The best places to get free ebooks and audiobooks are Project Gutenberg, LibriVox, Standard Ebooks, and legal library services such as Libby, Hoopla, and Open Library. The important distinction is that some services give you a permanent download, while others lend a book temporarily. A title described as free may also be public-domain, owner-authorized, library-borrowed, or simply listed at a temporary discount.
For permanent classic ebooks, start with Project Gutenberg or Standard Ebooks. For free audiobooks, try LibriVox. For newer commercial books, use Libby or Hoopla with a participating library card. Open Library and Internet Archive are especially useful for scans, archival material, and hard-to-find editions.
Before downloading anything, check what kind of access the service provides. A public-domain EPUB can remain in your ebook library indefinitely. A Libby audiobook may download to your phone for offline listening, but the app returns it automatically when the loan ends. An Open Library loan can expire after one hour or 14 days, depending on the title and lending arrangement.
The following ten services are legitimate starting points. Catalogs, formats, loan rules, and regional availability can change, so use the official website or app and check the individual title page before downloading.
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Quick comparison: where should you start?
| Service | Best for | Access type | Typical formats or playback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Gutenberg | Classic ebooks | Permanent downloads | EPUB, plain text, Kindle-compatible files, online reading |
| LibriVox | Classic audiobooks | Permanent public-domain audio downloads | MP3, M4B on many titles, ZIP, streaming |
| Open Library | Borrowed scans and less-common books | Temporary digital loans | BookReader, PDF, EPUB, audio listening on eligible titles |
| Libby | Current ebooks and audiobooks | Library loans | In-app reading and listening, offline downloads, Kindle delivery for many U.S. ebooks |
| Hoopla | Immediate library borrowing | Library loans | In-app ebooks and audiobooks, offline downloads |
| Internet Archive | Scans, archives, and historical collections | Open access or controlled borrowing, depending on item | PDF, scans, audio, and other item-specific formats |
| Standard Ebooks | Beautifully formatted classics | Permanent downloads | DRM-free EPUB and other ereader-friendly files |
| ManyBooks | Browsing a mixed catalog | Free, discounted, and paid listings | Format varies; browser reading is also available |
| Google Books | Searching a very large full-view collection | Permanent access for eligible titles | Online reading and title-dependent downloads |
| Wikisource | Source texts and historical documents | Permanent access for legally redistributable works | EPUB, MOBI, PDF, and online reading |
1. Project Gutenberg: best for classic ebooks
Project Gutenberg is the strongest first choice when you want a classic novel, play, poem, historical work, or reference title that you can keep. Its library contains more than 75,000 free ebooks, with an emphasis on works whose U.S. copyright has expired.
Most titles can be read in a browser or downloaded in several formats, including EPUB, plain text, and Kindle-compatible files. That makes the service suitable for a phone, tablet, computer, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, or another reading application. EPUB is usually the most flexible choice for general ereaders and reading apps; a Kindle-compatible file is more convenient when you are using a Kindle workflow.
Choose Project Gutenberg when: you want a permanent copy of older fiction, poetry, history, philosophy, or reference material and do not need a newly released commercial title.
Important copyright qualification: Project Gutenberg’s collection is primarily evaluated under U.S. copyright law. A work that is free to download in the United States may still be protected in another country. If you are outside the U.S., check the copyright rules where you live before downloading or redistributing a title.
2. LibriVox: best for free classic audiobooks
LibriVox provides volunteer-recorded audiobooks of public-domain texts. It is one of the simplest places to look when you want to listen to an older novel, poem, essay, history book, or play without paying for an audiobook subscription.
You can stream individual chapters, download MP3 files, and, when available, download a complete-book ZIP file. Many titles also offer an M4B audiobook file, which is useful in players that support chapters and remember your listening position. Internet Archive pages also host many LibriVox audio files.
