Since the popularity of tablets, and subsequently large-screen smartphones, digital book reading has gone mobile. But, reading on a computer is still a popular past time, and for some, it's the best way to digest the classics, bestsellers, and undiscovered gems. If you have a folder full of eBooks and want to know which reader is perfect for your needs, you'll find what you're looking for right now.

I'd like to take a moment to clarify that this list is for apps that you can download onto your Mac. There are some great e-readers that are web-based, but I've decided not to include them on this list. If you have a favorite web browser e-reader, please feel free to add it to the comments section so others can find out about it.

iBooks

Aug 27, 2019 Google has apps for practically everything, so of course they have one for reading PDFs. If you’re looking for a basic app that does what it promises, this could be the best option. It’s hassle-free and the only thing it lets you do is read files, zoom in on the doc to read up close, or search in the file. Simple, convenient, and practical. Mar 22, 2017 You can also drag-and-drop PDFs to iTunes from your Mac, so if you've got a great book that isn't in ePub form, you can still read it in iBooks. As for the features, iBooks on the Mac has most of the same tools and themes as iBooks on iPhone and iPad, like color options, text size and style customizations, highlighting tools, dictionary lookup.

Every Mac comes with iBooks installed. It is perfectly designed to work, not only on your computer but also across all of your mobile devices. So, you can read a chapter or two on your Mac, and pick up on your iPad or iPhone without missing a beat. There is a quick-access button that lets you browse the iBooks Store, where you can download content to iCloud and access on all your supported Apple devices. You can also drag-and-drop PDFs to iTunes from your Mac, so if you've got a great book that isn't in ePub form, you can still read it in iBooks.

As for the features, iBooks on the Mac has most of the same tools and themes as iBooks on iPhone and iPad, like color options, text size and style customizations, highlighting tools, dictionary lookup, notes, sharing, illustration rendering, voice over, and more.

If you are knee-deep in the Apple ecosystem, iBooks is the best e-reader on your Mac. You'll love the ability to sync your eBooks and audiobooks across all of your devices.

Kindle

The Kindle reader on Mac is ideal for people that purchase, rent or borrow books from Amazon, which supplies the largest digital book collection. When you sign in to your Amazon account, you can access all Amazon books in your library. You can't browse the Amazon books store from the Kindle app, but when you buy a book on Amazon, it will be added to your collection, which you can access from all your devices, whether they are Apple, Android, or Windows. Amazon supports borrowing books, renting textbooks, sampling books, and more. It is especially beneficial to Prime subscribers. Prime reading offers hundreds of free ebooks, magazines, and more. Kindle Unlimited, which is a subscription-based service, lets you read about a million titles (including magazines and newspapers) for a monthly price.

Kindle on the Mac has plenty of customization features, too. You can change the theme to white, sepia, or black, and adjust the font size and style to tailor your reading experience. You can also add highlights and notes. One of my favorite features is the ability to browse through popular highlights from others that have also read the book.

If you have a collection of ebooks you've purchased from Amazon, or if you are a Prime subscriber, use Kindle for the Mac to read and sync your books across all of your devices.

• Free - Download now

OverDrive Read

OverDrive is the number one app for borrowing digital content from your local public library. All you need is an active library card and a PIN. Just like borrowing physical books, you can browse your library's entire collection of digital content and check out multiple titles at the same time. When you borrow an ebook or another item, you can download it on your Mac and access it as much as you want during your loan period. When your ebook is due, you don't have to worry about returning it to the library on time, it will automatically be removed from your Mac when your time is up.

The OverDrive Read app on Mac is actually a web browser supported software program, but it's on this list because it is the officially supported app for borrowing books from public libraries.

Although you have to access the OverDrive Read on Mac from a web browser, you can download content for offline reading, listening, or watching. You'll need to bookmark the page so you can access it without an internet connection, but if you remember to download the content while you're online, you can continue reading while offline.

OverDrive Read includes tools for changing the color, adjusting the size and style of font, adding notes, highlighting, and voice over for some titles. It also supports fixed-layout digital books (like comics and magazines) so your favorite illustrated content doesn't look weird on your Mac.

If you want to read digital books, but prefer borrowing from your local library, OverDrive Read is your go-to app for accessing your loans on Mac.

• Free - Download now

Adobe Digital Editions

Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) is an ePub reader that makes it super easy to read digital books on your Mac without having to drag them into an app or upload them to a cloud server. Once ADE is on your Mac, you can select it as the reader for any ePub file, so you can get started reading right away. I use ADE for ebooks that I get from HumbleBundle. I occasionally use it for ebooks I download from my public library, too. It supports all ePub formats and PDF files.

