Best Apps for Reading Books in 2026

Libby, by OverDrive, turns a public library card into a phone library. You sign in with your library, search its digital collection, borrow an ebook or audiobook, and read or listen in the app. There are no late fees in the usual sense, because a loan returns itself at the end of the loan period, and you can place holds on titles that are checked out.

The limit is library supply, not the app itself. A new bestseller may have a long hold queue, and a small library may offer fewer titles than a large city system. Some readers hold cards at more than one library system where that is allowed, which widens choice. For cost, though, Libby is hard to beat: it is the first app we suggest to any reader who wants to read more without a monthly bill.

The Kindle app is free, and its strength is the store behind it. Readers can buy new releases, find daily deals and free classics, and pick up reading on a phone, tablet or Kindle e-reader at the same page. The reading view offers adjustable fonts, a built-in dictionary, highlights and progress tracking, and Whispersync keeps audiobook and ebook progress aligned where both versions are owned.

The honest catch is ownership. A Kindle purchase is a licence to read that book in Amazon systems, not a portable file you can move freely to every other app. Readers who buy most of their books from Amazon will rarely notice this, but readers who want to own EPUB files and move them between apps should weigh Google Play Books or Kobo alongside Kindle.

Apple Books is the default reading app for many iPhone and iPad owners, and that convenience is its main appeal. The app is already on the device, purchases sync across Apple devices, and the reading view is clean and easy to adjust. Audiobooks sit in the same app, so a reader can switch from reading to listening without a second purchase system for Apple audiobooks.

The limit is platform. Apple Books works best if you stay inside Apple hardware, and readers who switch between Android, Windows and Apple devices may prefer a cross-platform store. For a reader who already lives on iPhone and iPad, though, Apple Books is a simple, no-cost starting point that needs no extra account beyond an Apple ID.

Google Play Books stands out for readers who already own ebook files. You can upload EPUB and PDF files to your library and read them across phone, tablet and web, which is useful for books bought from independent publishers, public domain collections or author-direct stores. The store itself sells ebooks and audiobooks without requiring a subscription, so you pay per book.

The trade-off is that Google Play Books is a general store and reader, not a tracker or a social reading community. It handles the reading well, but readers who want detailed stats, challenges or friend reviews will want to pair it with Goodreads or The StoryGraph. For file flexibility and cross-platform reading, it remains one of the best free options.

Kobo Books, from Rakuten Kobo, suits readers who like to shape the reading page and who may also own a Kobo e-reader. The app supports EPUB files, offers strong font and margin controls, and syncs reading progress with Kobo devices. Kobo Plus, where available, adds a subscription library on top of per-book purchases, which can suit readers who finish several books a month.

In the US, the Kobo store is smaller than Kindle, and some titles may be priced differently or arrive later. That matters less for readers who mainly read their own EPUB files or who value Kobo hardware. For a reader who wants an open, EPUB-friendly system and a dedicated e-reader option, Kobo is a strong alternative to Amazon.

Goodreads is the tracker most readers already know. You log books you have read, are reading or want to read, rate and review them, follow friends and authors, and join a yearly reading challenge. Its size is the advantage: a popular book usually has thousands of reviews, and a niche title often has at least a few reader notes to help you decide.

Goodreads does not sell or lend most books itself, so it works best beside a store or library app. Its recommendations lean on ratings and similar readers, which can feel less precise than a tracker built around mood and pace. Still, for keeping track of books read, building a want-to-read list and finding what friends thought, Goodreads remains the default choice for many readers.

The StoryGraph is a tracking app built for readers who want more than a star rating. It records pace, mood, genre and length, and it can suggest books by mood and pace rather than only by popularity. Content warnings help readers avoid topics they prefer to skip, and an import tool lets you bring in a Goodreads history instead of starting from zero.

The community is smaller than Goodreads, so a new or niche book may have fewer reviews. Some advanced stats and features require the paid Plus plan, though the free tier covers core tracking well. Readers who like data, who track reading habits closely, or who want better recommendations than a simple rating feed will likely prefer The StoryGraph as their main tracker.

Everand, from Scribd, is a subscription library rather than a per-book store. Subscribers can read included ebooks, listen to audiobooks and read magazines in one app, which suits readers who finish several books a month and who like to sample widely. The app works across phones, tablets and web, and it keeps reading progress in sync.

The catch is inclusion. A subscription library cannot include every new release on the same terms as a store, and some premium titles may require credits or sit outside the standard catalogue. Check the current price on the vendor site, and check whether the books you actually want are included, before you treat Everand as a replacement for buying or borrowing. For steady, high-volume readers, it can still be good value.