The 2019 Test of 30 Free eReader App’s for Apple, Android and PC

eBook Formats, Devices and Applications

We have received a lot of questions from our customers about ebooks, formats, and how to open them and decided to test some free eReader programs out. You can read about the ebook formats, the notes and features, and our test results here.

eBook Formats

Ebooks are created and sold in different formats, and we can read them on several devices. The first ebook format that was created is the PDF, and it needs a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat. Later came the ePub format with more features and publishing possibilities. Several companies and publishers have since then developed their own e-reader devices and formats, such as the .mobi format for the Amazon Kindle devices and .nook for Barnes&Noble’s Nook device.

ePub Versions

The ePub format has two very different variations: The Fixed and the Reflowable. Each variation has a different purpose. The Fixed layout is used for e.x. magazines, children, and cooking books where the design will be fixed and can have interactive elements.

The reflowable layout is used for novels and textbooks, where the text flow and pictures are anchored to the text.

ePub Devices

Besides this, we have three groups of places where the majority read ebooks, and that is on Pc/Mac, the smartphone, or tablet. These three places all use different operating systems, and they use various programs, also called applications or apps. The Pc use Microsoft programs, the smartphones and tablets use Android or Apple programs.

How to open an ePub

When you have downloaded your ebook to your reader device, find and install the app you prefer to read from and open it. The app will usually find your ebooks, or you can make it search for your books or connect to your clouds to find them and create a bookshelf for the books it finds.

DRM Protection

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management ad books bought for specific devices, and from paid account platforms with their app usually have DRM protection, which means you need their app and the account to have access to your book. You cannot download the book as a single file and read it on another device.

When you buy ebooks from 1pen ePublish, they have no DRM protection, and you buy the file to save and use on any device you prefer and without an expiration date. The Copyrights always protect all authors and illustrators.

ePub App’s

The Apple products all use the same iStore app, which is available on all devices as part of the standard programs. The apps can be searched for and installed on Phones, iPads, and the Mac computer. Likewise, with the devices that use Android programs, they can be found and installed from the Google Play Store. These devices are made by companies like Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Huawei, and others.

We publish the ePub format, which can be read on Pc/Mac, iPhone and iPad, and all Android devices, and Mobi format for Kindle devices.

The Nook version is available from Barnes&Nobles. The majority of ebook sellers are also selling the ebook as the ePub format.

Several of the eReaders can read different formats, usually ePub, PDF, and Mobi.

eReader Communities and Online Libraries

GoodReads is like FB, but for readers and Project Gutenberg is a big online library filled with 1000’s of free books to download immediately.

Different App Stores

Apps and programs can be downloaded from Microsoft Store – iStore – Chrome Webshop – Google Play, there are 1oo’s of free app’s out there to try out, and some can be bought with extra features.

Criteria For This eReader Test

We wanted to test how our readers can find a free eReader that is easy to use and gives the best reading experience. It should be quick to install, open, and upload the books needed.

There should be features for changing fonts and page view. We are using a Samsung Android Smartphone, an iPad Pro, and Windows 10.

The book we are testing on is a book with pictures, and we would like to view the images in full screen. The book is also reflowable, which means the text flow according to the screen size. Therefore it is very user friendly with page view settings.

We took the ten first ePub readers after a search for “ePub reader” from iStore, Google search, and Google Play. We tested them all one time, which means we did not go back and try to fix anything that was not functioning on the first try because we would like to help our customers avoid having problems with reading their new or favorite books.

We did not intend to make commercial or to discredit any company or eReader developers. We have great respect for all the programmers who put free apps and programs out there for people to use, and there are many hours of work behind. We also know that great programmers want critiques on their products so they can continually improve them, and we advise people to back them up and stay patient and positive.

Apple – iPhone – iPad

From the App Store, all Apple devices can enter the iStore application. On your device search for “epub reader”

[lead]Scroll or Swipe left to see Screenshots and the rest of the table and the User/ Reading Score. Or use the arrow keys →[/lead]

