How to Read EPUBS

A laptop on a library with an image of nicely organized books on the laptop screen

I get a lot of questions from customers who download our ebooks in EPUB format, and want to know how to read EPUBs. When you buy ebooks through the Kindle store or iBooks or a similar marketplace, you can open and read them quite easily because the store and the reader work together. However, when you download EPUBs from an ebook selling website like ours, you have to download a program or import them to your usual ebook reader. It may seem confusing at first, but reading EPUBs is actually easy to do if you have the right program. Fortunately many EPUB readers are free and your current ebook reading programs can often handle them!

Here’s a list of my favorite EPUB readers for your PC, Mac, tablet, or phone. This is by no means a comprehensive list! Please share your favorite EPUB or ebook readers in the comments!

Top Ebook Reader Programs and Converters

  • Adobe Digital Editions: My favorite way to read EPUBs on the computer. It works on Windows and Macs as well as iPhones and Android Phones.  Nice simple ebook reader that also creates a library. Free download at: https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html
  • Windows Edge: The default browser on Windows PCs actually opens EPUBs and provides a decent reading experience. This might be the simplest way to read EPUBs on Windows 10 Download link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/microsoft-edge
  • Calibre: A dedicated ebook reader for Windows, Mac, or Linux. You can use it to read a variety of formats of ebooks including EPUBs. Download link: https://calibre-ebook.com
  • Sigil: An ebook editor for Windows, Mac, or Linux that also lets you read ebooks. Download link: https://sigil-ebook.com/
  • iBooks on Mac: To import any epub file into iBooks on your Mac, just select the EPUB file, then go to the File Menu, and select iBooks. It will be added to your iBooks library.
  • iBooks on iPhone: Save the ebook to your files by selecting the share icon and choosing Save to File. Then open the Files app. Browse to your EPUB file and open it. It will be opened to iBooks.
  • Google Play Books for Android: This app not only lets you buy books from the Google Play Bookstore but also read ebooks from other sources. You can also import books from EPUB files directly into it by enabling imports in the the settings. Free download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.books
  • Kindle or Kindle apps: You can read ebooks on your Kindle Ebook reader or program. Use Calibre or Sigil to convert your EPUB to a MOBI file or a Kindle file and email it to your Kindle using your Kindle email. Or try a service like https://www.sendepubtokindle.com/ to convert and email your file to your ebook reader.