16 Best Sites to Read Free Books Online without Downloading

The emergence of e-books has greatly facilitated people’s lives compared with traditional books. In your spare time or on your commute, you can read a good book by turning on your Kindle or mobile phone anytime and anywhere. You are on the right page if you are now searching for the best sites to read free books online without downloading them. This post will list the 16 best e-book readers online who deserve a recommendation. If you ever need to edit PDF books, the Best Free PDF Editors for PC are helpful.

⭐ You May Also Like:

Comparison of 16 Best Sites to Read Free Books Online

Site	Number of ebooks	Preference	Price
Google Books	Numerous	Books available on the Google search engine	Most are free
Open Library	Nearly 3 million	Science, biography, textbooks, etc.	Free
Project Gutenberg	Over 60,000	Main for literature	Free
Smashwords	About 300,000	Various genres	Free
BookBub	Thousands	Multiple new books and bestsellers	Free
ManyBooks	More than 50,000	Fiction, adventure, biography, etc.	Free
Goodreads	About 2,600,000	Romance, fiction, fantasy, etc.	Free
Bookboon	Thousands	Textbooks, business e-Books	Most are free
Wattpad	Thousands	Fiction, romance, comedy, adventure, and more.	Free
Read Any Book	Thousands	Fiction, non-fiction, romance, children, etc.	Free
BookFi	Over 2 million	Various fields	Free
Free-Ebooks.net	Thousands	Fiction and non-fiction	Free
Internet Archive Books	Numerous	Historical, scholarly, and others	Entirely free
International Children’s Digital Library	Multiple children’s books in 59 languages	Main for children	Free
Swoon Reads	Hundreds	New books and unpublished books	Free
BookRix	Thousands	Self-publishing books, fiction, fantasy, romance, thriller, young adults and children	Free

1. Google Books

Google Books is arguably the world’s largest online platform for free book reading. As the most powerful search engine at present, you can search for the most effective and comprehensive information on Google. The books category provided by Google can help you find online e-books of almost any theme and version. You can also filter the search results by selecting keywords. Most of the books above are free to view. Some books with copyright claims may allow you to preview a few pages for free and may require a fee to download.

Pricing: Most online books are free to view

Prominent Features:

• Comprehensive and authoritative
• Easily filter the searched books
• Numerous free online books to read
• Supports downloading

Safety: 100% safe to visit and use

2. Open Library

Open Library is a non-profit digital library website. Its main purpose is to create a website for book publishers and digitized versions of print books. There are nearly 3 million digital books in Open Library for you to borrow or read online, mainly including science, biography, textbooks, science fiction, romance, fantasy, and other categories. Users can borrow for up to two weeks for free, and it also supports downloading online books in PDF and EPUB formats.

Pricing: Free to access

Prominent Features:

• Multiplefree e-books to read
• Easy to borrow books from it
• Supports downloading

Safety: Reliable to use

3. Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg is an online library with over 60,000 free eBooks and audiobooks. This site mainly provides older literary works whose copyrights have expired. Unlike most book-reading sites online, Project Gutenberg puts the entire book on a web page so you can read it without turning the pages. In addition, you can also choose to save the webpage in HTML format for online reading or download it to your local device for offline reading.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• Various literature works accessible
• Put the entire book on one page
• Supports downloading

Safety: Safe to read without pop-ups

4. Smashwords

Smashwords is a powerful online e-book reader with an intuitive user interface. It is one of the most user-friendly sites for reading free books online. You can directly filter the book type you want to read on its dashboard and select the free category to search for books. It offers nearly 300,000 free books in a variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, business, fantasy, children’s story, etc. It allows you to read books directly online or download them to PDF, MOBI, EPUB, etc.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• Numerous online books in various genres
• Filter books directly
• User-friendly interface

Safety: Safe to visit

5. BookBub

Bookbub offers thousands of online eBooks to read. Most books are free to read. On this site, you have a chance to obtain the newest and bestseller books. First, you need to create an account and log in. Then choose your favorite e-book to read online. Plus, the site will recommend suitable books based on your preferences. In addition to some online books, BookBub also offers great deals on some bestsellers for you to choose from. It is a pretty good site to read and purchase books.

Pricing: Free to access

Prominent Features:

• Thousands of online free books available
• Also offers discounts for bestseller books

Safety: Safe

6. ManyBooks

Manybooks is an online comprehensive Internet library with a history of nearly 20 years. It provides more than 50,000 digital books, most of which can be read online for free and can also be downloaded in PDF and other formats. Plus, for books that are available for free, Manybooks also provides links for you to buy paper versions from platforms like Amazon, Apple, Google B&N, and Kobo. If you want to read e-books online on the platform, you don’t need to register; click on the book and select “Read Online”. In addition, Manybooks’ online reader also supports operations such as changing the font size.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• 50,000+ free e-books are available
• Provides relative links to purchase books
• Supports adjusting font

