About the EPUB reader
EPUB is the most common ebook format. Libraries, Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks and most shops that sell DRM-free books use it. Windows has no EPUB reader built in, and many phones need an app for it.
This page opens EPUB files in your browser. Pick the book and read: a list of chapters, pages that turn like a book or one long scroll, your own font, size and line height, and a light, sepia or dark theme. The reader keeps your place in every book.
The book stays on your device. Your browser opens it, and it is never uploaded.
Features
- Contents list — every chapter of the book; click one to go there
- Pages or scroll — turn pages like a book (two pages side by side on a wide screen), or scroll down through the text
- Your font and size — the book's font, serif, sans-serif, wide letters or monospace, from 70% to 200%
- Line height — keep the book's spacing or choose 1.3 to 2.0
- Light, sepia and dark themes — dark is easier on the eyes at night
- Search — find a word in the whole book, see each match with its chapter, and jump to it
- Keeps your place — open the same book again and it starts where you stopped
- Keys and swipes — arrow keys on a computer, swipe or tap the page edge on a phone, full screen
Pages or scroll?
| Mode | How it reads | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Pages | The text is cut into pages; turn them with the arrows, keys or a swipe | Novels, reading like a real book |
| Scroll | The chapters run down one after the other | Long texts, reading on a phone, tables |
In Pages mode on a wide screen, two pages sit side by side. The place you are reading stays the same when you switch modes.
Make the text easy to read
- Font: "Book font" keeps the font the book was made with. Wide letters uses a wide font with clear letter shapes, which many readers find easier.
- Size: the A− and A+ buttons change the text in 10% steps. The page layout follows.
- Line height: more space between lines (1.7 or 2.0) helps tired eyes and dyslexic readers.
- Theme: Light is the book's own colours. Sepia is warm paper. Dark gives light text on a dark page, for reading in bed.
The settings are kept for the next book.
DRM: which books open
Books bought in the big ebook shops often have DRM (copy protection). A DRM book can only be opened in the app of the shop that sold it. This reader cannot open such books, and it does not try to remove DRM. It tells you when a book has DRM.
DRM-free EPUB books open normally. You find them at:
- Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks: free classics;
- Your library, when it lends DRM-free titles;
- Shops and authors that sell DRM-free books;
- Books you make yourself, with a free ebook program or a writing program.
Kindle files (.mobi, .azw, .azw3, .kfx) are not EPUB files. Convert a DRM-free Kindle file to EPUB with a desktop program first.
Good to know
- EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 books both work, with their pictures and the book's own styles.
- Scripts inside a book never run, so a book cannot do anything to your browser.
- Fixed-layout books (comics, picture books) show page by page, but they are made for one screen size and may not fit well.
- Sound and video inside an EPUB 3 book may not play.
- The percent and the slider at the bottom appear a few seconds after the book opens, when the reader has measured the whole book.
- The first time, the page downloads two free helper programs (epub.js and JSZip). Your book is never sent with them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open an EPUB file on Windows?
Open this page, press Open, and pick the .epub file. It opens in the browser at once. You do not need to install a program.
Is my book uploaded?
No. The browser reads the file on your device. Nothing is sent to a server, and nobody sees what you read.
Why does my book not open?
Most often the book has DRM, which only the shop's own app can open. A damaged download, or a Kindle file renamed to .epub, also does not open. The message under the box tells you which.
Does it remember where I stopped?
Yes. The reader saves your place in each book on this device, in this browser. Open the same file again and it goes back there. A "Go to the start" button takes you to the beginning.
Can I read in the dark?
Yes. Pick the Dark theme for light text on a dark page, and press the full screen button. Sepia is a softer middle way.
Can I turn an EPUB into a PDF?
Yes, with EPUB to PDF. It makes a PDF with the book's chapters, pictures and page numbers.
Related tools
- EPUB to PDF — turn an ebook into a PDF to print or share
- PDF Reader — read PDF files with zoom, search and night pages
- Read PDF Aloud — listen to a PDF with your browser's voices
- Text to Speech — read a piece of text aloud
- TXT to PDF — turn a plain text book into a PDF
- Bionic Reading Converter — turn an EPUB into an easier-to-scan PDF
How to use it
- Press Open (or drop the .epub file on the box)
- Press Contents to jump to a chapter
- Turn the pages with the arrows, the ← → keys, or a swipe on a phone
- Choose Pages or Scroll, a font, a size, a line height and a theme above the book
- Type a word in the search box and press Enter; click a result to go there
- Close the tab when you are done; the reader keeps your place for next time
