100 Best Places to Find Free Books Online for Thrifty Bookworms (2026)

But thanks to the internet, you can download and read hundreds of thousands of books – from classics and fiction to non-fiction, biographies and everything in between – without paying a dime.

Here at MoneyPantry, we like saving money and we love free stuff.

So I went on a hunt to find a few places where you can download free books and ebooks.

And being the perfectionist that I am, finding “a few places” led me to spend a whole week trying to find as many websites as I could.

I hope it was worth it.

How This List Works (and Other Free Book Guides to Check Out)

This page is your big “free books” hub – it focuses on sites where you can read books online or download them as ebooks for free.

If you’re looking for something more specific, you’ll get a better result by checking out one of these more focused guides:

• Free Books by Mail – if you want physical books shipped to your home for free.
• Free Kids’ Books – if you’re mainly looking for free books for children, both online and by mail.
• Free Christian Books – for free Bibles and Christian books, often by mail.
• Download Free Kindle Books – if you read mostly on a Kindle or Kindle app.
• Read Books Online Free – if you just want to read in your browser with no downloading.
• Best Free Reading Apps – if you prefer using apps on your phone or tablet.
• Libby Free Library Audiobooks – if you want free audiobooks and ebooks from your library.
• Free Books for Review – if you want to get free books specifically in exchange for honest reviews.

On this page, I’ll keep the focus on general free ebook and online reading sites. For stuff that’s better covered in one of those guides (like Kindle-only tricks, or free books for kids), I’ll give you a quick overview here and then point you to the full post.

Quick Disclaimer (Please Read)

Free book offers and websites can change often – companies close, URLs move, and what used to be free sometimes becomes paid.

• Always double-check that a book is still free before you download it or enter any payment details.
• Stick to legit sites (public domain, library programs, or clearly licensed free offers) to avoid piracy.
• If you see something out of date, feel free to let me know in the comments and I’ll update the list.

Free Book Download Sites (General)

With that said, here is a massive list of places where you can download 100% free books and ebooks in just about any genre you can imagine.

1. Open Culture

Open Culture is more academic in nature, so there are lots of excellent reading materials for students.

The collection is not huge, with approximately over 700 titles, and it’s slanted towards student-friendly works.

There is also an internal committee to scrutinize all books before being published.

Even the fiction section is mostly classical works from authors like William Shakespeare and Mark Twain.

2. Google Play Books (Free Section)

Google Play Books’ free section (search for “free” in the store and filter by price) is a gold mine for free ebook seekers.

It has a good mix – from history to fiction, and modern science to classical stuff.

3. Project Gutenberg

Unlike Google Play, this one does not have a corporation behind it.

The website is run by a bunch of enthusiasts, who regularly encourage new users in the e-books creation and sharing experience.

To attract critical mass, the books here are available in multiple formats: HTML, Kindle, ePub and good old-fashioned text formats.

Project Gutenberg amasses a collection of over 45,000 free e-books.

4. Open Library

Open Library is one of the many initiatives under the umbrella of Internet Archive.

It has an open concept and it encourages the online community to actively contribute books.

With over one million titles to look for, you will be thankful that a very efficient and effective search function is embedded on their website, making it easier to navigate among subjects, authors and titles.

5. Amazon Free Kindle Books

If you read on a Kindle or the Kindle app, Amazon’s free section is a great starting point.

As with the main Amazon site, downloading is a hassle-free process. You still need your usual account to log in.

Once inside, choose a book of your liking (your selection can be based on genre, author or title).

Amazon offers an interesting mix, from classics to romance, science, business and more.

For a full step-by-step guide to finding and downloading free Kindle books (including non-Amazon sites that work with Kindle), check out my dedicated post: Download Free Kindle Books.

6. Internet Archive

This is probably not the place to look for contemporary bestsellers.

If what you have in mind are old books that publishers have stopped printing, especially those in foreign languages, then this could be for you.

They are especially great for books that are educational or historical in nature.

