Alternatives to Thorium Reader
Read EPUB books with an accessible desktop reader. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Thorium Reader
Read EPUB books with an accessible desktop reader.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Thorium Reader.
Foliate
A calm, well-made GTK ebook reader for Linux that stores your notes as plain JSON you can sync yourself.
Foliate is a Linux-only GTK reader that handles more formats such as Mobipocket, FB2 and PDF, with dictionary lookup and text-to-speech.
Koodo Reader
A modern ebook reader for fifteen-plus formats that syncs your library and reading progress through storage you already own.
Koodo Reader adds Android, iOS and web versions, reads over fifteen formats, and syncs through your own storage, under the AGPL-3.0 license.
Readest
A modern ebook reader for EPUB, PDF, MOBI and comics, with highlights, notes, translation, text to speech and sync across every platform.
Readest runs on desktop, Android and web with highlights, translation and text to speech, but its cloud sync is a hosted service with paid tiers.
FBReader
Cross-platform ebook reader supporting EPUB, FB2 and Readium LCP.
FBReader reads EPUB, FB2 and Readium LCP on desktop and mobile, but it is not open source and some features need paid add-ons.
KOReader
A reader you install on a Kindle, Kobo or PocketBook that opens the formats the stock software refuses.
KOReader targets e-ink hardware and Android rather than desktop, opening formats like PDF, DjVu and CHM with a deliberately plain interface.
Calibre
The ebook library manager: view, convert, edit and catalogue books in every major format, and talk to e-readers.
Calibre adds full library management, format conversion and an EPUB editor under GPL-3.0, but its interface is denser than a dedicated reader.
Adobe Digital Editions
A free ebook reader from Adobe for EPUB and PDF books on desktop and mobile.
Adobe Digital Editions is closed source but runs on Android and iOS as well as desktop, with EPUB 3 audio, video and right-to-left support.
EPUBReader
A browser extension that opens and reads DRM-free EPUB ebooks directly in the browser.
EPUBReader reads DRM-free EPUB files as a browser extension with nothing else to install, but offers fewer reading tools than a desktop app.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Thorium Reader as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Arianna
A KDE ebook reader and library manager for EPUB files on the Linux desktop.
Thorium Reader is a BSD-licensed EPUB reader focused on accessibility that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, with library imports and bookmarks.
Icecream Ebook Reader
A Windows ebook reader for EPUB, MOBI, PDF, FB2 and comic files with notes and highlights.
Thorium Reader is a free, BSD-licensed EPUB reader with an accessibility focus that also runs on macOS and Linux.
Neat Reader
A cross-platform EPUB reader with annotations, notes export and cloud sync of books and progress.
Thorium Reader is a free, BSD-licensed accessible EPUB reader for Windows, macOS and Linux, with no mobile apps or cloud sync listed.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Sigil
An EPUB editor with a code view and a visual view side by side, plus validation and metadata tools.
YACReader
Read digital comics with a dedicated desktop application.
EPUBCheck
The official W3C conformance checker that validates EPUB publications from the command line.
Calibre-Web
A self-hosted web app for browsing, reading and downloading ebooks stored in a Calibre database.
Kavita
A self-hosted reading server for ebooks, comics and manga, with readers built for each format and OPDS for everything else.
Apple Books
Apple's app for buying, reading and listening to ebooks and audiobooks on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
