The Best Sites to Download Free eBooks

Reading is one of life’s simple pleasures and something everyone should do. Books can be expensive even if you don’t pay the cover price. eBooks are the same price as actual books and while that doesn’t seem right somehow, it is what it is. So how can we get books without having to pay over the odds for them? That’s what this post is all about. I’m going to show you where to find legal eBook and PDF book downloads for free.

Free really is the best price. The downside of being free and legal is that you won’t get the latest best sellers or blockbusters. We all know how to get books that aren’t legal, but the author deserves to get paid for their work. Therefore all links on this page are to legal sources of eBook and PDF book downloads.

Google eBookstore

Google eBookstore is part of the Play Store and has hundreds of books for free. Google features both new and upcoming authors and uses some bigger names as loss leaders to get you into the store. Many are completely free while others have a nominal fee. Either way, there are plenty of books from across all genre here which makes it a must-try for finding free eBooks.

Open Library

Open Library has over a million free eBooks apparently. Not only can you download for free, you can also upload your own books as long as they are yours and not copyrighted. It is a massive eBook resource that covers just about every genre there is. Well worth visiting.

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is another massive resource of legal eBook and PDF book downloads. It specializes in out of print and out of copyright books. If you like the classics, this is the place to be. There are millions of books from all over the world, from all time periods and all kinds of authors. This is a huge resource and definitely one well worth supporting.

Obooko.com

Obooko.com is all about the fiction. It hosts thousands of free books covering most fiction and non-fiction genre, romance, historical, sci-fi, short stories and more. There is also a range of IT, computer, text books and others. You can also submit your own books to be featured on the site if you’re an author. Like the others in this list, the books are legal and not covered by copyright.

Scribd

Scribd is perhaps better known for hosting slideshows and other documents but has a repository of free eBook and PDF book downloads too. It says there are half a million books and publications on the site and I wouldn’t disagree. The downside is that while the books themselves are free, Scribd costs money to use although there is a free 30 day trial option.

FreeTechBooks

FreeTechBooks is exactly what it says on the tin. It hosts hundreds of computer science, science, textbooks, lecture notes and more online. All are free and available to download in various formats. The site covers computers, math, operating systems programming, scripting and lots of other subjects which is ideal of you’re at college or are learning about this stuff.

Downloadfreepdf.com

Downloadfreepdf.com is another self-explanatory website that offers legal PDF book downloads for free. The subject range is huge, from non-fiction to textbooks, science to children’s books. There are a lot of industry books here too, making a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to get ahead in their job. As far as I can tell all are legitimate and legal.

Getfreebooks

Getfreebooks is a simple site with straightforward navigation that makes it easy to find the book you’re looking for. Many are industry or science related while there is some fiction in there too. The focus of the site does seem to be for computers and internet related subjects but there is also a lot of random stuff too. Many books are listed as scans, so I don’t know their legal status. Many are clearly free and legal though which is why this site made it into this list.

Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a fork of the Wayback Machine that keeps a record of everything online. The archive is a massive library of out of print books, movies, programs, music and more. It is huge and will take you an age to find anything but the sheer scale of the project is impressive. It is also a project well worth supporting if you can.

Free Ebooks.net

Free Ebooks.net offers a massive selection of free eBooks and PDFs covering a wide array of subjects. From fiction to geography, LGBT studies to crime, classics to religion and pretty much everything else in-between. All are apparently legal and not covered by copyright. You do have to register to use the site but it is free and costs nothing to download as many books as you like.

Wikibooks

Wikibooks is a nice resource covering a wide range of books, from recipes to computers. It uses Wikimedia to host the site so should be instantly familiar when you use it. There is a search option and the usual category listings. There are almost 3,000 books on this site so there is bound to be something you want to read here.

Bookboon.com

Bookboon.com is a decent site to download eBooks or PDF files. The site is simple and works well. The selection is broad and contains a range of non-fiction and industry books. It has a mix of free and premium books that are clearly marked within their relative sections. The range is limited but the quality of books it contains makes up for that.

Those are just some of the many places to get legal eBook and PDF book downloads for free. Each is legal as far as I can tell and each offers free downloads of some, or most of its stock. Now you have no excuse to ever say you have nothing to read!

Got any other legit websites to download eBooks for free? Tell us about them below!