7. BookBoon

Want to learn more about business practice or educational stuff?

This website is dedicated to that. BookBoon boasts over 1000 e-books, all arranged nicely in appropriate categories.

You can start to download straightaway, as no registration is required.

8. ManyBooks.net

ManyBooks.net lets visitors browse among tens of thousands of free e-books.

There is quite a diverse range here.

The website also sets up a popular book chart, so you can pick up the e-books that are in demand if you’re so inclined.

Alternatively, just use the search function to look for what appeals to you.

Their books can be served across a number of devices: iPad (and Android-based tablets), Nooks, Kindles and most e-readers.

9. Free-eBooks.net

This is a great place if you fancy drama; from the most gruesome murder to unstinting romance.

If you like a good story, this website will not disappoint you.

There are also ratings and reviews published to help you find the right book.

I’m not particularly stuck to a certain kind of genre so I like coming here to browse all types of books.

10. Free Book Centre

There are loads of computer related e-books over here.

It is helpful if you are thinking of getting some sort of certifications in IT, as the website is loaded with instructions on web design, programming, database tuning, etc.

11. Free Book Spot

This is one website that talks about their free e-books in terms of computer storage.

All in all, their thousands of e-books occupy many gigabytes on their hard disk, and they spread across dozens of categories.

They tend to focus on technology stuff so don’t come here if you feel like getting a romantic read. Again, no registration required.

12. Free Computer Books

This is another technology-laden website so expect everything technical (engineering, scientific, mathematics… you get the idea!).

The website owner takes it upon himself to make sure everybody finds what he or she wants.

Users can zoom in from broad topics into more than 150 subcategories.

13. Ebooks3000

This site provides a directory service for loads of e-books available online.

You just follow the download links to get to the e-books that you want.

14. Ebook Lobby

The organization here is almost similar to that of a local library.

Everything is organized neatly and you just browse the individual sections that appeal to you; these are organized into art, business, education, IT and more.

15. E-library

Another library-like website with books neatly organized to make your downloading easy.

16. Free e-books

Free e-books requires membership before you can access their facilities.

Upon registration, which is free, you are entitled to a massive collection of resources like e-books and author references.

There are also free e-magazines and you can upload your own e-books.

17. Free Tech Books

As the name implies, this website is dedicated to engineering or IT related e-books.

One thing that stands out here is that the site actually bothers to secure the legal right to its materials for distribution. So your download would be an entirely legitimate exercise, not to mention a free one as well.

The website does not have a specific name for e-books; they’re used interchangeably with descriptions like lecture notes, monogram, text, document, etc.

18. Get Free eBooks

GetFreeEBooks is another legit e-books website. Just as well, these e-books are all free.

19. Online Programming Books

More than the implied computing related stuff, this site also has e-books related to science, physics, mathematics, marketing and business.

Of course, web technology, networking, database and programming content is a given.

20. PDF-Genii

PDFGeni is more like a search directory that covers specifically PDF versions of documents, forms, sheets and e-books.

21. SlideShare

This is actually a subscription-based site but they offer an amazing array of e-books and slides even for non-subscribers.

22. ManyBooks (Alt Link)

ManyBooks also has strong programming behind it that makes the free content appear seamlessly in your PDA, iPod or eBook Reader.

Here you can pick your ebook based on popularity, user recommendations, or reviews.

23. Book Gold Mine

A website dedicated to knowledge discovery, with content focused on lecture notes, educational books and other kinds of insights, free to users.

24. Bartleby

When it comes to non-fiction content, not many websites are bigger than this.

25. Banned Books Online

Come to this website to access previously or currently banned books.

26. Scribd

Scribd caters to mainstream users and the content is more than just the usual PDF format.

You can also find materials that are created in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as well, which immediately boosts the number of contents over here.

Note: Scribd is mostly a paid subscription now, but you can sometimes find free trials or free uploads from users.

27. MysteryNet

I come here in my spare time between meetings as the short mystery stories found on this site really intrigue me.

