Best EPUB Reader Apps: iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Kindle, Kobo — and Their Features Compared
EPUB is the universal ebook format — but the best app to read it depends on your device. Here's the definitive list by platform, with the top pick and the best alternatives for each one, followed by a feature-by-feature comparison — reading-time estimates, dictionary lookup, cloud sync, annotations and accessibility — so you can pick on what matters to you rather than on platform alone.
Quick answer by device
| Device | Best EPUB reader | Also good |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone / iPad | Apple Books (built-in) | Kindle app, Kobo Books |
| Android | Moon+ Reader | ReadEra, Libby |
| Windows | Thorium Reader | Calibre, Sumatra PDF |
| Mac | Apple Books (built-in) | Thorium Reader |
| Linux | Foliate | Calibre, Okular |
| Kindle e-reader | Kindle native reader | Send EPUB via email |
| Kobo e-reader | Kobo native reader | Sideload via USB |
| Chromebook | Thorium Reader (web) | Play Books (Android app) |
iPhone and iPad — Apple Books
Apple Books is pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad and opens EPUB files natively — no download needed. Tap any .epub file in Safari, Mail, or the Files app and it opens automatically in Books.
Highlights: EPUB 3 support, night mode, custom fonts, iCloud sync across all Apple devices, bookmarks and highlights. It also handles library ebooks borrowed via OverDrive.
For Kindle ecosystem users, the Kindle iOS app works alongside Apple Books — send an EPUB to your Kindle email and read it across all devices with Whispersync. Full iPhone EPUB reader guide →
Android — Moon+ Reader
Moon+ Reader is the most feature-complete EPUB reader on Android. The free version covers most readers; the paid Pro version adds TTS, cloud sync, and more.
Highlights: Comprehensive font controls, night mode, scroll or page-flip reading, autoscroll for hands-free reading, EPUB 3 media overlay support, customizable themes.
ReadEra is a strong free alternative — completely ad-free, no registration, opens EPUB from local storage or cloud (Google Drive, Dropbox). Full Android EPUB reader guide →
Windows — Thorium Reader
Thorium Reader is the best free EPUB reader for Windows 10 and 11. Built by EDRLab (the EPUB standards body), it has the most standards-compliant EPUB 3 rendering and excellent accessibility support (NVDA/JAWS screen readers).
Download: Microsoft Store or edrlab.org.
Calibre is better if you also want to manage a large ebook library or convert formats. Sumatra PDF is the lightest option if you just want fast loading. Full Windows EPUB reader guide →
Mac — Apple Books
Apple Books is built into macOS and is the best EPUB reader for Mac. It syncs your library with your iPhone and iPad via iCloud and opens any .epub file by double-click. Full Mac EPUB reader guide →
Linux — Foliate
Foliate is a modern, native GTK app for Linux that reads EPUB 2/3, AZW3, MOBI, and FB2. It supports annotations, bookmarks, dictionary lookup, and has a minimal distraction-free interface. Install via apt, dnf, or Flatpak. Full Linux EPUB reader guide →
Kindle — native, with EPUB since 2022
Kindle devices (Paperwhite, Oasis, Scribe, basic Kindle) read EPUB natively since September 2022. Send an EPUB via the Send to Kindle website, app, or email — Amazon converts it to its internal format and delivers it to your device over Wi-Fi. Can Kindle read EPUB? Full guide →
Kobo — best native EPUB support
Kobo e-readers have the best native EPUB support of any dedicated e-reader. They read EPUB files directly without conversion — drag and drop via USB or sideload via the Kobo desktop app. They also integrate with OverDrive and Libby for library loans. Full Kobo EPUB guide →
For iPad specifically
iPad users have good choices beyond Apple Books: Kindle app, Kobo Books, and Readium (open-source EPUB 3 reader by EDRLab). Full iPad EPUB reader guide →
Reader features compared
The platform picks above assume you want the best all-round app for your device. If one feature matters more — how long is left in the chapter, tapping a word for its definition, picking up on another device, or screen-reader support — this table is the one to read. Everything applies to converted PDFs too, as long as the EPUB contains real text rather than page images (toolkit.bot's output does, including for scanned PDFs, because OCR runs first).