Logo and App Name	Notes and Features	Paid Features	Use Book Fonts?	Screenshot	User & Reading Score
BlueFire Reader	Go to the ebook and choose the BlueFire app to open it with. Option to upload from Dropbox. Optional to log into Adobe account to open for DRM protected books. This account is free to create and gives access to several Adobe app’s for free. The app connects to FeedBooks and has a long list of books to download for free. One page or two-page view depending on how you turn the iPad.	No	Yes, and a whole list of other fonts to choose from.
KyBook ePub	Go to the ebook and choose the KyBook app to open it with. Option to upload from OneDrive, Dropbox, Yandex and Google Drive. Connect to Gutenberg and Internet Archive Catalog with access to a lot of free books for download. One page or two-page view depending on how you turn the iPad. Read the text aloud.	Yes, remove ads, gives theme editor, synchronization, speed reading and more.	No, but a long list of several fonts to choose from.
i2Reader Cloud	Find the book and open it with the i2Reaer app. Options to upload from Google Drive, Yandex and iCloud or web browser. Upon opening, there is a small guide from the developer to help new users around. Connect to online Libraries, but an unspecified account name and password is required. The app does not honour the formatting of the book and the text is one long document with no headings. The app crashed 3 times and did not work at all after that.	Free Trial period.	No
Gerty eBook Reader	Find the book and open it with the Gerty app. Option to download from Dropbox or follow a link to a tutorial. Create a journal or upload photos and make a Tag list, it is not clear what the purpose is with these functions. Change font size and paper colour. One page or two-page view depending on how you turn the iPad.	Yes, open up all the settings for a one-time fee.	No, the app has 10 different fonts to choose from.
FB Reader	Find the book and open it with the FBReader app. Option to connect to Google account. Change font size and paper colour and other page settings. One page or two-page view depending on how you turn the iPad.	No	No, but a long list of several fonts to choose from.
EPUB Reader	Find the book and open it with the EPUB Reader app. Upon opening the app suggest downloading another app for scanning the device for documents. I don’t want to do that, so I’m skipping that step. It can connect to the browser and several online library catalogs. Upload photos and documents. Click on mid of page to open setting wheel with page and font settings. The Total Scan add is very annoying.	No	No, but a long list of several fonts to choose from.
AEF ePub Reader	Unknown Login needed to open the app. It seems to belong to a German academic closed network.	?	?
Apple Books	Find the book and open it with the EPUB Reader app. Connecting to the Apple iBook Store. Change font size and paper color. One page or two-page view depending on how you turn the iPad.	No	Yes, and a whole list of other fonts to choose from.
Total Reader	Find the book and open it with the Total Reader app. Upon opening the app ask permissions to send you messages. I don’t want messages, so I skipped that step. Upon opening the app suggest downloading another app for scanning the device for documents. I don’t want to do that, so I’m skipping that step. Connect to Google Drive, Dropbox OneDrive and other networks. The Total Scan add is very annoying.	No	No, but a long list of several fonts to choose from.
EPUB Reader	Find the book and open it with the EUB Neat Reader app. Change font size and paper color.	Yes, there’s a 7 day free trial of the Pro Version.	No, there is no setting to change the font.

Android – Samsung – Nokia – Huwai

From Google Play Store application on your device search for “ePub reader”

Test of a Reflowing ePub written in Aviano and Helvetica fonts.

[lead]Scroll or Swipe left to see Screenshots and the rest of the table and the User/ Reading Score. Or use the arrow keys →[/lead]

Logo and App Name	Notes and Features	Paid Features	Use Book Fonts?	Screenshot	User & Reading Score
Reasily	Device and SD card scan and Choose individual files. Pages can be zoomed in and out Pictures can be watched in full screen *Page and text settings	No	Yes – and also the Fonts: Serif Sans-Serif Monospace Cursive
Librera	Allow it to access your device folders. Before opening it want to connect to external storage. When clicking OK it goes to App info and wants you to choose what folders the app can access. It was not possible to find my download folders on the phone and I had to exit the app ad open again to find all my files in along list, making it hard to find the book I want to read. Ad’s are popping up while reading the book.	?	No
PDF Reader	Access your device folders by allowing the app to access. Ad’s pop up in book list and make the items jump and move while reading them. All my PDF got uploaded automatic and I could not find my ePub files.	?	?
EPUB Reader	Access your device folders by allowing the app to access. Change Fonts, size and paper color. Reading text aloud. Pages can be zoomed in and out. Pictures can be watched in full screen. Books can be shared on social media. Connecting to Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, Smashword. *Extended settings Backup, Widget, Tabs and Book cover.	No	No – the books original fonts are replaced with 50 other fonts.
Moon Reader	Access device files in “My Files” or Dropbox and WebDev. Startup with a big ad. Connect to net libraries, Gutenberg, Feedbooks, Webnovel.com and Moon+ Catalog and “More books in your language” with Open Publication Distribution System. Change theme. Remove ad’s 3 days by watching a 5-sec ad. *Extended various settings	Buy the Pro Version to get more settings.	No – the books original fonts are replaced with the app’s standard fonts
Lithium	Access your device folders by allowing the app to access. Page and text settings. Create Category. Sort by Title, Author, Date, Last Read. Connect with Moon+ Reader.	Buy the Pro Version	Yes – and also the Fonts: Open Sans PT Serif Domine Lato *Arbutus Slab
eBoox	Access your device folders by allowing the app to access into “Library”. Connection to Amazon, Gutenberg, Kobo and many other book catalogs, also in different languages. Can synchronize with Google Drive	*Donation Option	No – The books original fonts are replaced with: Roboto DroidSerif Open Sans Tinos
PocketBook	Access your device folders by allowing the app to access. Accept the use of app Privacy and Terms of use and agree to receive special offers and promo material. Reading text aloud. Extended various settings. ISBN scanner. Connect to BookLand, The Network Libraries Smashwords and Feedbooks. Connect and activate with multiple libraries and online stores with the respective login, like Adobe, CloudLibrary, Nokia, Books a Million and much more. Connect to Dropbox and Pocketbook Cloud	No	Yes – and also 32 different fonts.
Prestigo	Device scanand Google Drive, One Drive or Dropbox. Connect with Prestigio Shop with paid and free ebooks. Change theme. Create Collections and catalogs. Change Fonts, size and paper color. Reading text aloud. Ad’s are not shown while reading.	Donation Option. Remove ads.	No – The books original fonts are replaced with: CourierStd Droid MinionPro Roboto *Roboto Slab
ReadEra	Device scan on opening. Access device books from “Folders”. Create: To Read, Have Read, Authors and Series lists. Sort by Formats and Collections. No ad’s,but a diamond icon for share reminder. Open more books at once in a new window. Books can be shared on social media. Write a review and share it. Page shift and Chapters shift are not shown. Text appears as 1 long document.	*support by sharing their link.	No – The books original fonts are replaced with: Merriweather Roboto Slab Alice Noto Serif Droid Serif PT Sans Comfortaa Roboto*Roboto Condensed

