While there are dedicated tablets designed for reading Epub books, it doesn't mean that you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a tablet to enjoy reading them. In fact, reading them on your Windows machine gives you a similar if not better reading experience. It is even better if you own a convertible or 2-in-1 Windows machine like a Surface Pro or Lenovo Yoga line of device as you can hold those devices in one hand and read Epubs just like you would read them from a dedicated tablet. The only thing that you need for reading is a good Epub reader. While there are a number of Epub apps available for Windows, not all of them are made equally. That's why we are bringing you a list of top 10 best Epub readers that you can use on your Windows machine. 10 Best Windows Epub Readers (2020)
1. Calibre
Calibre is one of the oldest and the best Epub reader for your Windows machine. The app is packed with features allowing you to do things like downloading Epubs, managing metadata, downloading covers for books, transferring books from one device to another, and even converting books from one format to other. Calibre is not only good for reading normal Epub novels but also magazines, comics, and more. If you are looking for a good Epub reader for your Windows PC, Calibre is certainly the topmost contender for the job.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Vista and Windows 7
Download: Free
2. Icecream Epub Reader
Icecream apps is an app studio which has developed some really fine apps for Windows PC and of all the apps that come from the studio, their Epub reader is my favorite. Not only their Epub reader looks good but it also brings a ton of features including full-screen mode support, exceptional search capabilities, easy page turning mechanics, reading progress tracking, support for multiple languages, and more. Apart from all the above features, I also love the fact that the reader not only supports Epub format but also other major ebook formats including Mobi, FB2, and, more.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows Vista and Windows 7
Download: Free, $19.95
3. Cover
Cover is primarily an app made for reading comic books on your Windows PC, but since the app also supports Epub format, it has made its way on the list. The main reason why Cover is on the list is that since the app is made for comics, it is great for reading books which are image heavy. While all the other apps on the list can handle images, they can't do it as well as Cover can. So, if you are into books which feature a ton of images, Cover will be good for you. On the other hand, if you are into comics and manga, there is no better app that you can get.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (ARM, x86, x64)
Download: Free with in-app purchases
4. Kobo
Like Kindle, Kobo is not only an ebook reader app but a service which also allows you to buy books from its store. However, unlike Kindle, which doesn't support Epub formats, Kobo does support both Epub and Epub 3 formats. The app brings all the usual features that we have come to expect from an Epub reader including, search, bookmarks, progress tracking, theming, and more. However, the biggest reason to get Kobo over other Epubs readers is its store which allows you to browse and buy from over 5 million free and affordable eBooks, comics, and children's books.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (ARM, x86, x64)
Download: Free
5. Adobe Digital Editions
If there is one company which makes software for almost all form of creating and consuming creative content, it's Adobe, and its Adobe Digital Editions is a great Epub reader for Windows PC which allows users to consume their favorite titles. One of the best reasons for using Adobe Digital Editions is its support for EPUB 3 standard which gives users a richer reading experience by bringing support for right to left reading, dynamic image resizing without loss in clarity, interactive quizzes, better rendering of math formulas, and more.
Adobe Digital Editions also brings a ton of other convenient features like exceptional search capabilities, the ability to rent or borrow Epub version of books from your local and public libraries, multi-lingual support, bookmarking, highlighting, notes, and more. If you are looking for a full-fledged, Epub reading experience, Adobe Digital Edition is the right app to do that.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Vista and Windows 7
Download: Free
6. Freda
Freda is one of my most favorite Epub readers for Windows just because of its looks. The app looks like a native Windows 10 app and makes Epubs really stand out when you read them on it. One of my favorite features of this app is its theming capabilities which allow users to customize the look and feel of the app to make it exactly how they like it. Apart from supporting Epub, the app also supports a ton of other formats including Mobi, FB2, HTML, and TXT. The app also gives you access to more than 50,000 public domain classic books free of charge from Feedbooks, Gutenberg, and other online catalogs. If looks matter to you, do give Freda a try.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (ARM, x86, x64)
Download: Free with in-app purchases
7. Bibliovore
Bibliovore is yet another great free Epub reader for your Windows machine. The app can be easily downloaded from the Windows app store and is completely free to download and use. I love this app because it brings fantastic organizational features allowing you to manage even a large library of books with ease. The app also allows you to easily adjust font parameters, manage reading themes, edit book metadata, use day/night reading mode, and more. One of my favorite features of this app is that despite being free, it syncs all your books across devices using OneDrive.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (x86, x64)
Download: Free
8. Bookviser
Bookviser is an Epub reader for Windows which wants to give you a reading experience which is similar to reading physical books. It does that by designing its UI in such a way that it looks like a real book. That said, if you are not fond of such a UI, you can easily get into the settings to get a more traditional Epub reader experience. Just like Freda, Bookviser also allows you to download free classics from public catalogs including Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, and Smashwords. Rest of the Epub reader features like progress tracking, theming, dictionary support and more can also be found here.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (ARM, x86, x64)
Download: Free
9. EpubReader
The last Epub reader on the list is well EpubReader which is the only paid app on the list. The app is a fairly simple app for reading Epub books on your Windows PC which also allows you to download books from preconfigured and personal sources, easily manage your book library, tracks reading progress, and more. One of the biggest features of this app is that you can easily transfer your whole library onto either an SD Card or to OneDrive. EpubReader is a great app to manage a large library of books without eating any storage on your Windows PC.
Supported Platforms: Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (x86, x64)
Download: $2.49
Bonus: Readium
Readium is an open source Epub reader made for all your web reading needs. If you don't want to install any app on your device but still want to consume Epub books, Readium is the way to do it. Redium is a browser extension which allows you to read Epubs online. You can even upload your own books to Readium and read them there. It's a great way to read books without having to install any app on your device. And since the new Microsoft Edge is using the Chromium engine, the extension will work with the browser without any problem. If you have not used the new Edge browser before, I advice you to give it a try. And to get you started, here is an article on installing chrome extensions on the Edge browser.
Supported Browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla, Microsoft Edge
Download: Free (Chrome / Edge, Mozilla)
