When you’re looking for ebook reader software for windows 10, it is important to download the right version of the software. Not all versions are compatible with the latest operating systems. Not all versions offer the same features, either. Whichever version you pick, however, these free ebook reader applications for Windows 10 offer some amazing benefits that make them worth downloading.
What is the best ebook reader software for your Windows PC? If you answered anything that isn’t “Calibre”, then you’re probably missing out. This video is a guide to this feature rich, yet easy to use eBook reader software. All it takes is a little know-how.
There have been better articles written on the topic, and there are tons of other sites that you can read. I’ve attempted to write a more gentle primer on the subject so that a first time ebook reader software user can get up and running more quickly without having to read the original article.
eBook Reader for Windows 10 is the ultimate program for anyone who wants to use a tablet or a desktop computer to read eBooks. It supports a wide range of file formats and has a powerful eBook library organizer, which helps you sort your files, manage different reading devices and apply comfortable reading settings.
How can I get my “third-party” ebooks into my reader app?
This is a tough question to answer because you have to consider the format of the ebook, the developer of the app, and the workflow within the app itself.
For most third-party ebook purchases, you’ll have an ePUB format with DRM included. For some stores (Humble Bundle being one), there’s no DRM. In these cases, you can drag the ebook into the app as you would any other.
For ebooks with DRM, there’s often a workflow that includes Adobe Digital Editions. Here, you can import the book into the app, then export it and load it into your chosen reader.
Icecream EPUB Reader
Icecream Ebook Reader is easy to use the tool. It helps you to track your reading progress, add notes, translate text, use bookmarks, and more. The tool allows you to read e-books in EPUB, MOBI, CBR, and other readable file formats.
Features:
- It allows you many check how many pages are left to read and allows you to continue from where you left off.
- You can transfer your e-book collection from one Windows PC to another.
- It helps you to find a book base on the author’s name or title.
- This tool enables the use of navigation scrollbar to browse pages faster.
- Select eBook text to copy, translate in Google search result.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows Vista and Windows 7 PC
Adobe Digital Editions
Adobe Digital Editions is an easy to use eReader. The tool also allows you to download and purchase digital content, which can be read both online and offline mode. It allows you to search for keywords across all chapters in your eBook.
Features:
- Allows you to borrow eBooks from many public libraries for use with Digital Editions
- Helps you to organize your digital publications and manage devices with Adobe Digital Editions
- The read allows you to access eBook across multiple file-formats, including EPUB, EPUB3, and PDF.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Vista and Windows 7 PC, Mac, Android, iOS
Kindle for PC
The best free ebook reader, whether you use Amazon or not
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT WEBSITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Compatible with all ebook formats+Automatic syncing+Cross-platform
Amazon’s official Kindle app for Windows (as well as Mac and mobile devices) is smart and stylish, and although it tempts you with reading suggestions from the Kindle store, the sales pitch isn’t too in-your-face.
There’s no setup necessary if you already have an Amazon account. Just log in with your usual username and password and your virtual shelves will be populated automatically (though you’ll have to click a book’s cover to download it, so bear this in mind if you’re planning some offline reading). Notes and bookmarks are synced across devices automatically, as are flashcards – an extremely useful addition for students using digital textbooks for revision.
Kindle for Windows also includes text-to-speech function, and changing font sizes and color schemes is as simple as clicking or tapping a button.
Freda
Premium features for free – Freda is a real rival to Amazon’s crown
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT WEBSITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Connects to Project Gutenberg+Bookmarks and annotations
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can’t read protected Kindle books
Freda (from the delightfully-named Turnipsoft) is a superb ebook reader that integrates with Project Gutenberg, giving you access to thousands of free ebooks, and Smashwords, where you can find works from independent authors and publishers. Importing your own ebooks is a piece of cake too, with support for all the most popular formats. You can even connect Freda to your Dropbox account enabling you to access books from multiple devices.
Freda supports bookmarks, annotations and highlighting, making it a good choice for students. There’s also text-to-speech for anyone who has trouble with text on screens, as well as auto-scroll and speed-read – a tool that works much like Spritz, displaying words in quick succession so you can read without moving your eyes.
Freda is funded by ads, but these are discreet and are only visible on the bookshelf screen; they won’t interrupt your reading.
Calibre
An open source ebook reader that’s a great choice for students
TODAY’S BEST DEALSVISIT WEBSITE
REASONS TO BUY
+Choice of reading modes+Metadata can be edited manually
REASONS TO AVOID
-Can’t read protected Kindle ebooksAdvertisement
Calibre is an open source ebook reader and manager that’s lightweight and lightning-fast. Unlike many free ebook readers, Calibre supports Amazon’s AWZ format (though it won’t open DRM-protected files) as well as all the other popular ebook file types, and if any metadata is missing (such as genre or cover art), you can add it yourself using the bookshelf’s options menu.
One of Calibre’s best features is Reference Mode, which displays the current chapter and paragraph number in the top left – ideal if you need to cite references in an essay. We also like Flow Mode, where text is shown as a continuous scrolling stream without page breaks; not as pleasant as simulated page-turning for recreational reading, but a handy time-saver to avoid flicking backwards and forwards through a textbook.