PC

From Google search for “ePub reader”

You can find ereaders as a small program to download and open from your desktop or from the Crome webstore or Microsoft Store.

Test of a Reflowing ePub written in Aviano and Helvetica fonts.

[lead]Scroll or Swipe left to see Screenshots and the rest of the table and the User/ Reading Score. Or use the arrow keys →[/lead]

Name, Logo and Link	Notes and Features	Paid Features	Use Book Fonts?	ScreenShots	User & Reading Score
IcecreameBook Reader	Click + to upload books from any folder. The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. Upload a book or a folder with books and create libraries. Setting for line adjustment, letter size, and light or dark theme.	Remove ad’s, Remove Buy Pro reminder that pops up also while reading several times.	Yes, in the titles, but not the text. There is one undefined font and no options to change.
e-PubFile Reader	Click on File to open books from any folder. The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. Fullscreen page view, with no other settings.	No	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.
Episoft ePub Reader	Click the Square in the menu to upload books from any folder. The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. Choose between light or dark theme. Fullscreen page view, with no other settings.	No	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.
ePub Reader for Windows	Click Open in the menu to upload books from any folder. The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. All special characters are converted to other signs and the text is unreadable. They link to their webpage to solve special character problem: “Q: Some special characters display unexpectedly when viewing documents containing symbols or different punctuation. A: Close the ePub reader for windows and open the internet explorer. Open a website such as http://www.epubforwindows.com, then push the right mouse button, find ‘ENCODE’, and change to Unicode (UTF-8). Now you can close the explorer and use the ePub reader.”	Yes, one can buy a Pro version, but there is no description of the Pro features.	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.
Calibre	The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. Choose your ebook device. Fullscreen page view. This program is popular amongst ebook creators, it has a lot of features to change metadata or make changes in the ePub HTML files. It is used to edit and correct mistakes before publishing. There are multiple advanced settings to discover. Connect to other online clouds or Libraries or share a book.	No	Yes, and there is access to all the fonts on your PC in the settings.
Freda ePub Reader	Click + to upload books from any folder. Open in Microsoft Store. Connect or any cloud or Calibre, Gutenberg and SmashWords. Several advanced settings for pageview, fonts, paper, theme and a dyslexic font to explore	Yee, a small amount to remove ads in the bottom on Intro Page.	No, the program has a long list of other fonts to choose from and a Dyslexic theme that follows all fonts.
EDS ePub Reader	Click + to upload books from any folder. The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. Choose between light or dark theme. Fullscreen page view, with no other settings.	No	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.
Adobe Digital Edition	Click on File to open books from any folder. The program can be saved on pc and opened from ex your desktop. Choose Font size or one/Two pages view.	No	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.
Bibliovore	Click + to upload books from any folder. Open in Microsoft Store. Choose Font size, Night/Day view or one/Two pages view.	No	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.
Simple ePub Reader	Drag and Drop or click on blue area to upload a book from any folder. Download to your google account in Chrome Webshop: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions From here you can also find other ereaders and apps. Text cannot scroll so we cannot read the book. Crome has in 2016 announced that they don’t support app’s anymore, but they still have the old app’s in the webshop. Here you can find a list of ereader app’s, ex Readium which has been very recommended and is still working fine, but they are not updating the app anymore. To read more about Crome’s announcements read here: https://blog.chromium.org/2016/08/from-chrome-apps-to-web.html	No	No, the program has its own fonts and there is no option to change.

Conclusion

While there are so many different devices to read on, formats in ebooks and programs to read from, it all depends on the individual user’s preference and needs. Also, I suggest trying out a few and find the one that works best. The apps that didn’t work for me might work well on another device and version of windows. It is a better idea to search for an app in Microsoft Store than on Google Search for Pc readers. The results are more precise, and the programs are best from Microsoft Store.

Recommendations

It is an excellent idea to turn off the internet on your handheld device while reading – especially for kids, for two reasons. The first that when the device is online, the reader will be disturbed from incoming notifications and the second concerning the debates about radiation from wireless devices and creating environments to protect our health from overuse and overexposure. Therefore we advise turning off the wireless devices while reading and using programs that don’t require online access to function.

How To Open an ePub?

Read our short manual on How to open your ePub on any devices.

Want to Read more about eReaders?

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