28. Planet eBook

The collection is concentrated on classic literature. Free download and free sharing.

29. SnipFiles

Most of the e-books and software being exhibited here are PLR (private label rights) material.

Some others have re-seller or master distribution rights.

30. BookYards

BookYards serves as an entry point to all who clamor for knowledge.

You can find books, education materials, information, and content so long as you have decent internet bandwidth.

31. Baen Free Library

Come here if science fiction is your thing.

32. CHM PDF

This one captures everything under the sun with a slight slant towards technical stuff.

33. Issuu

The website lists all varieties of web publications. And you can share them if you find them interesting!

34. Loyal Books

You can find both free e-books and audio books on this website. Many are in the public domain, so there’s no worry of copyright infringement.

35. MobiPocket

At first glance, it is difficult to pick fault with MobiPocket, which boasts more than 11,000 free ebooks.

Furthermore, it has a friendly MOBI format, which in turn is supported by Kindles.

36. DailyLit

eBooks are served to you via email sent daily, or you can choose to receive them via RSS feed.

37. Wikibooks

This takes the cue from Wikipedia so everybody is able to edit the content as they see fit.

38. Adobe Free eBooks

Sponsored by Adobe Inc, you might expect everything you read to be just PDF format only.

But it is great as you can read both on mobile devices and PCs.

39. eReaderIQ.com

In a sense, eReaderIQ is really doing public service for free.

Their work is related to Amazon Kindle books. So if there is a price drop on any content, they will publish it on their website.

You can also look out for the titles you have been waiting for, as there is a separate section that displays the new additions to Amazon’s library.

The site also shows e-books that have been made free by Amazon, which may or may not be publicized by the company.

There is also a service for subscribers to be notified of free publications.

40. Classic Bookshelf

The focus on this site is timeless work from distinguished authors, names like William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens for example.

41. BookBoon (Alt)

This website helps students with their studies, but they have other stuff that anyone can benefit from.

Available in PDF format and free. Anybody can access.

42. Free Ebook Download Links

Free Ebook Download Links consolidates a lot of free written work available on the web (the authors here have consented to free downloading and also free printing if used non-commercially).

The links on the website lead to a good variety of e-books.

43. EbooksMD

This one has a noble cause. It is founded with the desire to group together medical students and doctors, with the objective to share and collaborate information/ideas among them, especially with regards to medical books.

44. Alive & Free

They dedicate their website to authors who are still producing work and giving their work away free.

You connect to these books through links embedded on the web page, and access is free!

45. Read Easily

An ebook website that attempts to educate the public on adaptive reading habits, with text size and contrast options for easier reading.

46. Baen

Baen is decent but I think the collection is too small for my liking. Both fiction and non-fiction books are available here.

47. Hundred Zeros

The subject area of these books is diverse, cutting across many genres.

To download, you still need to use the Kindle reader app, but you can choose to enjoy these free e-books on your PC, mobile or tablets.

48. eBookLobby

eBookLobby has plenty of interesting stuff.

Navigate to the business, art, computing and education categories to find what you fancy. It is intuitive and it is fun.

49. PlanetPDF

Good classic novels are all the rage here.

They choose to publish in PDF so you don’t have to worry about format.

50. Classic Reader

This website has a collection of interesting novels, including both classical as well as contemporary.

51. Read Print

This is one of my favorites, as I know they only stock the best classic books.

Whenever I feel the urge to savor the fine work of George Orwell or George Eliot, this is where I head to.

52. Bartleby (Alt)

You can find at Bartleby the usual crowd pleasers and classic novels.

But the thing that makes this website famous is its good collection of anthologies.

53. The WWW Virtual Library for Theatre and Drama

They gather the transcripts of popular plays in the public domain and distribute them free as text online.

54. ProPlay

The collection mostly consists of kids’ plays, comedy stories, engaging fiction and music archives.

55. Kobo (Free eBooks)

Kobo boasts of a collection of millions of eBooks and magazines.

