Alternatives to Google Play Books

Google's ebook and audiobook store with a reader for Android, iOS and the web browser. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Google Play Books.

  • Amazon Kindle

    Amazon's free Kindle reading app for phones, tablets and computers.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS

    Amazon Kindle adds Windows and macOS apps and gives access to the Kindle Store, with purchases tied to Amazon's ecosystem instead of Google's.

  • Apple Books

    Apple's app for buying, reading and listening to ebooks and audiobooks on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

    FreeProprietarymacOSiOS

    Apple Books has a store with ebooks and audiobooks, iCloud sync and family sharing, but runs only on macOS and iOS with no web reader.

  • Everand

    A subscription service for reading ebooks and listening to audiobooks on mobile and the web.

    PaidProprietaryAndroidiOSWeb

    Everand swaps individual purchases for a paid subscription to ebooks and audiobooks on Android, iOS and web, with monthly title limits outside the unlimited catalog.

  • Kindle for Web

    Amazon's browser-based reader for Kindle books, formerly called Kindle Cloud Reader.

    FreeProprietaryWeb

    Kindle for Web reads Amazon Kindle purchases in a browser with highlights and notes, but requires an Amazon account and only reads your Kindle library.

  • BookFusion

    An ebook reader and cloud library that syncs your own EPUB and PDF collection across devices.

    FreemiumProprietaryAndroidWeb

    BookFusion syncs your own EPUB and PDF collection across Android and web through a hosted cloud, without a book store or audiobooks.

  • Koodo Reader

    A modern ebook reader for fifteen-plus formats that syncs your library and reading progress through storage you already own.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOSWeb

    Koodo Reader is open source and runs on desktop, mobile and web with sync through storage you own, but has no store and reads DRM-free files only.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Google Play Books as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Marvel Unlimited

    A subscription comics reader app with access to more than 30,000 Marvel digital comics.

    PaidProprietaryAndroidiOSWeb

    Google Play Books sells comics individually through Google's store alongside ebooks and audiobooks, instead of an all-Marvel subscription catalogue.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.