Ebook reader apps compared (2026): which one fits how you read?
19 October 2026
The short answer. The right app depends mostly on where your books come from. If you buy from Amazon, use Kindle. On iPhone and Mac, buying from Apple, use Apple Books. To borrow free ebooks from your public library, use Libby. If you manage your own files and want to tweak everything, use Moon+ Reader on Android or KOReader. If your problem is that you keep abandoning books halfway, use Skim or Dive.
We make Skim or Dive, one of the apps on this list. We’ve tried to describe every app fairly, including the ones that suit most people better than ours. Details were checked in October 2026; apps change, so confirm anything important on the app’s own listing.
Kindle
Best for: people who buy ebooks from Amazon or subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.
Kindle is the largest ebook store and ecosystem, with apps for iOS, Android and the web, and progress synced across Kindle devices. Your own EPUB files can be added through Amazon’s Send to Kindle service, which converts them. Recent additions include Recaps, which refreshes your memory of a series before the next book, and Ask this Book, a spoiler-free question feature that launched in the iOS app.
Worth knowing: books bought from Amazon are locked to the Kindle ecosystem and can’t be read in other apps.
Apple Books
Best for: iPhone, iPad and Mac users who buy from Apple.
Apple Books comes with every Apple device, combines a store with your own files, and opens DRM-free EPUB and PDF files shared to it. It also sells and plays audiobooks.
Worth knowing: it only runs on Apple devices, so there’s no Android or Windows version.
Google Play Books
Best for: Android users who want a store and their own files in one cross-platform app.
Google Play Books runs on Android, iOS and the web. Alongside Google’s store, you can upload your own EPUB and PDF files and they sync between devices.
Kobo
Best for: people who own a Kobo e-reader or buy from the Kobo store.
Rakuten Kobo’s apps for iOS and Android sync with Kobo e-readers. In some countries Kobo Plus offers a subscription catalogue of ebooks and audiobooks. Kobo e-readers are popular with people who also read their own EPUB files.
Libby
Best for: reading for free with a public library card.
Libby, from OverDrive, lets you borrow ebooks and audiobooks from your local library at no cost. It doesn’t open your own files, and popular titles often have waiting lists, just like print copies. In the US, many library ebooks can also be sent to a Kindle.
Moon+ Reader
Best for: Android users with their own files who want to customise everything.
Moon+ Reader is a long-running Android reader for local files, including EPUB and PDF, with deep control over fonts, layout, gestures and themes. There’s a free version and a paid Pro version.
Worth knowing: Android only.
KOReader
Best for: tinkerers and e-ink device owners.
KOReader is free, open-source reading software that runs on many e-ink readers and on Android. It handles EPUB well and is especially strong with PDFs and scanned documents. It’s powerful, but takes some setting up.
Skim or Dive
Best for: readers who start books and don’t finish them.
Skim or Dive is an ebook reader for your own DRM-free EPUB and TXT files, on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. Its defining feature is a five-level detail slider: any section can be read at level 5, the original prose unchanged, down to level 1, a one-sentence condensation of the same section. You move the slider while reading, so a slow stretch can go by quickly while the next chapter is read in full. Ask the book answers questions using only the pages you’ve already read, so it can’t spoil what comes next. It’s free to use; the AI-powered features have some usage limits on the free plan.
Worth knowing: there’s no store or catalogue, so you bring your own books. PDF isn’t supported yet, files locked by another store’s DRM can’t be imported, and there’s no audio.
Comparison table
| App | Where books come from | Opens your own EPUB | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kindle | Amazon store, Kindle Unlimited | Via Send to Kindle (converted) | iOS, Android, web, Kindle devices |
| Apple Books | Apple Books store | Yes, plus PDF | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Google Play Books | Google Play store | Yes (upload), plus PDF | Android, iOS, web |
| Kobo | Kobo store, Kobo Plus | Mainly on Kobo e-readers | iOS, Android, Kobo devices |
| Libby | Your public library | No | iOS, Android, web |
| Moon+ Reader | Your own files | Yes, plus PDF and more | Android |
| KOReader | Your own files | Yes, plus PDF and more | E-ink readers, Android |
| Skim or Dive | Your own files | Yes, plus TXT (no PDF yet) | iPhone, iPad, Android, web |
How to choose an ebook reader app
Start with where your books come from. A store-bought ebook usually only opens in that store’s app, so that question narrows the field quickly.
If you own DRM-free files, from Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, or publishers that sell without DRM, you can use any of the apps that open EPUB directly, and pick on features.
If the real problem is finishing books, features like fonts and sync won’t fix it. What helps is anything that gets you through the slow middle: audio for the stretches that drag, a way to catch up after a break, or reading at lower detail until the book picks up again. We wrote more about that in how to finish more of the books you start and reading books with ADHD.
Looking at summary apps instead? Those are a different category: they replace the book rather than help you read it. See Skim or Dive vs Blinkist.
Skim or Dive is a free ebook reader for iPhone, iPad and Android. Import your own book, read it in full, and use the detail slider for the stretches that would otherwise make you quit.
Download on the App Store · Get it on Google Play · How it works
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