Credit goes to the curators of the site as I find this lot makes an interesting read.

Armed with your Kobo eReaders, the reading materials are now available to you anywhere, anytime.

56. Internet eBook and Texts Archive

The Internet Archive eBook and Texts Archive boasts a fine collection – ranging from the interesting ones to the really dry ones, from captivating novels to students’ educational reading.

All content is free for Internet users.

57. FreeScience.info

If mathematics, physics, and technical stuff are your thing, you are bound to have plenty of fun here.

58. Free Tech Books (Alt)

This is probably one of the greatest websites to find help on IT stuff, from general programming to database administration.

59. Freebooksy

Freebooksy has a habit of posting at least one free eBook a day. That said eBook usually remains available for download for that day.

Sometimes the website is generous enough to make the book available for a few more days down the road.

The team behind Freebooksy has good taste and mixed interests.

You can stumble onto a really good read regardless of your preferred genre.

60. Page by Page Books

Here is quite a mixed bag. You can find excellent work from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells.

At the same time, you can read short bursts of speeches from public figures and more.

61. Fiction.us

You guessed it right. Almost all significant and famous writers are represented here at Fiction.us.

No matter if you are looking for a gripping detective story or a hilarious romantic comedy, you will not be disappointed on this website.

62. Free Classic Literature

For people with a soft spot for British literature, this website full of amazing British writers will certainly impress.

63. Bibliomania

With a strong collection of over 2,000 free e-books, this website is a good online reference site to find study guides and classic novels.

64. Literature.org

Come here to appreciate full and unabridged classic works.

You can find famous work from the Brontë sisters, Mark Twain and more.

65. FullBooks.com

FullBooks.com claims they have free e-books in the thousands, most of which are slanted toward scientific research and journals.

66. Classic Literature Library

This website qualifies for one of the most comprehensive collections of classical materials.

67. Obooko

Another site that prides itself in bringing us a mind-boggling mix of genres and topics.

68. Free E-Books Lounge

Not exactly prominent, but you can find an interesting story to read once in a while.

69. byGosh

The website is full of kids’ picture books and illustrated stories. All are free to download.

For a bigger list of places to get children’s books (both online and by mail), see my guide here: Free Kids’ Books.

70. International Children’s Digital Library

This has a more organized way to help users locate their books.

Books are categorized into age groups and split among fantasy and real-life stories.

There is also a small section of pictorial books. Some of the books here have previously claimed great international awards.

71. The Divine Life Society

If you are a yoga buff, this is your port of call.

The collection here also extends to works related to religion and philosophy.

72. e-Library (Alt)

Numerous ebooks, all free to download.

73. ReadBookOnline.net

The site features both prominent and obscure work of famous writers like Chekhov, Thomas Hardy, Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe and others.

74. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

MIT has compiled and aggregated Shakespeare’s entire body of work.

It ranges from historical depictions to human tragedies, and of course the funny stuff.

75. Free Online Novels

The mainstay on this website is Christian themed story books, but it includes a fair share of modern novels.

If you want more Christian book options (including physical books by mail), be sure to see my full list here: Free Christian Books.

76. Foxglove

This website, based in England, offers free novels, short stories and satires.

77. Most Popular History Books

Not all e-books are free but I found that some titles, like Seven Days and Seven Nights by Alexander Szegedy and Autobiography of a Female Slave by Martha G. Browne, turned out to be good reads.

78. Books-On-Line

Obviously with the mainstream audience in mind, with books catering to kitchen help, food preparation, movie scripts, fashion and lifestyle, plus contemporary novels.

79. TopMystery.com

For a regular feed of mysterious stories, check out this website.

They have books from big names like Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and G.K. Chesterton.

80. Poem Hunter

As the name suggests, this is a great site for poem lovers. The site also features song lyrics and popular quotes from great men and women alike.

81. Business Book Mall

Come here and equip yourself with the basics required to setting up a business.

Topics range from accounting to economics, and they also oblige with general business management classes.