Safety: Safe to visit

7. Goodreads

Goodreads is another best site to read free books online. So far, the site provides nearly 3 million books, a large part of which can be read online for free. You can build your own online library by adding your favorite books. Goodreads also provides data analysis algorithms that can send you personalized book recommendations based on your preferences. Additionally, Goodreads has better user interaction. When you log into Goodreads with your Facebook account, the website will automatically detect your friends who are also using Goodreads. You can connect with these friends directly or share great books with them.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• Millions of free books available
• Allows you to customize a personal online library
• Able to interact with other users

Safety: a safe platform to read free books online

8. Bookboon

With more than 75 million free downloads of eBooks and textbooks per year, Bookboon is one of the largest eBook publishers. Bookboon has been focusing on the field of student textbooks and business e-books. It provides over a thousand textbook PDFs exclusively written by professors from the world’s top universities. PDFs of these textbooks are available for free download by students. On the other hand, business e-books on Bookboon target soft skills and personal development, aiming to improve readers’ business skills and professional qualities. But some commercial eBooks are only available with premium subscriptions and not free.

Pricing: Most books are free

Prominent Features:

• Providesprofessional textbooks and business e-books
• Various textbooks in many fields accessible
• A large eBook provider online

Safety: Safe to visit

9. Wattpad

Wattpad also offers some of the best contemporary eBooks online for free. It has a delicate user interface and appeals to over 80 million users over the world. In addition to online reading, it also provides a platform for writers to create original novels and other kinds of books. Wattpad covers a wide range of topics, including romance, comedy, adventure, science fiction, etc.

Pricing: Free to read online

Prominent Features:

• Books of great authors
• Covers a variety of topics
• Also for book writing

Safety: safe to use

10. Read Any Book

Read Any Book is an online program that allows you to read free books online without downloading them. There are a lot of free books on the site, such as fiction, non-fiction, love and romance, fantasy, horror, children, and other categories of books for you to choose from. Each book has a score for your reference. Again, you can choose to read the book online or download it.

Pricing: Free to read online

Prominent Features:

• Various kinds of books to select
• Score for every e-book
• Simple and clear user interface design

Safety: Safe

11. BookFi

BookFi provides users with over two million e-books and is one of the world’s most popular multilingual online libraries. When you find your favorite eBook on BookFi, you are able to read it online directly. Or you can also choose to download the e-book to your local device for reading. On this site, you can download e-books for free. BookFi also includes books in various fields such as art & photography, business & investing, comics, novels, computers & Internet, entertainment, health, history, law, literature, science, sports, and more.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• Free to download e-books
• Provides books on numerous fields
• Supports various languages

Safety: safe to use

12. Free-Ebooks.net

Free-Ebooks.net specializes in providing books by independent authors and creative writers. Free users can read any e-book in HTML format online. You can also choose to add your favorite eBooks to the library. Registered standard users can download 5 e-books in PDF and TXT format for free every month. When you become a lifetime VIP member, you can permanently download e-books in any format. Besides, to successfully read books online, you have to log in with your Facebook account or email.

Price: Free books available

Prominent Features:

• Books of creative authors available
• Filter the book category as you like
• Supports downloading

Safety: Safe

13. Internet Archive Books

Internet Archive Books is a nonprofit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. In the book collection, some books are available for free reading and downloading. The subject range of Internet Archive Books is very broad, containing thousands of subjects and themes in hundreds of languages. If you’re looking for historical and scholarly books and even some out-of-print titles, this is your best site.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• Numerous free online books
• Offers books on a variety of topics and languages
• Out of print books accessible

Safety: Entirely safe to use

14. International Children’s Digital Library

International Children’s Digital Library is a free online library dedicated to children. It offers digitized children’s books in 59 languages for children worldwide to read books online. Its purpose is to foster a love of reading in children, develop a passion for learning, and promote tolerance and respect for diverse cultures. The site’s primary audience is children aged 3 to 13 and their parents. The books here are carefully screened for value, quality, and applicability. Just search for your favorite books and read them online directly.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features:

• High-quality online books for children
• E-books in multiple languages available
• Porcelain and vivid user interface

Safety: Safe to read

15. Swoon Reads

Swoon Reads offers hundreds of free, unpublished books. It is a very friendly platform for writing lovers. By reading online, you can rate related books, which can also be very helpful to authors. Popular books also have a chance of being successfully published. Swoon Reads also offers a community forum where you can have discussions and meet other like-minded people. In a word, it is a novel online reading platform for both readers and new book writers.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features

• Provides multiple unpublished books
• A great platform for writers
• Offers a community forum

Safety: Safe to use

16. BookRix

BookRix allows readers to read books online for free, or you can choose to download free e-books and read them. The site mainly provides books by self-published authors and other classics in various fields, such as fiction, fantasy, romance, thriller, young adults and children, etc. Here you can easily find a free eBook to read. Similarly, BookRix also provides a community for readers and authors to communicate.

Pricing: Free

Prominent Features

• Offers several self-publishing books
• Community for readers and writers

Safety: Safe

The Bottom Line

This article has listed the 16 best sites to read free books online. All of them provide great e-books for users to read without downloading. You can select several of them by referring to their price, number of provided books, preferences, etc. Wish you can find a helpful website for a long-term read after reading this post.