Even in the digital age, books continue to dominate entertainment , knowledge, and leisure.
The fact that books, despite strong competition from visual media, remain relevant worries many skeptics, who many years ago, when the Internet was still in its infancy, rashly predicted their demise.
Digitization has made books more ubiquitous and accessible than ever, and platforms like Google Books and Kindle are capitalizing on this trend . While e-readers offer the convenience of reading, not everyone can afford them.
Fortunately, there are many epub reading apps that save bookworms from having to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on expensive hardware just to read their favorite books.
This article examines some of the best epub reading programs available online that provide an intuitive and accessible reading experience.
You can also read: 10 Best Comic Readers for Windows 10
What is an epub reader program?
This is software for reading files typically saved in epub format, hence its name. Google Books and Apple Books are prime examples of epub readers , as they widely use this format to display books in their libraries.
Regardless of the book's genre, whether it's a classic work of literature or an important scientific work, the epub readers presented here are able to accommodate them all and make them available for reading and use.
Tip : An EPUB reader should have a clean and versatile interface for storing books and making them available to users. Intuitive features, such as a built-in dictionary, text highlighting, and animated page turning, are important. An EPUB reader should have a large library of books from many authors.
They should be available in multiple languages. Finally, make sure that the books available on these platforms are readable and retain their original quality before being transferred to digital format. This can easily be confirmed through user feedback.
Other details
The current pandemic has played a significant role in the increase in the total number of e-book readers. A surge in clicks was observed right after February, when most countries went into lockdown .
This indicates a growing interest in e-books as brick-and-mortar stores were forced to close. Sales of Kindle and other e-readers have increased by 15% since March and are 25% higher than in January 2020.
10 Best Epub Readers for Android, Windows and Mac
A wide range of epub readers can be found online. In this list, we'll tell you which ones are the best and what their features are.
1. Gauge
Calibre is the oldest, most popular, and probably the best free epub reader. In many ways, this software has laid the groundwork for better tools in the future.
This is a powerful ebook manager that not only gives you access to thousands of digital books, but also offers a complete interface for storing and managing them in a seamless digital library.
You can easily share your library with others, while backing up your content so you don't lose it. Calibre's wide range of e-books includes literary works, textbooks, practical workbooks, magazines, newspaper articles and much more.
Of course, Calibre also offers users the ability to edit or convert ebook formats to make them compatible with other ebook readers.
Features:
- Complete and easy-to-use interface.
- Free and open source
- Share and save your library
- Edit and convert eBooks
Calibre is very powerful and intuitive for a free program. Readers get a seamless experience, allowing them to easily access their favorite books and select some of the most requested books that have been published in their library.
2. Epubor Reader
Epubor supports ebook formats other than the standard epub format. It's extremely easy to use and offers extensive navigation. Libraries are automatically categorized, and you can find any book by ISBN, author, or title.
The interface itself is highly customizable. You can change the background, font, and page transitions, and switch between horizontal and vertical reading modes. What we always appreciate is the ability to display a book on one or two pages, maintaining the spirit of traditional reading.
Features:
- Easily import and organize your book library.
- One and two page views
- Highly customizable interface
- Access to millions of published digital books
Epubor is a simple ebook reader that allows users to browse, organize, and manage their favorite books in a single virtual library. With several advanced features , Epubor truly stands out as one of the best epub readers available today.
3. Sumatran PDF Reader
Sumatra has a simple interface. This gives the tool an amateurish look that might put some users off. However, with its minimalist design, Sumatra offers users an extremely lightweight tool that works very quickly.
Sumatra allows you to open, view, organize, and manage multi-reader files such as PDF , EPUB, MOBI, CBR, CBZ, etc. While Sumatra is excellent for reading EPUB files, we've found it to be very effective for managing digital comic files as well.
Features:
- Easy to use
- Super fast
- Rich and organized book collection
- Customisable
Verdict: If you're looking for a simple epub reader, you won't find an easier one than Sumatra. Although it's primarily a PDF reader, it offers robust epub support. Sumatra makes navigating and managing your epub library a breeze . The icing on the cake is the system's ease of use.
4. Freda
Freda is a free and quite pragmatic ebook reader for Windows and Android devices. While the tool works phenomenally well with all Windows devices, it only works with the latest versions of Android.
Freda is highly customizable, allowing users to change the interface's appearance with interchangeable fonts and colors. It also integrates seamlessly with OneDrive and Dropbox services , enabling users to upload and back up books to their library.
Freda's best feature is its ability to integrate with foreign e-readers such as Smashwords and Calibre. This will allow users to access their libraries in older programs through Freda. In addition to the epub format, with Freda users can open books in formats such as HTML, TXT, and FB2.
Features:
- Free and easy to use.
- Dropbox and OneDrive integration
- Integration with Smashwords, Calibre and Gutenberg
- Highly customizable
Freda is a great tool, especially because of its seamless integration with the cloud and other similar e-readers. In our opinion, this alone makes Freda a highly recommended e-reader. But Freda is also a capable epub reader that will satisfy all digital reading enthusiasts.