The main trade-off is narration consistency. LibriVox recordings are made by volunteers, so sound quality, accents, pacing, and performance vary. In some group recordings, different readers narrate different chapters or sections. That variety is part of the project, but listeners looking for studio-level production should set their expectations accordingly.
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Choose LibriVox when: you want a permanent, downloadable recording of an older public-domain work and are comfortable with volunteer narration.
As with Project Gutenberg, public-domain status is not automatically worldwide. LibriVox’s U.S. public-domain treatment may not apply in every country. Confirm local copyright status before downloading or sharing a recording.
If you listen for long periods, comfortable audiobook headphones are an optional convenience rather than a requirement: LibriVox, Libby, and Hoopla can all be used through a phone, tablet, or computer’s built-in speakers or wired audio connection.
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3. Open Library: best for borrowing digitized books
Open Library is useful when a book is not available as a straightforward public-domain download. Its borrowable titles come from Internet Archive collections and may include scanned or digitized books that you read temporarily rather than keep permanently.
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You need an Open Library account. Availability can also involve a waitlist or a one-patron-at-a-time lending model. If another reader has the only available digital copy, you may need to wait before opening it.
Choose Open Library when: you are looking for a digitized book, an older edition, or a title that is difficult to find among permanent public-domain ebook collections.
4. Libby: best for current ebooks and audiobooks through a library
Libby is usually the best first stop for newer commercial ebooks and audiobooks, provided you have a card from a participating public library. The library—not Libby—determines which titles, formats, loan periods, and copies are available.
After signing in with a participating library card, you can search the collection, borrow an available ebook or audiobook, and place a hold when all copies are in use. In the mobile app, books and audiobooks normally download over Wi-Fi for offline use. The loan is automatically returned on its due date, so an offline download does not become a permanent file that you own.
U.S. library users can send most Libby ebooks to Kindle, although exact availability depends on the title, library, country, and device support. Otherwise, read ebooks and listen to audiobooks inside Libby.
Choose Libby when: you want a recent bestseller, a popular audiobook, or a broad commercial catalog without buying each title individually—and you can tolerate holds or a limited loan period.
Common limitation: having a library card does not guarantee access to every title. Libraries license different collections and may set different borrowing limits. If a book is unavailable in your library’s Libby catalog, check whether the library offers it through Hoopla or another service.
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Hoopla offers ebooks and audiobooks through participating libraries. Its biggest attraction is that many titles can be borrowed immediately rather than placed on a long hold queue. You generally need a library card from a library that offers Hoopla.
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- Escape into your books – Your Kindle doesn’t have social media, notifications, or other distracting apps.
- Battery life for your longest novel – A single charge via USB-C lasts up to 12 weeks.
- Read in any light – Adjust the display from white to amber to read in bright sunlight or in the dark.
Titles can be downloaded for offline use inside the app, but the loan remains temporary. Your library determines the catalog and the number of monthly borrows or other borrowing limits, so the experience can differ substantially from one library system to another.
Choose Hoopla when: your library supports it and you want to start reading or listening now, particularly when a title is unavailable immediately through Libby.
Check before planning a long reading list: look at your library’s monthly lending allowance and the app’s supported formats. A title being visible in Hoopla does not necessarily mean that your library offers unlimited borrowing.
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Internet Archive is a broad digital archive rather than a single-purpose ebook store. It is particularly valuable for scanned books, historical editions, archival documents, public-domain material, and audio collections. Many LibriVox recordings are hosted on Internet Archive pages, and Internet Archive collections also underpin many borrowable editions available through Open Library.
Access rules vary by item. Some materials can be read or downloaded openly. Others are part of a controlled digital lending system and can only be opened for a defined loan period. An item may offer a scan, PDF, audio file, or another source format rather than a polished, modern ebook.
Choose Internet Archive when: you care more about finding an original scan, historical version, archival recording, or source file than about getting the cleanest ebook typography.
Inspect the individual item page carefully. Look for its access statement and the available download controls instead of assuming that every result is an unrestricted permanent download.