Sumatra PDF Reader
While Calibre is pretty great and works for most people, but some have reported that book opening is a bit slow on Calibre and it has been a long-standing issue. So if you want an alternative just like Calibre, but with faster performance and modern features, the Sumatra PDF Reader has you covered as one of the best PDF editor and reader out there. It’s an extremely lightweight Epub reader that just works out of the box.
It supports bookmarks, background color change, automatic text scaling and much more. The best part is that it can even open large Epub files without breaking a sweat with correct indentation, tree-like chapters and more. I would say, if you are looking for a Windows Epub reader that just works without any frills then Sumatra PDF Reader is the best pick.
Supported Platforms: Windows 11 (likely), Windows 10, Windows 8, 8.1, Windows 7, Vista. and XP
What we like:
- Clutter-free user interface
- Good reading experience
- Light application (comes under 5 MB)
- Super-fast loading time
- Supports comic book formats (CBZ and CBR)
What we don’t like:
- Doesn’t support annotations on book
- Doesn’t have advanced features like metadata editing
Download: Free
Favorite Book Reader (iOS, Android, Onyx)
The Favorite Book Reader (FBReader) is a free app that used to be open source. As such, it used to be available for a multitude of devices but now caters to iOS and Android users. There’s also a beta version in development for the Onyx reader.
FBReader supports many different file formats, such as ePUB, MOBI, fb2, and more standard text-based formats. It appears to be one of the few apps that allows you to import HTML.
In its default setting, FBReader appears as though you’re paging through a physical book. It helps to better connect you to the book than some other apps. We also like the robust library management on offer.
OverDrive (Windows, macOS, iOS, iPadOS Android, Kindle Fire, Chromebook)
OverDrive is one of the most popular ebook readers for Windows, Mac, and other formats. It looks slick and includes all the features you’d expect, such as bookmarks, the ability to change the font type and size, dedicated library management, three predefined color schemes to suit different lighting conditions, and more.
OverDrive can also act as a capable audiobook reader. It has the typical features you’d expect, such as the ability to forward and rewind, add bookmarks, and increase the reading speed. If you maintain a collection of ebooks and audiobooks, OverDrive may be the application for you.
Draft2Digital
While most top 10 lists focus on premium ebook creation software, I like to give praise to companies who think outside the box. The ebook distribution platform, Draft2Digital (D2D), has stellar free formatting software for ebooks. All you need is your .doc or .docx manuscript and a little time to play with D2D’s dozens of ebook formatting features.
Much like Google Docs, you can use D2D for cloud storage. The only kicker is you can’t edit your manuscript in their formatter. But, where they lack this feature, D2D more than makes up for it in layout choices and formats. You can easily format your ebook in PDF, ePub and Mobi, not to mention, they’ll kick you a PDF formatted for a print edition.
Visme
Third on the list of eBook creator is Visme. It is one of the best eBook design software. It’s a cloud-based visual content creation and collaboration platform.
It also allows you to design beautiful on-brand presentations, infographics and any other visual communications. Check out how Visme can help you create high-quality and professional looking infographics in minutes – Visme Infographic Maker.
It has more than 6 million users, including some top brands like PayPal, IBM, Unilever, Zurich and more.
Visme mainly specializes in infographics and presentations but it also has a powerful tool to create free eBooks.
You can create eBooks for free from its eBook creator tool.
Ebook creator by Visme contains lots of ready-made templates that you can use to create your eBook or you can use blank one to start from scratch.
The templates are completely editable. Inside the Visme ebook creator Dashboard, you would get the following customization option to design your eBook.
- Layout: To start from blank or use an existing template
- Basics: To add Header & Text, Stats & Figures, Graphics & Text, Diagrams and your own custom blocks
- Graphics: To add Shapes, Arrows & Lines, Icons and animated graphics
- Photos: To add images from its free or premium collection
- Media: To add video, audio or embed online content
If you have worked with Canva earlier, you may feel that the Visme’s Dashboard is almost similar to it.
Once you complete designing your eBook and added your content, you can download it in the following formats:
- Image – JPG or PNG
- Document – PDF
- Video or GIF
- Powerpoint, Keynote or HTML5
Though Visme doesn’t have the feature like Designrr to import content from your existing blog post, podcasts or videos but it could be perfect choice if you want to create simple but beautifully designed eBook.
Should I consider premium ebook readers for Windows or macOS?
In our opinion, there are enough good ebook readers for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and even in-browser that you won’t need to opt for a premium solution.
We’d go as far to say you should often use the ebook reader of your favorite ebook store. This is going to give you the greatest “bang for your buck” and a more seamless experience.
Conclusion
eBook Reader is a free, open source program that reads e-books in various formats. It includes features typical of commercial e-book readers, such as a library and bookmarks, but also more advanced features, such as support for a table of contents and embedded audio and video. These features are included in a clean and attractive interface.
For those of you with e-books that are in the EPUB format, you should get software for your Windows PC that supports reading it. No need for any additional hardware, the PC has all you will need.