You can add a bookmark and highlight text. You can also add notes to pages and passages. Searching a book for a specific word or phrase is as easy as using the Find feature on your Mac.

If you download and store a lot of ePub files, and don't want to upload them to iCloud for reading in iBooks, ADE is the next best thing.

• Free - Download now

BookReader

BookReader is the e-reader for all files. It supports EPUB, MOBI, PRC, AZW, FB2, Microsoft DOC, RTF, RTFd, xHTML, Webarchive and TXT. No matter what type of ebook you have on file, you can read it on BookReader. It only supports DRM-free files, though, so make sure your digital books don't have digital rights protections before you try to use it.

You can store all of your books in one bookshelf for easy access. It also has a few features that make book reading on the Mac a pleasant experience, like realistic page flipping, hypertext support, Text to Speech, and a fully customizable color option. You can make the font, background, and book border any color available on the spectrum.

If you tend to download a lot of different types of eBook files, you'll be happy with the level of support BookReader has. You can download a free, seven-day trial version to decide whether you want to invest further.

• $9.99 - Download now

Your favorites?

Do you use a specific e-reader as your go-to app on Mac? Let us know what it is in the comments and tell us why it's your favorite.

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As PDF documents are becoming more widespread, we decided to create a guide where we bring you the best apps to read PDFs on your smartphone or tablet with Android and iOS operating systems (and Windows 10 Mobile ).

Content index

Adobe Acrobat Reader

The first solution that we propose to read PDF files on your mobile device is Acrobat Reader. It is one of the most famous readers of Portable Document Format available on the square made by the famous Adobe company that offers other very famous software such as Illustrator and Photoshop.

Acrobat Reader can be downloaded completely free from the Google Play Store for Android, from the App Store for iOS and even from the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 Mobile.

The software allows you to view the pages with vertical scrolling through the Continue option, with horizontal scrolling with the Single page option, increase the size of the font through the Reading Mode or take advantage of the Night Mode to less strain the view when you are in places where there is little light. In addition, Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to add notes and highlight texts using the speech bubble and pen icons.

Foxit PDF

Great Apps To Read Pdfs On Mac Windows 10

Foxit PDF is undoubtedly one of the best apps to read PDFs on smartphones and tablets with iOS, Windows 10 Mobile and Android operating systems. In addition to the classic features found on other apps of this type, Foxit PDF allows you to protect PDF files with certificates, sign PDFs with digital certificates, create blank PDFs and so on. However, to access these features you need to make some in-app purchases that have a starting price of 89 cents.

Xodo PDF

Another excellent software for reading documents in Portable Document Format is Xodo PDF. This application is also available for the above 3 OS and is undoubtedly positioned among the best free solutions available on the square.

Inside you can access some editing features certainly very useful as the ability to underline the text, draw freehand or highlight parts of the content. Do not miss the ability to synchronize documents with the main cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive.

Google PDF viewer

If you have a smartphone or tablet with Android, then we recommend using Google PDF Viewer. In some cases, this software is pre-installed, so you will not need to install it from the Google Play Store. As easily understood, the Big G app offers only the basic functionality: April PDF files, copy notes, print, search for text and so on.

For example, compared to the solutions listed a short while ago, it does not allow you to highlight the text or write the notes by hand. However, we have decided to include it in this guide of the best apps to read PDF because it is very easy to use and is aimed at all those users looking for something not too complex.

Pages To Pdf Mac

iBooks

Great Apps To Read Pdfs On Mac Pro

In case you were in possession of an iPhone or an iPad, however, we suggest using iBooks. It is a PDF reader (and eBook) developed by Apple that allows you to read documents in this format from the Internet, from a cloud storage service, from e-mails and so on.

To make the most of iBooks, simply browse to the PDF file you want to view, select it, tap the sharing icon in the upper right (the one with the square containing an arrow pointing up) and press the iBooks icon on the menu that appears. Once the document is open, you can send it by e-mail, print it, search for words in the text or apply a bookmark.

Great Apps To Read Pdfs On Mac Free

Best apps to read PDF: alternatives

On the market there are many other applications that can be used to read PDF documents from mobile. If the previously reported solutions did not satisfy you, then you can evaluate the ones below.

Great Apps To Read Pdfs On Mac Download

• Prestige eReader (Android)
• PDF Expert (iOS – paid)
• ES File Manager (Android)
• Documents (iOS)
• Media365 Book Reader (Android)
• Fodoo PDF Reader (Android)
• Easy PDF Viewer & Reader (Android)
• PDF Viewer & Reading PDF Books (Android)
• PDF Reader – Document Expert (iOS)
• PDF Pro 3 (iOS)