Want Free Ebooks? These 10 Sites Offer Thousands Of Great Reads

1 month ago

Want free ebooks? These 10 sites connection thousands of options

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

There are plentifulness of reliable places to find free ebooks online.
Your room apt offers integer books you tin get anytime.
Find caller authors and genres without spending a dime.

Amazon recently killed nan ability to download Kindle books arsenic files connected your computer, meaning you tin nary longer backmost up your Kindle room aliases prevent changes from being pushed to titles you've already bought.

But Amazon isn't nan only spot to get ebooks, and nan Kindle format isn't nan only 1 your e-reader tin read.

Whether you publication for fun, to learn, aliases to unwind astatine night, ebooks tin get pricey accelerated -- particularly if you pain done a fewer each week. Fortunately, location are plentifulness of ways to find value sounds for free aliases cheap. From nationalist archives and libraries to lesser-known integer platforms, you tin easy grow your postulation without spending overmuch aliases thing astatine all.

If you're not judge really to person aliases adhd ebooks to your Kindle, cheque retired these guides first:

How to easy person EPUB files to Kindle format successful minutes
How to adhd EPUB, MOBI, and PDF files to your Kindle - nary converting required

Now, let's return a circuit of immoderate of nan champion sites and marketplaces wherever you tin find free and affordable ebooks to capable your library.

1. Amazon

I mightiness arsenic good commencement pinch Amazon. For those who person registered Kindle devices, location are a mates of options for downloading free and kind-of-free e‑books.

Kindle Unlimited falls into nan kind-of-free category. The programme costs $11.99 per period and gives you entree to much than 5 cardinal integer books (as good arsenic immoderate audiobooks and magazines).

To beryllium clear, for illustration each things online, nan "unlimited" successful Kindle Unlimited is simply a doublespeak euphemism for "limited." You're technically borrowing nan books from Amazon to read, and you're only allowed to "check out" 20 astatine a time. Essentially, Kindle Unlimited is simply a integer room you subordinate for a monthly fee.

Also: This Android E Ink tablet does a batch much than your mean Kindle - and I emotion it

There are 2 tricks you tin usage to publication immoderate free Kindle Unlimited books. First, each Kindle Unlimited users get a free one-month proceedings -- truthful download and publication wrong that month. Also, immoderate caller Kindle purchasers get Kindle Unlimited free for 3 months. So if you're buying a Kindle, you mightiness beryllium capable to return advantage of that deal.

Prime subscribers besides summation entree to Prime Reading, which offers a prime rotating group of books. If you're a Prime member, cheque it out. Prime members tin besides subscribe to Amazon's First Reads newsletter and get a free book each month.

While we're astatine it, click here, and you'll get a hunt drawstring that looks for free Kindle Classics, moreover if you're not a Kindle Unlimited member.

Finally, here's a instrumentality for uncovering inexpensive Kindle books extracurricular of nan Kindle Unlimited program: Point yourself to the Kindle Store. Then type successful "0.99" successful nan hunt box. I recovered that if you effort to find free Kindle books, Amazon keeps recommending Kindle Unlimited books, but if you hunt for "$0.99," you'll get a ton of inexpensive contented -- including nan always-great Father Brown mysteries.

2. Your section room

Did you cognize that your section room whitethorn lend retired e‑books? Here successful Central Oregon, nan libraries are portion of a location group that coordinates their collections together. If I wanted to publication Neal Stephenson's awesome Cryptonomicon, I could conscionable cheque it retired from 1 of nan libraries.

Of course, emblematic room restrictions apply, including owed dates and precocious fees. But conscionable because you're now reference digitally doesn't mean you can't usage your section library. How cool is that?

3. Project Gutenberg

Our adjacent must-stop connected our circuit of free e‑book resources is Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg was really started measurement backmost successful 1971, opening by posting integer scans connected a mainframe connected to nan aged ARPANET.

Also: This elemental Kindle accessory earnestly upgraded my reference acquisition (and it costs little than $25)

Today, Project Gutenberg provides much than 75,000 free e‑books. Most of them are older useful that person been released into nan nationalist domain. If you want nan complete useful of William Shakespeare aliases you want to publication The Great Gatsby, this is nan tract for you.

Another bully point astir Project Gutenberg is that astir books travel successful a wide assortment of formats.

4. Archive.org

Archive.org, location of nan Wayback Machine, maintains an archive of tens of millions of e‑books. Not each books are downloadable, and nan Internet Archive's attack to copyright tin beryllium controversial. For example, while I did merchandise 3 of my books to beryllium downloaded for free, one older book of mine was published by a institution that ne'er provided a integer merchandise -- and yet it's still connected Archive.org.

Oddly enough, Archive.org besides has a bunch of my 3D printing STL files arsenic well. I don't really mind that they're distributing my output because they do bully work. Still, they look to beryllium playing it somewhat accelerated and loose pinch copyright.

My proposal for this assets is to simply hunt and excavation around. There are a batch of treasures to find, but you do request to activity astatine it a bit.

5. Open Library

Open Library is different work of nan Internet Archive. Unlike nan free-for-all hunt options above, which are reasonably unmanaged, Open Library useful connected a accepted room exemplary -- you tin get a book for a play of time. Some tin beryllium put connected your Kindle, immoderate can't.

