13 Legit Places to Get Free Books Online (Yes, Totally Free!)

Want to know where to get free books online?

Many readers (including yours truly) love to acquire as many books as possible but don’t always enjoy going out and spending money on them.

For one, new books, especially hardbacks, usually have outrageous prices (approximately $20-$30+). Some of them are as expensive as college text books!

And even though there are cheaper books at places like bookstores and yard sales, you might not have the time to stop by. (Or you might not feel like going out.)

The library’s another option since most of its items are free, but you have to go there in person to check out an item and bring it back before the due date, which can be a hassle.

In fact, a YouGov survey shows that consumers are more likely to purchase books online (46%) than in person (36%).

I solved that problem by offering sites that provide free books.

Read on to learn more about them.

Where to Get Free Books Online

Visit these websites to download books in almost any genre you can think of, absolutely free.

1. Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg will whet your literary palette because it has 75,000+ eBooks.

It doesn’t require registration, and there are no apps to download.

Just search for a title or author to get started.

2. Open Library

What’s interesting about Open Library is that it provides many eBooks to read and allows users to add books, correct typos, and make other edits.

It even accepts book donations to scan and add to its catalog.

Sign up using your email or Google account.

3. Google Play Books

Google Play Books offers both free and paid eBooks.

To filter the results to free ones only, type “free books” into the search bar and click the “Get for Free” button.

Download the app for Android or Apple.

4. Manybooks

Want access to 50,000+ eBooks?

Sign up for a Manybooks account!

You’re also welcome to donate $5-$25+ on a one-time, monthly, or yearly basis to support its mission of providing free books.

5. Online Book Club

Online Book Club is one of the best free online book sites for the following reasons:

• It’s 100 percent free (of course).
• It has forums where you can discuss books with other members.
• If you’re a published author, you can receive book reviews.
• This site even offers paid review opportunities where you essentially get paid to read books!

6. Kindle

Though Kindle has many eBooks available for purchase, it has free eBooks, too.

Note that you need to sign up for an Amazon account to read them.

Or you can use these tips to get Kindle Unlimited for free so you can read thousands of books for free!

7. Hoopla

Hoopla partners with many libraries across the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Upon signing up, you’ll have access to eBooks, audiobooks, comics, music, TV shows, and movies.

Begin the registration process by locating your library in the search box. (If your library doesn’t offer Hoopla, click “Request Hoopla here!” to fill out the form, and Hoopla will forward your request on your behalf.)

8. LibriVox

If you prefer listening to stories to reading them, check out LibriVox!

This site contains several public-domain audiobooks.

And like Project Gutenberg, it requires no registration.

LibriVox has other features, including volunteer narration opportunities, a forum, and a monthly community podcast.

9. Libby

Libby is similar to Hoopla since it provides audiobooks, magazines, eBooks, and other reading materials through local libraries.

Once you confirm that your library is a Libby partner, check out books and download them to your mobile device(s) or listen to audiobooks in your car.

10. eBooks.com

eBooks.com has quite a track record of being the oldest eBook store on the Net. (It’s been in business since 2000.)

Though it offers many paid books, you can find books for free, too. (Type “free books” in the search bar to access them.)

eBooks.com also offers a publisher’s newsletter to keep you updated on site changes and e-reading overall, as well as a newsletter to alert you on subject-specific new titles.

11. Loyal Books

Loyal Books has many free e-books to read online (7,000+ if you include its audiobook versions).

These books are from the public domain, so this is a boon for you if you’re a classic novels fan.

There’s no need to register; enter a title or author into the search box and download an eBook or audiobook of your choice.

12. Lit2Go

Parent or K-12 teacher?

Check out Lit2Go!

This site contains audiobooks of classic novels, historical speeches, and poems.

These works can be filtered by reading level, which makes it easy to find appropriate passages for elementary, middle, and/or high schoolers.

Some of Lit2Go’s audiobooks include PDF files you can download or print to use as classroom supplementary material or for a student to read along.

13. PaperBackSwap

Unlike the previous leads, PaperBackSwap involves paperbacks, hardbacks, and other types of physical media.

It allows you to swap used materials with other members. (PaperBackSwap charges membership fees, but I add it to this list because the a la carte membership lets you earn free swaps by using printable postage, and the limited/standard memberships only bill you once a year in exchange for free swaps.)

Here’s how the whole process works:

• Once you sign up, list any books you have that you would like to swap.
• After you receive a book request, mail your book to the member.
• When said member receives your book, you get free credits toward anything you want to order.

Learn more about PaperBackSwap through its Help Center.

Be a Bargain Bookworm: Save Money by Getting Free Books!

Reading is a hobby that shouldn’t break the bank or involve stressful trips to the library.

Next time you are looking for books to read but don’t have the budget to buy one and are wondering, “Where can I get books for free?“, check out the websites I’ve listed to trade a book with a site member or download an eBook/audiobook to your favorite mobile device.