Digital books are changing the way we consume written content. If you are a Windows user and wish to read digital copies of your favorite books on your PC, you should consider downloading an ePUB reader. Since Windows doesn’t come with a default ePUB reader, you’ll have to rely on third-party options available on the internet.
However, with so many options available, choosing the right ePUB reader can be overwhelming. To help you out, I compared features offered by various apps, checked their pros and cons, and put together this list of the best ePUB readers for Windows. But before we delve into the list, let’s get a broader idea of what an ePUB reader does.
What is an ePUB reader?
An ePUB reader is a software application that allows you to read ePUB files, a popular eBook format. ePUB, short for Electronic Publication, is a free and open eBook standard developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). It is designed such that you can easily read these files on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers.
An ePUB file can easily display text, images, and other multimedia elements. With a good ePUB reader, you’ll get various features like bookmarking, highlighting, and note-taking. These versatile tools enhance your experience of reading and learning from digital books.
After going through numerous ePUB readers, I have compiled this list of the best ePUB readers for Windows users.
10 Best ePUB readers for Windows
From the voguish interface to seamless performance, these apps will give you whatever you are looking for! So, let’s get started.
1. Calibre – Editor’s Choice
First on my list is Calibre, one of the oldest and most sought-after ePUB readers. Apart from giving an exceptional ePUB reading experience, it serves as a full-fledged eBook management tool. I loved how seamlessly it allowed me to edit the formatting of my eBook.
This app empowers you to effortlessly manage your e-books. You can edit metadata, download books and their corresponding covers, convert them to different formats, and even seamlessly transfer them between your devices.
Besides regular ePUB novels, the app also supports magazines, comics, newsletters, and more. In terms of features as well as ease of use, I feel the Calibre ePUB reader for Windows should be your top choice.
Pros
- Offers full-fledged eBook management features
- Manages metadata of the eBook
- Supports various file formats and eBook types
Cons
- Dated interface
Price: Free
2. Icecream ePUB Reader – Sweet interface with cool features
This one’s for all ePUB eBook readers looking for a super clean app with powerful features. Icecream ePUB reader offers a sleek, user-friendly interface that makes navigation through the app a breeze. I found the look of the app quite minimalistic yet voguish.
It renders several basic and advanced features that make it one of the best ePUB file reader for Windows. The app features a convenient full-screen mode, and you can adjust the single/double page mode, font size, reading mode, and line spacing according to your requirements.
Apart from ePUB, the app also supports various other file formats, including MOBI, PDF, FB2, CBR, CBZ, TXT, and even ZIP. While the app offers most features of an ideal ePUB reader, various features like copying texts are unavailable in the free version.
Pros
- Sleek, intuitive interface
- Supports numerous file formats
- Offers numerous powerful features
Cons
- Most features are behind the paywall
Price: Free (Pro versions start at $19.95)
3. Freda – Cross-platform support
While Freda has so many features to brag about, its gorgeous interface is what made me fall in love with it. Freda is the perfect Windows ePUB reader for the ones who can’t compromise on the aesthetic aspect of books.
The app offers various customization themes. You can change the colors, screen size, fonts, etc., to suit the reading experience as per your preference. The app even features a unique font called OpenDyslexic for readers with Dyslexia.
Moreover, Freda efficiently integrates with a bunch of other e-readers like Calibre, Gutenberg, Smashwords, Feedbooks, etc. This enables you to access your libraries from the mentioned software via Freda! You can also sync the app to your Cloud to download and store eBooks.
While most of the features are offered for free, I was asked to subscribe to the premium version to avail of advanced features like automatic sync between devices, more than 10 daily highlights or bookmarks, and continuous text-to-speech reading.
Pros
- Aesthetic interface
- Theme customization
- Seamless cloud and foreign e-reader integration
Cons
- Occasional lags
Price: Free (Offers in-app purchases)
4. Aquile Reader – Feature-rich ePUB reader for Windows
Aquile ePUB Reader is another app that managed to impress me big time. Not only does the app offer powerful eBook management features, but it is also served with a modern, stylish interface.
I loved how I could do so many things to enhance my reading. The app helped me highlight my favorite portions of texts, make notes, find meanings of words, and create bookmarks. I could also make various customizations, like changing the color of the pages and text.
While the app has several layouts to choose from, I particularly liked the 2-column, book-style layout. Further, the Aquile ePUB reader offers powerful in-book search functionality, making it quite easy to find a preferred part within the book.
The built-in text-to-speech feature also works really efficiently. It can come in handy if you’d like to listen to the book while doing your chores. To top things off, the app provides various insights into your reading habits.
Pros
- Modern interface
- Built-in text-to-speech
- Valuable insights into the reader’s reading habits
Cons
- Only one color theme in the free version
Price: Free (Offers in-app purchases)
5. Kobo Books – Discover, read, and customize
Kobo Books is another ePUB reader app I recommend for Windows users. The app is popular amongst bibliophiles because of its self-integrated store. The store features an extensive library with over 5 million books you can pick from. While surfing through the app, I came across eBooks, comics, and even children’s books.
The app is more or less like Kindle. However, Kobo also supports ePUB and ePUB3 formats. Also, like most entertainment or music apps, it recommends what you may like based on your previous sessions.