5. Icecream E-book Reader
Icecream is a powerful and free epub reader designed for Windows devices. In addition to ePub, the ebook reader supports a wide range of other ebook formats , from MOBI to CBR and FB2. The navigation and user interface are very clear and offer all the functions on a single page to avoid confusion.
Managing your eBook library is also very easy with this tool. In fact, you don't need to do anything. Your downloaded books are organized in an exemplary order for your reading pleasure.
As for the reading itself, the program automatically saves the book and continues reading from where you left off. This smart software also allows you to add notes, translate texts, and track your reading progress.
Features:
- Free and easy to use
- Highlight the text
- Track progress
- Translation of texts
Icecream eBook Reader is a fairly straightforward epub reader for Windows devices. It's clear, smart, and incredibly easy to download and navigate any book. There's really nothing to criticize about this program, aside from the fact that it's only for Windows.
6. Neat Reader
Although Neat Reader is available on iOS and Android mobile devices , we highly recommend the robust PC version. Neat Reader was originally promoted as a serious competitor to fill the void left by Microsoft Edge.
Since then, Neat Reader has come a long way and evolved to the point of deserving its rightful place among epub browsers. It can perform almost all the functions expected of an epub reader today.
Users have access to thousands of high-quality books from a variety of authors and genres, can create their own library of favorite e-books, add text, use a dictionary, and easily add bookmarks and annotations.
Features:
- Works on all Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices.
- Easy to use interface
- Add bookmarks and annotations
- Organize and manage your eBook library
Neat Reader is a fun and intuitive app that enhances your ebook reading experience. It offers a range of key features to provide users with a tool that makes accessing books easy and reliable.
7. BookViser
BookViser is not only an attractive e-book reader, but also an intuitive tool that allows users to import books from any mobile reading device. It supports all e-book formats known to mankind, such as epub, TXT, CBR and many more.
The user interface is also highly customizable. For example, you can adjust the colors, increase the margins, or change the font. You can also adjust the brightness for more comfortable reading.
For those who are aware of the effects of constant screen fatigue on their eyes, BookViser offers a night mode feature that reduces screen intensity.
BookViser also hosts one of the largest libraries of public domain books, meaning readers have the opportunity to read some classic works of world literature for free.
Features:
- Buy the world's classics for free
- High customization
- Night mode for better reading in the dark
- fast and easy to use
BookViser is worth installing on your device just for the huge library of public domain books, but the tool is also very capable, super fast, offers some great features, and is free to download and use.
8. Kobo
The best thing about Kobo is the recognition it gives to writers, providing them with a platform to publish their work and build an audience. In addition, Kobo is also a great online tool for browsing and reading digital books.
With Kobo, you can manage your own eBook library and enjoy a better reading experience with features like a built-in dictionary, annotation and bookmarking aggregator, bookmark creation, and more.
For readers, the tool also offers a well-designed book rating system that allows you to rate the books you have read on a scale of 1 to 5.
Features:
- Clean and easy to use interface.
- Extensive library of classic and new books.
- Self-publish your book.
- Customize your e-reader interface to suit your needs.
Kobo is a great app that 's hugely popular . It's a very pragmatic app for readers and authors. It deserves its existence because it's one of the last bastions of the publishing world.
9.FB Reader
FBReader is available and compatible with almost all operating systems , mobile devices, and computers. However, we would specifically recommend the Android version because it is really fast.
It has an elegant interface that allows users to select their favorite book library from a large online book gallery.
It's easy to customize and offers interchangeable fonts and colors. It has a predefined "index" for each open book, allowing you to quickly navigate to the desired page . You can add bookmarks and annotations, use the built-in dictionary, and continue working with FBReader.
Features:
- Fast on Android
- Built-in dictionary
- Add bookmarks
- Standard features for better reading
FBReader runs at unbeatable speed on Android devices, making it one of the best epub readers for Android currently available. The PC versions are also good and live up to their promises.
10. Adobe Digital Editions
Adobe Digital Editions streamlines the reading experience across multiple digital devices, seamlessly integrating them into a single system. The result is a sophisticated and highly efficient reading solution.
With ADE you can easily transfer your digital books from one device to another. Books purchased on one device automatically appear on all devices with ADE installed.
You can access a vast library of ebooks from various authors and in different languages from around the world. ADE also offers additional features such as text selection, library organization, and user interface customization.
Features:
- Transferring books between devices
- Multilingual
- Search for eBooks from around the world
- Supports multiple file formats
ADE is probably one of the most intuitive tools on this list which should appeal to users who have multiple devices and want to have their eBooks on all of them without having to transfer them from one device to another.
Conclusion
E-books are rapidly becoming the new standard and will replace physical book formats in the near future. Since epub is the most common format for reading e-books , all the tools mentioned have something to offer for a satisfying reading experience.
If you are looking for a clean, reliable and feature-rich epub reader, we recommend Calibre or Epubor Reader. For an even more advanced cloud-based experience and additional software integration, we recommend Freda.
You can also read: What is ePubLibre? How it Works and Its Features
My name is Javier Chirinos and I am passionate about technology. Ever since I can remember, I have been interested in computers and video games, and that passion has turned into a job.
I have been publishing about technology and gadgets on the Internet for over 15 years, especially in mundobytes.com
I am also an expert in online marketing and communication and have knowledge in WordPress development.