Best Free Book Apps

During the early 2000s, a lot of people were wondering if technology was going to replace books and namely, the overall passion for reading. Over two decades later, we can answer this question: no, technology actually expanded reading options. Today, there is a great amount of free book apps with millions and millions of readers. With all those options, which one is the best? In this article, we discuss our favorite book apps - and some of them include audiobook options. If you want to find the perfect place to meet people as excited as you about reading, then check out our selection!

Social Cataloging Apps

Goodreads

What is Goodreads you may wonder? It is the largest community for literature reviews, with over 90 million users. What is great about the Goodreads app is that you can track your reading progress, discover new books, follow authors, create lists, add friends, comment, and more! The platform holds annual Choice Awards for best books for each genre - and users can vote. For example, in 2020, there were over 5 million votes.

Reading Apps

Kindle

The Amazon Kindle app is a book reading app with a catalog of millions of books, newspapers, and magazines, as well as mangas and graphic novels. On there, you can find plenty of books for free but users can also buy item per item or opt for the Unlimited subscription. The Kindle app allows you to sync the library across devices and once you download a book, you can also read it offline.

Wattpad

What is Wattpad? It is a free book reading app with a catalog of millions of books - some of them from the most famous authors out there (like Paulo Coelho, for example). However, what is different from the previous service, is that Wattpad gives users the possibility to publish their own stories easily. Moreover, the platform can help the most read newbie authors go professional and get traditional publishing deals, and even screen adaptations of their work. Actually, Wattpad has already helped over 1000 authors. Also, the platform offers writing resources to guide aspiring writers through the creative process.

Webnovel

Webnovel is a book reading app that features free novels and comics, as well as some paid content. Its rich library is full of exclusive stories and allows users to set alerts and notifications for new chapter releases. However, the Webnovel app also aims to encourage creativity and thus, gives users the possibility to publish their own novels and comics. This is also a great book writing app as it holds bi-weekly writing prompt contest to help writers keep on going with their stories.

Dreame

Just like Webnovel, Dreame is a great reading app and its library offers over 200,000 stories both from new and well-known authors. The platform is a great place for those who have a passion for literature, as publishing one’s story is also possible. Performing tasks on the Dreame app gains you coins. Lastly, the app is available in English, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog languages.

Audiobook Apps

Audible

Audible is the cradle of audiobooks and podcasts, where you will be able to find adaptations of all the recent hits but also well-established classics. The service ensures a great quality of the narration and produces more and more often its own exclusives. What is great about this service is that there are many free Audible books and you can also stream them offline which is great to save some mobile data. This audio book app also offers the possibility to purchase items or to get a subscription. You can cancel Audible anytime from the official website.

Libby, by OverDrive

Libby is a truly unique app: it allows users to browse their local libraries’ catalogs and can get books directly to their Kindle (or other) devices. Of course, users must have a valid subscription to the library in question in order to access the book. With Libby, you can synchronize your downloads between devices and you can also borrow audiobooks.

Google Play Books

The Google Play Books app you can download both books and audiobooks. Apart from its amazing library filled with best-sellers and less known books, the app comes with some enjoyable features such as the possibility to choose between different visual styles, but also built-in translation options, definitions, synchronization across devices, and many more!

Images: Unsplash - @sincerelymedia / App Store