What is the best Windows eBook reader?

Question

6

Options
Considered

79

User
Recs.

2 hrs

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

6 Options Considered

Best Windows eBook reader	Price	Last Updated
-- Calibre	-	Oct 17, 2020
-- Kobo app	-	Jul 4, 2020
-- Sumatra PDF	-	Oct 22, 2020
-- Kindle for PC	Free	Aug 22, 2020
-- Adobe Digital Editions	-	Apr 22, 2020

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score 28 · Answer 1

Calibre

Top Pro

Supports a multitude of formats

Calibres in built eBook reader supports a huge assortment of formats making for one of the best universal eBook readers available today. See More

Top Con

Average, non-power users might find the interface somewhat daunting

The interface, while functional is not the most attractive or intuitive which may put some people off and discourage their use. See More

Top Pro

It is possible to copy text from Calibre to a word processor if you are using ebooks for research.

Top Con

Can't save text highlights or annotate

Top Pro

Powerful book management software, very customizable and scriptable

Features include metadata editing and downloading, coverpage downloading., book tagging and categorization, webpage-to-ebook converter for popular websites, etc. Lots of plugins available to extend functionality. See More

Top Con

Calibre will duplicate your .pdf and other formats to get a database from them

Even with hundreds of .pdf ebooks, Calibre took a lot of hard disk space before showing the ebooks. See More

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Calibre is available for Linux, OS X, and Windows, 32-bit or 64-bit. See More

Top Pro

Portable

Calibre has an optional portable build that can be stored on external media along with the users library. I t can then be opened from the external media on any windows device. See More

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score 13 · Answer 2

Kobo app

Top Con

No way to add own titles

The users Kobo account has no way to add outside titles to the users collection. See More

Top Pro

Sync eBooks and position

The Kobo app will sync the users whole library as well as each position read for each title. This way a user can pick up where they left off from one device to the next. See More

Top Pro

App supports a multitude of operating systems

The Kobo app supports just about every main OS out there. iOS, Android, Windows 8, Windows 8 Phone and Blackberry 10. By being available on so many platforms the user is able to read their eBooks on any device they wish. See More

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score 2 · Answer 3

Sumatra PDF

Top Pro

Low resource usage

Top Pro

Starts quickly

Top Pro

Portable

The application consists of a single file that can be run without installation. You can put it on an external device, such as an usb thumb stick and run it on any Windows machine from the thumb stick. See More

Top Pro

Free and open source

Sumatra is available for free, licensed under GPL with source code available on GitHub. See More

Top Pro

Does not have heavy editor features

Annotations and other heavy features are just not needed in reader. See More

See All

score 8 · Answer 4

Kindle for PC

Top Pro

Built in store

The Kindle app for Android features an in built eBook store within the app that sells eBooks, magazines, newspapers, comic books and graphic novels. Amazon also offers one of it not the biggest eBook store available today. See More

Top Con

Send to Kindle now has to be paid for

Send to Kindle only works if a user is already paying for a cloud subscription plan. See More

Top Pro

Send to Kindle

The Kindle platform allows users to upload their own eBooks and documents to be read on any of the Kindle apps or devices. See More

Top Con

Not good for students research

The eBooks available from Amazon do not offer normal page numbers, printing or even copy paste, which makes using any of the ebooks for reports or papers pretty much impossible. See More

Top Pro

App supports a multitude of operating systems

Kindle for PC is one of the many apps available from Amazon for the Kindle platform. This allows users to keep their library with them no matter what device they are using. See More

See All

score 3 · Answer 5

Adobe Digital Editions

Top Pro

Allows for a number of purchased .epubs to be loaded onto the application.

Users can purchase their .epubs from a number of stores that allow for a separate download of an .acsm file that can be uploaded to Adobe Digital editions. See More

Top Con

Can't edit metadata

Lacks a built-in metadata editor. See More

DecorousThinanMalkia's Experience

stop this nonsense, is it very hard to download purchased books with this one... See More

Top Pro

Well-designed library management

All books are automatically divided in categories such as "not read", "borrowed", "purchased", "recently read", and "recently added" and additional categories can be added manually. They can be sorted by various criteria including "title", "author", "publisher", "date of addition", and "number of pages". Great for managing large quantities of books. See More

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score 8 · Answer 6

Icecream Ebook Reader

Top Pro

Clean, customizable UI

The application has an easy to use and understand interface with important features such as search always within easy reach at the top. The interface can also be customized to best suit wishes. For example, font size can be changed, there's choice between single and double column view when reading books, or table and bookshelf view when managing the library. See More

Top Con

Requires PRO version for basic functionality

PRO version of the reader is required for reading without gigantic "Buy Me" billboard shoved in face every minute for 10 seconds. Oh and it's needed to copy and paste and edit. See More

ReveredBachue's Experience

annoying See More

Top Pro

Pleasant reading experience

The app tracks how much of the book has been read, jumping between chapters or bookmarks can be done with a few clicks, and there's even a distraction-free mode that takes away all the interface and allows focusing on the book. See More

What is the best Windows eBook reader?

6 Options Considered

Calibre

My Recommendation for Calibre

My Recommendation for Calibre

Supports a multitude of formats

Average, non-power users might find the interface somewhat daunting

It is possible to copy text from Calibre to a word processor if you are using ebooks for research.

Can't save text highlights or annotate

Powerful book management software, very customizable and scriptable

Calibre will duplicate your .pdf and other formats to get a database from them

Cross-platform

Portable

Kobo app

My Recommendation for Kobo app

My Recommendation for Kobo app

No way to add own titles

Sync eBooks and position

App supports a multitude of operating systems

Sumatra PDF

My Recommendation for Sumatra PDF

My Recommendation for Sumatra PDF

Low resource usage

Starts quickly

Portable

Free and open source

Does not have heavy editor features

Kindle for PC

My Recommendation for Kindle for PC

My Recommendation for Kindle for PC

Built in store

Send to Kindle now has to be paid for

Send to Kindle

Not good for students research

App supports a multitude of operating systems

Adobe Digital Editions

My Recommendation for Adobe Digital Editions

My Recommendation for Adobe Digital Editions

Allows for a number of purchased .epubs to be loaded onto the application.

Can't edit metadata

Well-designed library management

Icecream Ebook Reader

My Recommendation for Icecream Ebook Reader

My Recommendation for Icecream Ebook Reader

Clean, customizable UI

Requires PRO version for basic functionality

Pleasant reading experience

Can't read Kindle books

It is much more lighter than Adobe Digital Editions, Calibre, etc.

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