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7. Standard Ebooks: best for polished editions of public-domain classics
Standard Ebooks is the quality-first alternative to raw scans and minimally formatted text files. Its volunteers produce carefully edited, accessible, modern-looking ebooks from works believed to be in the U.S. public domain.
The project’s ebooks are free of charge, released without DRM, and include the project’s own contributions under a public-domain dedication. It also provides bulk downloads and catalog feeds that can help ereader applications manage a collection.
Standard Ebooks has a narrower catalog than a general archive because it concentrates on producing high-quality editions rather than listing every digitized work. That narrower scope is useful: when a title is available, the result is generally designed to be comfortable on a modern screen and easier to navigate than a raw text file or page image.
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Choose Standard Ebooks when: you want a classic that looks and reads like a professionally prepared ebook, with clean formatting and no digital rights management.
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8. ManyBooks: best for browsing a mixed catalog
ManyBooks is convenient for browsing across genres such as romance, mystery, science fiction, history, and nonfiction. It says it offers more than 50,000 free ebooks, but its catalog also includes discounted and paid listings.
That mixed business model creates the main rule for using the site: confirm the price immediately before downloading. A book appearing in a free-ebook category or alongside free titles does not necessarily mean that every available listing costs zero. Prices and promotions can change.
ManyBooks generally asks users to create an account, choose a format, and use the Download button. Browser reading is also available for some titles. The precise formats and terms can vary by book.
Choose ManyBooks when: you want to browse a large selection by genre and are willing to check whether a specific title is free, discounted, or paid before proceeding.
9. Google Books: best for searching a huge full-view collection
Google Books is useful when you know a title, author, or subject but do not know which archive carries it. Google describes its free-books collection as containing more than 10 million books available to read and download. The collection includes public-domain works, books made free at the copyright holder’s request, and copyright-free materials such as some U.S. government documents.
The key phrase to look for is full view. A search result, snippet, or limited preview is not the same as a complete free book. Open the title’s details and look for the available reading and download controls. Formats and download options vary from one book and region to another.
Google’s Play Books service also lets users upload their own PDF and EPUB files for access across signed-in devices. That can be useful for organizing legally obtained files from Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, or Wikisource, but uploading a file does not change its copyright status.
Choose Google Books when: you want a broad search tool, a full-view scan, or a free title made available by its copyright owner rather than only a traditional public-domain ebook.
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10. Wikisource: best for source texts and historical documents
Wikisource is a Wikimedia Foundation free library containing public-domain or otherwise legally redistributable source texts. It is especially useful for historical documents, speeches, laws, poetry, multilingual works, and texts that may not exist as polished commercial-style ebooks.
Eligible books can be exported through Wikisource’s built-in tools. Depending on the work and the export options shown, you may be able to create an EPUB or MOBI file for a compatible ereader, or a PDF that works better on a large screen or for printing.
The trade-off is presentation. Formatting, proofreading, navigation, and editorial polish can vary more than they do on Standard Ebooks. Check the individual work’s copyright or license information, particularly for material that is not clearly public domain.
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Permanent downloads versus library loans
Use this distinction to avoid the most common disappointment:
- Permanent ebook downloads: Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, Wikisource, and eligible Google Books titles generally provide files or access that can remain available after you download them, subject to the work’s license or copyright status.
- Permanent audiobook downloads: LibriVox is the main choice here, with volunteer recordings of public-domain texts and title-dependent MP3, ZIP, or M4B options.
- Temporary library access: Libby and Hoopla let participating-library users borrow current ebooks and audiobooks. Offline access is still temporary, and the app returns or disables the item when the loan ends.
- Temporary archive borrowing: Open Library and some Internet Archive items use controlled lending. The file or reading access can stop working when the loan expires.
- Mixed free and paid catalogs: ManyBooks requires a price check because free, discounted, and paid listings appear together.
Which format should you download?
For ebooks
- EPUB: The best general-purpose choice for most ereaders and reading apps because the text can reflow to fit the screen.