| Reader | Platforms | Reading time / progress | Dictionary lookup | Sync across devices | Annotations | Accessibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Books | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Chapter and book; calibrates to your pace after a few sessions | Tap a word → Look Up: Oxford dictionaries, Wikipedia; works offline once downloaded | iCloud (library, position, highlights) | Five highlight colours, notes, bookmarks | VoiceOver; good |
| Kindle (device and app) | Kindle e-readers, iOS, Android, Windows, Mac | Chapter and book; uses Whispersync data, adjusts to you | Tap a word: definition plus Vocabulary Builder; bilingual dictionaries in the store; offline | Whispersync across all Kindle apps | Highlights, notes, X-Ray | Screen reader support on apps; Bionic-style font on some models |
| Kobo (device and app) | Kobo e-readers, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | Chapter; book estimate on the library card; Reading Life stats | Hold a word → Dictionary (Oxford built in, offline); Wikipedia and translation online | Kobo account | Highlights, notes | Basic |
| Moon+ Reader | Android | Yes, from a fixed wpm you set; Pro adds detailed stats and an RSVP speed-read mode | Built-in WordNet; ColorDict for offline Stardict dictionaries; online lookups | Google Drive / Dropbox (position and bookmarks; Pro) | Highlights, notes, custom themes | TTS in Pro |
| ReadEra | Android | Progress % | No built-in dictionary | Opens from Google Drive / Dropbox; no account | Highlights, notes | Basic |
| Thorium Reader | Windows, Mac, Linux | Position % only | No built-in dictionary; in-book search, or the OS dictionary (three-finger tap / Ctrl+Cmd+D on macOS) | None | Highlights and annotations with export | Excellent: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, Orca; DAISY; LCP library books |
| Calibre viewer | Windows, Mac, Linux | Position % | Built-in lookup | Library folder can live in a synced folder (one machine at a time) | Highlights, bookmarks, custom CSS | Good |
| Foliate | Linux (GNOME) | Position % | Built-in dictionary lookup | None | Annotations, bookmarks | Good |
| Sumatra PDF | Windows | None | None | None | None — read-only | Basic |
Reading-time estimates: how they work
Every app that shows "23 minutes left in this chapter" divides the words remaining by a reading speed, usually 200–250 words per minute by default. Apple Books and Kindle then calibrate to how fast you actually turn pages, which is why the estimate keeps moving for the first few sessions; Moon+ Reader uses whatever wpm you type into its settings; Thorium and most desktop viewers only show a position percentage. Image-heavy books read as "short", dense academic text is usually underestimated, and EPUB pages never match print page numbers unless the publisher shipped a page-list.
Dictionary lookup and foreign-language reading
Kindle is the strongest for language learners (Vocabulary Builder plus a large catalogue of bilingual dictionaries), Kobo has built-in translation, Moon+ Reader accepts any Stardict dictionary through ColorDict, and Apple Books shows several downloaded dictionaries at once (add languages under Settings → General → Dictionary). Thorium has no dictionary of its own; on a Mac, the system dictionary fills the gap.
Getting one EPUB onto every device
Native sync is simplest: Apple Books via iCloud, Kindle via Send to Kindle, Kobo via your Kobo account, Google Play Books via your Google account (upload at play.google.com/books and read on Android, iOS and the web). For everything else, drop the file in a cloud folder and point the reader at it: Google Drive works with Moon+ and ReadEra on Android, Dropbox has the widest third-party support (Marvin and KyBook on iOS, Moon+ and FBReader on Android), OneDrive pairs with Freda on Windows, and any desktop reader can open files from a synced folder. Calibre's library can live in a synced folder too, as long as only one machine has it open at a time.
Desktop extras
Beyond Thorium, Calibre and Apple Books: Sumatra PDF is the fastest, lightest Windows reader if you never annotate; the EPUBReader extension turns Firefox into a reader with no install; and Google Play Books on the web reads any uploaded EPUB in a browser tab.
How to get EPUB files to read
If you have PDFs you want to read on any of these apps, convert them to EPUB first — the text will reflow to your screen and font size:
- Go to toolkit.bot/pdf2epub
- Upload your PDF (academic papers, textbooks, reports, etc.)
- Download the EPUB and open it in your preferred reader
Why EPUB reads better than PDF on screens →
Convert your PDF to EPUB — read it on any device with any reader.
Convert PDF to EPUB →Related guides
- Best EPUB reader apps for iPhone and iOS
- Best EPUB reader apps for Android
- Best EPUB readers for Windows (free)
- Best EPUB readers for Mac
- Best EPUB readers for Linux
- Best EPUB reader apps for iPad
- Thorium Reader: the accessible desktop EPUB reader
- How to read EPUB on Kobo
- Can Kindle read EPUB files?
- How to open an EPUB file on any device
- EPUB vs PDF: which is better for reading?