.

Apple Books comes built into iPhones, iPads and Macs, and it offers a good range of free titles. Classics, samples and promotional books cost nothing, and the reading experience is polished, with clean typography and easy font and brightness controls. Audiobooks live in the same app, which keeps your library in one place.

The limit is platform. Apple Books only runs on Apple devices, so your library does not travel to Android or Windows easily. Paid books are often full price, with fewer deep discounts than Kindle. For Apple users who want a simple free reader, though, it is already installed and ready to use.

Kobo Books is a good alternative store reader, especially if you own a Kobo e-reader. The app offers free classics, samples and deals, and Kobo e-readers support EPUB files more openly than Kindle devices. That flexibility appeals to readers who download books from libraries and public domain archives.

The Android app does not support every file type, and the US store is smaller than Amazon. Kobo also sells a subscription, Kobo Plus, in some regions, but the free app itself costs nothing and covers basic reading well. If you like open formats and own a Kobo device, this app fits naturally.

Project Gutenberg is the oldest free book archive on the internet, and it remains essential for classic literature. It offers more than 75,000 public domain titles, from Jane Austen and Charles Dickens to Mark Twain and Shakespeare, all free with no account. Books download in EPUB, Kindle and PDF formats, so they work in almost any reading app.

You will not find new releases here, since the catalog is limited to works whose copyright has expired. The site design is plain, and there is no reading sync across devices. For classics, though, nothing beats it for breadth and price. Download a few titles and open them in Kindle, Google Play Books or Apple Books.

Wattpad is a different kind of free reading app. Instead of published books, it hosts millions of stories written by community authors, covering romance, fantasy, fan fiction, mystery and more. Most stories are free to read, and readers can comment, vote and follow authors they like. Some writers later publish their Wattpad stories as books.

Quality varies a lot, since anyone can publish, and some popular stories move behind a paid program or remain unfinished. Ads appear on the free tier. If you enjoy discovering new writers and serial stories, Wattpad offers endless free reading. If you want edited, finished books, library apps are a better bet.

Everand, formerly Scribd, offers a subscription catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and podcasts. It is not free in the long term, but its trial gives you a month to read and listen without paying, which makes it useful for a reading sprint or a holiday. The catalog covers a wide range of nonfiction and fiction, though not every bestseller is available in full.

After the trial, the price is $11.99 per month, similar to Kindle Unlimited. Some titles are limited by availability rules, so check that the books you want are actually included before you subscribe. As a free trial option, Everand is worth trying. As a permanent free app, Libby and Hoopla are better.