- Kindle-compatible files: Convenient for Kindle workflows when the source offers an appropriate file or delivery option. Compatibility can depend on the device, country, and service.
- PDF: Useful for preserving a scanned page layout, printing, or reading on a large screen, but often less comfortable on a small ereader because pages do not reflow as cleanly.
- Plain text: Extremely portable and searchable, but it usually has the least formatting.
- MOBI: Still offered by some export tools, including Wikisource for compatible ereaders, but support varies on newer devices. If both EPUB and MOBI are available, check your reader’s current documentation before choosing.
For audiobooks
- MP3: Widely compatible and easy to play on phones, computers, and dedicated audio players.
- M4B: Often preferable when available because it can preserve chapter information and listening position in supported players.
- ZIP: A convenient way to download many MP3 chapter files together. You must extract the archive before playing the files on most devices.
- Offline app playback: The usual approach for Libby and Hoopla. It saves mobile data and allows listening without an internet connection, but it does not create permanent ownership.
A safe way to download free books
- Identify the access type. Look for wording such as public domain, free download, borrow, loan, full view, or preview. “Preview” alone does not mean that the entire book is free.
- Check the title page, not just the search result. Confirm the format, price, loan duration, download button, and any regional restrictions.
- Use the official service or app. Avoid mirror sites that offer current commercial bestsellers as unrestricted downloads without explaining the license.
- Choose a format your device supports. EPUB is generally the flexible ebook choice; MP3 is the safest audiobook choice when you want broad compatibility.
- Keep a record of loan deadlines. Libby, Hoopla, Open Library, and controlled Internet Archive loans are temporary even when the content is available offline.
- Respect copyright where you live. U.S. public-domain status is not automatically valid in every country. If the legal status is unclear, do not redistribute the file.
What each service is not
- Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks are not reliable sources for newly released commercial books.
- LibriVox is not a studio audiobook service, and its recordings are strongest for older public-domain works.
- Open Library and Internet Archive lending are not substitutes for permanent ownership of borrowed files.
- Libby and Hoopla are not universal catalogs; access depends on a participating library and its licenses.
- ManyBooks is not an all-free catalog, so verify the price.
- Google Books search results are not automatically complete downloads; check for full-view access.
- Wikisource is not always as polished or consistently formatted as a prepared commercial ebook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are free ebooks and audiobooks from these services legal?
They can be, but the reason differs by service. Project Gutenberg, LibriVox, Standard Ebooks, and much of Wikisource focus on public-domain or legally redistributable works. Google Books also includes books made free by copyright owners and other copyright-free material. Libby, Hoopla, Open Library, and some Internet Archive items provide licensed or controlled borrowing. Check the individual title and your country’s copyright rules rather than assuming that every free listing is legal everywhere.
Can I keep a book downloaded from Libby or Hoopla?
You can keep it available for offline reading or listening during the loan period, but you generally cannot keep permanent access after the due date. Libby returns loans automatically, and library-app downloads are tied to the loan and app. The exact loan period and renewal rules depend on your library.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat is the best place to find a free new bestseller?
Try Libby first if your public library participates, then Hoopla if your library offers it. Newer commercial titles are generally provided as temporary library loans rather than permanent downloads, and availability may involve a hold or vary by library.
Is EPUB better than PDF for an ebook?
Usually, yes, for a phone or small ereader. EPUB text reflows to fit the screen and normally offers better font and layout control. PDF is preferable when preserving a scanned page layout or preparing material for printing. For a Kindle, use the Kindle-compatible option offered by the source or the device’s currently supported delivery method.
The Bottom Line
For a permanent classic ebook, begin with Project Gutenberg or Standard Ebooks. For a free audiobook, use LibriVox. For current commercial titles, borrow through Libby or Hoopla, and use Open Library or Internet Archive when you need scans and archival material. Always distinguish a legal download from a temporary loan, verify the price and license, and check regional copyright rules before sharing anything.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