82. Online-Literature

The ebook site caters more for the educational sector.

Students and teachers would be delighted to find more than 1,900 eBooks, 3,000 short stories and an impressive array of poems.

They also set up shop for author biographies and quizzes.

83. Questia (Free Books)

I like this place not because of the mostly classic works among the free ebooks.

The draw for me here is actually the rare works that you don’t find often.

84. Public Literature

Public Literature tends to focus their collection on poems and theatrical plays – for both classic and contemporary fans.

85. Foboko

A great mix of genres you can find here.

86. Public Bookshelf

Get your mix of drama, mysteries, love stories and more.

87. The Internet Book Database of Fiction

Think fantasy worlds, popular series and more – a lot of well-known fictional worlds show up here.

88. Feedbooks

Feedbooks does not require registration. The collection of books here tends to focus on fiction work.

You can count on them if you are a fan of trusted names like Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and Jules Verne.

There are lots of titles available in PDF, EPUB and MOBI, which is a good decision as that means your content can go into virtually any device.

The website design is ergonomic and I find it a breeze to look for my e-book, either through navigation or the search box.

89. Girlebooks

Obviously dedicated to works from female authors only.

90. Library of Congress

Pertaining to all kinds of important works, including many that are now in the public domain.

91. Chest of Books

Another website that targets a mass user base.

Free books on offer tend to focus on personal hobbies, like gardening and gourmet cooking, home remodeling, craftwork, art books and more.

92. All Romance

Desperate for an engaging love story? This site could be the last ebook site you go to.

There are many titles to choose from. All are free but they still require you to register.

The default format is often MOBI (Kindle-compatible), though other formats are sometimes available.

Note: Romance and niche sites change often, so double-check availability.

93. LibriVox

Get used to listening to stories rather than reading them! LibriVox has taken the pain to translate written work into audiobooks.

These audiobooks are free and cover great classics and out-of-print books.

94. Mystery Books

If you like mystery writers, you’ll find a few free titles here.

95. Book Stacks

You can’t deny that the collection at Book Stacks is massive.

They also adopt all contents to be in PDF format to encourage mass adoption.

96. Smashwords (Free Section)

Users are advised to register when they first access this website, to ensure full privilege to download full ebooks.

They manage to keep a really up-to-date catalog but take notice that not all downloads are free. Some will cost you money.

97. Adelaide University

Courtesy of Adelaide University, you find ebooks on travel and adventure, classic masterpieces, science and philosophy, historical archives and more.

98. Authorama

They feature completely free books from a variety of different authors.

99. Online-Literature (Alt)

This is a searchable database of literature for the student, educator, or enthusiast.

They have thousands of full books and thousands of short stories and poems.

100. 2020ok

A huge list of books in many genres.

More Ways to Get Free Books (By Mail, Apps & Reviews)

This post is mostly about places to download or read books online, but if you want to go deeper, here are some other angles you can use:

• Get physical books by mail: See my guide to free books by mail if you want real books shipped to your door.
• Get free books for kids: Programs like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library plus online kids’ libraries are collected in Free Kids’ Books.
• Get free Christian books: Ministries and publishers that send out free Christian books and Bibles are listed in Free Christian Books.
• Use reading apps: If you prefer apps on your phone or tablet, check out my list of the best free reading apps.
• Use Libby and your library card: With a library card and the Libby app, you can borrow ebooks and audiobooks for free. I cover that in detail here: how to use Libby for free audiobooks.
• Get books in exchange for reviews: If you don’t mind writing honest reviews, there are sites and publishers that will send you free books for that. See my full list here: Free Books for Review.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there is no shortage of websites that let you download and read books online for free.

Now you can get your book fix for free and save yourself hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the years.

Be sure to bookmark this page, as I’ll be updating it with new sites and removing ones that disappear or stop offering free books.

Also, if you know of any free book or ebook site that is not mentioned in this list, please leave a comment below and I will check it out and add it to the list if it’s a good fit.