Three distinct reading modes (Day, Night, and Sapia) were what impressed me most. Additionally, I highly recommend it for its other features, such as bookmarking, book searching, and reading progress tracking. The gesture shortcuts on the app’s reading screen for bookmarks, settings, etc., further simplified my reading experience.
However, the app lacked certain features. For instance, there was no dictionary or note-taking feature. Plus, the imported books were comparatively difficult to manage.
Pros
- Self-integrated bookstore with a massive library
- Personalized book recommendations
- Three reading modes
Cons
- No dictionary or note-taking feature
Price: Free (Offers in-app purchases)
6. Adobe Digital Editions – Ad-free reading experience
Adobe Digital Editions by Adobe is one of the best free ePUB reader for Windows. Just like every other product from the brand, the app doesn’t disappoint you.
I was sold the moment I saw how seamlessly it supports the ePUB 3 standard. This offers a richer reading experience by providing features like support for right-to-left reading, interactive quizzes, better display of math formulas, image resizing without any compromise in clarity, etc.
I was also impressed by how efficiently it allowed me to organize my books and create custom bookshelves sorted by title, author, and publisher. It made the entire navigation so much easier. The app is a one-stop solution for all the Adobe DRM-protected books across various devices.
Another reason why I recommend this app is that it is one of the best free ePUB readers for Windows without ads. However, the app tends to load slower than several others on the list, especially if you have an extensive library.
Pros
- Supports ePUB, PDF, and ePUB 3 standards
- Image resizing without loss of clarity
- Custom organize bookshelves
Cons
- Slow loading
Price: Free
7. Cover – For books with illustrations
The primary reason Cover made it to my list of the best ePUB readers for Windows is because of its image-handling abilities. I just love how seamlessly it manages image-heavy books. While other apps can also support ePUBs with loads of images, none can do it as well as Cover does.
The app is a favorite among people who read comics, mangas, and manhwas or are fond of books with numerous images. However, since it supports ePUBs and offers decent ePUB eBook reader features, I decided to add this one to the list, too- this one’s for you comic lovers!
Cover offers most of the essential features that other apps on this list offer. I could easily download ePUB and covers, manage the metadata of the eBooks, change the eBook’s format, and transfer books from one device to another. However, I didn’t find the interface of the app catchy enough.
Pros
- Ideal for image-heavy eBooks
- Efficient library management
- Efficiently manages metadata of eBooks
Cons
- Lacks in interface
Price: Free (Offers in-app purchases)
8. Bibliovore – Free reader with endless possibilities
I recommend Bibliovore to readers looking for a free-of-cost, fast, and aesthetically pleasing ePUB reader for their Windows PC. The app has all the essential features an ePUB reader should have.
I adore the aesthetic look of the app. I could change the font style, size, line spacing, reading modes, and themes. Further, it offers a dozen themes including but not limited to Sepia, Monochrome, and Black and Sand.
That’s not all. Despite being a free app, it offers a bunch of advanced features. For instance, you can sync all your books across various devices using OneDrive. It also offers online libraries from which you can download the book of your choice directly inside Bibliovore.
The app lets you customize the metadata for better organization of your books. It also ensures that the multivolume books are rendered at a place grouped within a series. However, the presence of a built-in dictionary would have sealed the deal for me.
Pros
- Aesthetically pleasing interface
- Fast loading even with extensive libraries
- Online libraries to browse and download books
Cons
- Lacks built-in dictionary
Price: Free.
9. Neat Reader – Organize and annotate on neat interface
As the name suggests, Neat Reader is the perfect option for ePUB readers looking for a clean, clutter-free interface. The minimalistic look added to almost every feature a person can look for in an ePUB reader can ask for is the app’s selling point.
Another great feature of the app is its support for annotation. You’re just a single click away if you wish to add random notes to your ePUB eBooks. Just scribble your thoughts, and the note will be at the same place the next time you visit. You can also highlight texts and place bookmarks to mark important pages.
One of the best parts of the app for me was how I could use all the functionalities in a seamless way compared to other ePUB readers. I loved how the editing functions were so much simpler. If you don’t want complicated editing functions, I would definitely suggest this app.
While the app offers most of the features for free, you can subscribe to its premium version to avail yourself of added benefits like 10 GB cloud storage and eBook synchronization. The ads and the lack of theme-customization options in the free version lowered the rank of this otherwise fantastic app.
Pros
- Neat, minimalistic interface
- Support for annotation, highlights, and bookmarks
- Useful search feature
Cons
- Ads in the free version
Price: Free (Premium version starts at $19.99)
10. Sumatra PDF Reader – Lightweight and fast access
If you are looking for a simple ePUB viewer for Windows, I think Sumatra would serve you the best. The basic and minimalistic interface enables the app to be extremely lightweight and super fast in its functioning.
The app is more or less like Calibre in terms of appearance but offers fewer features. This is a portable app, meaning you can save it to a USB stick or a cloud storage service. This way, you can use it on any PC.
Pros
- Lightweight app
- Fast and functional
- Portable app
Cons
- Lacks advanced features
Price: Free
Conclusion
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for ePUB readers, I’m sure one of these apps would meet all your ePUB reading needs.
So, which one of these ePUB readers will you download on your Windows? Comment below to let me know!
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