In this digital era dominated by the internet, books still remain a popular medium of information and knowledge for many. Digitalization has only made books more accessible than they were with platforms such as Kindle and Google Books leveraging lucratively on the latest trends.
Dedicated tablets for reading ebooks make the experience convenient but not all can afford them. Fortunately, there are so many ePub readers that provide a similar experience on your Windows PC.
Here are the best free ePub readers you can try on your Windows in 2022.
Freda
One of the most favorite ePub readers among Windows users, Freda is popular for its appearance. The application looks like any other native Windows app and provides you with a convenient way of reading ePubs.
An impressive feature of this program is its theming capabilities that allow users to customize the app’s look and feel to suit their preferences.
In addition to ePub, the software supports a lot of other formats for reading including TXT, HTML, and Mobi. It also gives free access to over 50,000 public domain books from online catalogs. It even comes with support for text-to-speech reading, bookmarks, and annotations.
Kobo
Resembling Kindle, Kobo is a service that not only offers an ebook reading app but also a facility to buy books. However, this software supports ePub and Epub 3 formats. The program covers all the basic features you want in an ePub reader including themes, search, progress tracking, bookmarks, and more.
The most attractive thing about Kobo is its store that allows you to explore and choose from more than 5 million choices across children’s books, comics, and ebooks.
This is a great ePub reader for Windows users who want to get access to the latest ebooks as they are released. It features a modern interface and reading modes that lower the stress on the eyes.
Calibre
One of the oldest and the most popular ePub readers for Windows, Calibre comes loaded with features that make your reading experience convenient and enjoyable. It lets you download ePubs, download covers, manage metadata, transfer books between devices and convert them from one format to another.
The program is not only great for reading ePub books but also comics, magazines, and more. It is a powerful app that offers a comprehensive interface for storing and managing your digital books in a library.
You can share your library with other users and back it up to avoid losing your content. It is overall an intuitive software where users can easily access the books they want to read and curate a library of some of the most favorite works.
Readium
An open-source ePub reader designed to suit online reading requirements, Readium is a great choice for those who want to read ePub books without installing any program on their computer. It is a Chrome extension that facilitates reading your favorite digital books online. You can even upload your books to read them on the internet. The addon also works with the new Microsoft Edge on Windows.
Readium offers a simple, comprehensive interface that elevates the entire reading experience. It works on any browser operating on the Chromium platform. The biggest benefit of this reader is that you don’t need to install any program on your system but can read ePubs directly on your favorite web browser.
Sumatra PDF Reader
A lightweight tool for ePub reading on Windows, Sumatra PDF Reader comes with a simple user interface that gives it a user-friendly feel. The program allows opening, viewing, organizing, and managing files in multiple formats including Mobi, EPub, PDF, CBZ, and more. It supports automatic text scaling, background color customization, bookmarks, and other features.
One of the best things about this reader is its ability to open large ePub files without any problem. Though branded as a PDF reader, it exhibits robust compatibility with the ePub format and can process digital books efficiently. It is the perfect choice for those who want a simple ePub reader on Windows PC.
Epubor Reader
A simple and effortless ePub reader for Windows, Epubor Reader comes with support for multiple ebook formats apart from ePub. It is designed to be simple to use and comprehensive for easy navigation. All the libraries are sorted automatically and allow finding books by title, author name, and ISBN number.
The app’s interface is highly customizable; you can not only change the way your background looks but also modify font, page transition, and even choose reading mode between horizontal and vertical.
The most impressive aspect is the capability to display a book in a single-page or dual-page layout to maintain the essence of reading a physical book.
Bookviser
Bookviser is not only a great-looking ePub reader but also an intuitive tool that facilitates importing books from other devices for a convenient reading experience. It comes with support for the most popular ebook formats including CBR, TXT, ePub, and more.
It is particularly designed to give a reading experience that resembles physical books. The user interface provides a book-like feel and comes with customizable options for changing the font, increasing margin, and setting colors.
With Bookviser, you can easily adjust the screen’s brightness to suit your comfort. It also offers a night-mode feature for those who want to avoid the implications of screen exposure on their vision. The software also hosts a huge library of books in the public domain, giving you a chance to read some of the globally-recognized classics for free.
Final Thoughts
Ebooks are quickly becoming a replacement for physical books. ePub being a widely used format for reading ebooks, the ePub readers we discussed here are useful tools for a fulfilling reading experience on your Windows PC.
While the exact choice of the software depends on individual preferences, these options should help you find the right ePub reader that serves your needs well.
