We like to read eBooks with tablets or e-ink eReaders a lot, but sometimes we will like or need to open a book on our Mac. So choosing which app to open the book is important for us. Here I guide you top 5 free ebook readers for Mac, the best apps to read ebooks on your Mac computer.
Reading epub files on a Mac that presents a bit of a challenge, since it’s not that easy to find a great and free epub reader. I have a number of ebooks in epub format. Epub is a free and open e-book format and readers are available for various platforms, including iOS and Android. It has a text-only ePub reader but it's even more primitive than Stanza for Mac. Scrivener can compile and output ePub format, but I don't think it can display them for reading on your Mac. There are various apps for iPad and iPhone, but I already know about them. EPUB to Kindle Converter for Mac is a powerful software to help you convert EPUB to Kindle books. It is based on easy-to-use and simple interface, which helps you to convert numerous EPUB books quickly on Mac OS X system.
A lot of our purchased books from a particular store (iBooks, Kobo, Nook, Kindle) can only be opened with their dedicated reading app, while some books we find at open libraries can be read with a variety of free reading apps. No matter where your books come from, here I list some ebook readers for Mac, and put them together compared for you.
Apple's iBooks--If You Love Apple Defaults
We are so happy when hearing the Apple's announcement of iBooks coming to the Mac OS X. It's bundled with Mavericks. It's amazing that iBookstore provides us a beautiful and clean library interface than others (I think so). We can adjust type size and color of the pages, and add notes, highlights, the definitions. In fact there are more customization options as this screenshot shows below.
If you also own an iPad or iPhone, you can't miss this reader app. It helps us sync the books between the Mac and the iPad and iPhone.
iBooks supports EPUB and PDF. We can purchase them directly from the store, and then put them together in one place. What's more, iBooks keeps track of our PDF files, too. I like this function very much as I've collected many business proposals and project plans to read.
Kindle for Mac--If You Have a Kindle Account
I think there must be a lot of people think that Amazon shares the biggest market of eBooks industy. Except for its Kindle eReaders, Kindle store still has the largest array of eBook contents online. It is an eBook publishing powerhouse. If you have a Kindle content, I believe that you are a crazy eBook lover and must have collected a plenty of eBooks files at hand.
As the image shows, we can add manage Kindle collections in Kindle app itself. This is good for those people who have gathered many eBooks. Then we can sync the newly customized collections between devices that support Kindle. Whenever you close a book, the last page read is also automatically saved and synced across your devices, too.
But Kindle only supports its own eBook formats like AZW3, Mobi, AZW, PRC. Though it allows us transfer personal PDF to read, but it doesn't support EPUB. So if you also read books purchased from other stores, you may want to check out another alternative.
Kobo or Nook--If You Own an eBook Reader
If you have a Kobo, Sony or Nook eReader, you're probably best off using the offered reading software for Mac. Both Kobo for Mac and Nook for Mac allow us to browse, purchase and read eBooks in app. They support EPUB and PDF formats books.
The good news is that Kobo now lists their books' DRM and formats types again before buying.
But these two readers for Mac don't allow us to import books from outside stores. For example, if we bought one EPUB book from iBookstore, we are not able to open it with Kobo for Mac app.
Adobe Digital Editions--If You Buy From Public Library
Many public libraries including Kobo and Sony offer books protected with Adobe DRM, but Adobe create the Digital Editions for us to open those books. And we can also transfer such books between supported devices, such as Kobo, android, Nook, Sony. I can say a large number of online bookstores allow us open their contents with ADE.
ADE is the simplest ebook reader on Mac to open EPUB books. But I love it is because of its DRMed eBooks compatiblity. It opens books protected by Adobe DRM the one that most libraries with digital books use.
And here is my own suggestion, if you read books not only from rakuten Kobo but also Google Play books and even other more, there is no need to install the Kobo, or play books one by one. You just need this one app to open books you purchased from these stores.
But ADE can't open books from Kindle store and iBookstore.
Conclusion
My opinion, if you really love reading ebooks you may have used these apps all. In other words, lovers who collected a lot of ebooks also need to install several apps. We can't open all the books just with one app. Such as, if you just use Kindle for Mac, you can't read your EPUB books. If you use iBooks, you can't read Kindle books. If you are using ADE, you can't open your Kindle contents.
But here I wil share you an easy way to resolve this problem. Just converting the eBooks formats between Kindle and common EPUB and PDF. But in fact the DRM limitation is also our obstruction that prevents us reading freely. Please install this fantastic tool Ultimate Converter, it helps remove DRM and convert formats pretty well. It's an all-in-one eBook tool that allows you to read eBooks on various devices and share your own eBooks with your friends and family without sharing the personal account.
All you need to do is firstly run this tool, and then choose one app you like from the list of top 5 ebook readers for Mac. My personal preference is converting books to EPUB by the tool and using iBooks to read the EPUB books on Mac.
Tips: These apps can be downloaded from iTunes store on Mac.
Ada Wang works for Epubor and writes articles for a collection of blogs such as ebookconverter.blogspot.com.
Epub format is widely used to distribute ebooks across the Internet. Though some readers prefer PDFs, epub books still remain well formatted as compared to PDFs; and host some of the great old book titles.
Reading is a way to view new horizons, thus the experience must be as great as possible. Hence, we bring you the Best Free Epub Readers for Mac OS X which will make a great reading experience on your Macintosh OS devices.
Top 5 best & Free Epub Readers for Mac OS X for a great reading Experience!
Contents
Epub Readers For Mac
1. iBooks
iBooks comes inbuilt into Mac OS and has the expertise of Apple . Naturally, its the best epub reader available for Mac OS X.
There’s no need to download it either, the iBooks app has great settings which keep it light and battery optimized.
Plus, it has ability to sync across your iPhone, iOS devices like iPad. Thus, you can start reading from where you left.
Not to forget the Smooth User interface which is common with all the Apple apps, makes using the iBooks a great reading experience.
2. FbReader
FbReader stands for favorite book reader, and it does has some features which make it great for reading. Some of them are –
Ebook Reader For Mac
- Google Drive integration . (Store your books in Google Drive and read it across devices)
- Manage your library online
- Can be used to read books on web browser too by the fbreader web app
- Synchronise bookmarks, progress across all devices.
3. Calibre epub Reader
Calibre is not just an epub reader, but its an ebook management software.
You can use it not only for reading epubs, but it can also be used to convert the books into various other formats for reading.
The only con about Calibre is that its bulky in size and is over 70mB in file size, which is highest amongst all covered in this list.
Calibre Works on all Mac versions mountain lion, mavericks, snow leopard, el capitan, high sierra)
4. Kitabu
Epub Reader For Mac Os 10.4
Kitabu is a light-weight yet feature rich ebook reader .
It is great for the readers who like to read multiple books at a time, as it helps to navigate from one book to another easily, while opening your last read page.
Plus, it has options to change the layout columns, font, fontsize thus letting you customize your reading experience as per your liking!.
5. Murasaki
The new version of Murasaki is paid, but the old version is still available for free and works great even on the latest Mac OS X – High Sierra.
The only con of murasaki is that on loading, there is no Graphical user interface shown, hence you might mistake it for app not working. But , besides the apple icon..you can use the “File” option to navigate and open the eBook you intend to read.
Besides, that the Reading experience of Murasaki is better than Kitabu, but its less in features. But if you are using an old mac with limited specifications, look no further than Murasaki.
Thus, these some of the best epub readers or viewers available for Mac OS X. You can use them to view, open or edit epub files. Please let us know in comments section, if you have another app which could feature in our list.