In summation to its room of millions of books, Open Library has a very powerful cross-referencing system that tin thief you find integer versions of out-of-print and very hard-to-find books, and tin constituent you to outer room networks wherever you tin cheque them out.

Also: I put distant my iPad and Kindle conscionable hours aft testing this tablet (and it's cheap)

I wouldn't needfully usage this tract if you want to publication a transcript of Wicked, but there's an astonishing magnitude of accusation disposable to nan intrepid searcher.

6. Smashwords

Smashwords is a level for authors and indie publishers to self-publish their useful online. That intends you're not apt to find highly publicized mainstream books for illustration Wicked, but you are apt to find immoderate really bully sounds that haven't had to walk done firm gatekeepers. (Smashwords is wherever I purchased Potus, an entertaining publication by chap ZDNET writer Jack Wallen.)

Smashwords reports it has published astir a cardinal books successful total. Of those, much than 93,000 are free. Those free books are besides easy to find -- connected nan main screen, simply toggle nan Free selector, and you're bully to go.

7. Manybooks

ManyBooks offers free and inexpensive e‑books. Most books connected nan tract are free, pinch a fewer priced astatine a dollar aliases 2 astatine most. The work acts arsenic a Project Gutenberg reflector (so books you find connected PG will besides beryllium recovered present connected ManyBooks).

They besides person a action of books that are not from Project Gutenberg. I peculiarly for illustration their Editor's Choice feature, which surfaces free books you mightiness not different cognize about, but which are decidedly worthy reading.

Also: I tested nan latest Kindle Paperwhite and it has nan 1 characteristic I've been waiting for

You tin browse by selecting from a very wide scope of genres, arsenic good arsenic galore of nan world's languages. It's a cool tract to get mislaid successful -- and isn't that 1 of nan champion feelings you get from a bully bookstore, too?

8. BookBub

BookBub is simply a tract that helps aboveground bully book deals and makes personalized recommendations for books you mightiness like. Back successful nan early days of nan Kindle, BookBub sent retired regular emails that were chock-full of free and super-cheap books. I deliberation I filled up half my Kindle room via their recommendations!

Today, location is still a Free books conception that surfaces immoderate absorbing titles. But while their mailings do connection deals, nan days erstwhile they highlighted a ton of bargain-basement book offers look to beryllium gone.

Still, consciousness free to sojourn their tract and click connected nan Free and Deal sections. There are immoderate gems there.

9. Baen's Free Library

If you're an avid subject fabrication reader, you're nary uncertainty acquainted pinch nan sanction Baen. Baen Books has been publishing subject fabrication since nan early 1980s. Baen now offers a action of books, mostly short communicative collections, for free download.

It's not a immense action (around 80 titles astatine past count), but considering Baen's decades-long talent for picking awesome subject fabrication authors, each book aliases short communicative postulation is bound to beryllium a awesome read.

Also: The guidelines exemplary Kindle is nan e-reader astir group should bargain (and it's nether $100 correct now)

This is 1 of those times erstwhile doing my occupation nets maine thing cool. I didn't cognize astir Baen's postulation until I started researching this article. Now I person a full action of short stories and immoderate books that I tin download for free -- and I'm looking guardant to reference them.

10. Obooko

Obooko is simply a free, ad-supported tract that provides a very bully action of online books, each appropriately licensed for distribution. While you do person to register, nan institution does not complaint for membership. Unlike immoderate of nan different resources I spotlighted successful this guide, Obooko is simply a not-for-profit platform.

It's not a immense selection, but each nan books are safe to download. They're each distributed pinch nan support of their authors aliases publishers. It's not nan biggest assets for free books, but it's surely a bully spot to sojourn pinch a basking cup of java and your favourite ereader.

Much much dubious sites

There are a number of overmuch much dubious sites that person libraries of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of scanned and uploaded PDFs arsenic good arsenic e‑books, including existent best-sellers. Some of my readers emotion these arsenic free resources.

Also: The champion integer notebooks of 2025: I tested notebooks from almost each value point

But these sites are fundamentally pirate sites. They bargain nan activity of creators and publishers and administer their difficult activity for free aliases for a monthly fee. They're retired there, but I'm surely not going to facilitate their rip-off practices by sharing their names aliases web addresses.

Still much to observe

Once you recognize you tin publication e‑books successful a wide assortment of formats connected your Kindle (as agelong arsenic you person them), nan possibilities are endless. Here are a fewer much sites to cheque out:

Planet Ebook: A 100 aliases truthful classics for you to download for free
Free-Ebooks: Not precisely free. If you salary a one-time interest of $25, you tin download 5 books a month.
PDFBooksWorld: Another fee-based rank tract ($25). Despite nan name, it besides offers EPUB and different formats. Plus, it has immoderate world texts arsenic well.
Cantook: Another tract pinch free and paid ebooks, on pinch book loans. I peculiarly for illustration their section connected banned books. Formerly known arsenic Feedbooks.
E-Books Directory: A tract that links to circumstantial ebooks and collections of ebooks. Worth browsing astir for an hr aliases two.
Standard Ebooks:Beautifully formatted public-domain titles.
Wikisource: For older aliases humanities useful successful nan nationalist domain.

Have you explored replacement sites for free aliases affordable ebooks? Do you for illustration borrowing from your section library, aliases do you trust connected integer stores? Are location immoderate hidden gem ebook sources you recommend? Let maine cognize successful nan comments below.

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