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Desktop App

calibre

A free e-book manager for organising, converting and reading your library.

Visit calibre4.7
  • Rating

    4.7 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    Windows, macOS, Linux

Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com

What is calibre?

calibre is a free, open-source e-book manager that organises your library, edits metadata and covers, and converts between formats such as EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and PDF. It also includes an e-book reader and editor, syncs books to e-readers, and can download news into e-book form.

Pros: what calibre does well

  • Converts between many e-book formats
  • Powerful library and metadata tools
  • Sends books to most e-readers

Cons: where it falls short

  • Interface can feel cluttered
  • Cannot open books protected by DRM

Who calibre is for

Readers with a growing e-book collection across devices and formats.

Who can skip it

People who only read inside one store's app, such as Kindle.

calibre alternatives

Not sold on calibre? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

Komga

Focus: comics, manga and self-hosted. Shares ebooks and open source with calibre. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Web AppFreeWeb

Calibre-Web

Focus: calibre, reading and github. Shares ebooks and open source with calibre. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (calibre: 4.7).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform

Kavita

Focus: reading server, self-hosted and github. Shares ebooks and open source with calibre. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (calibre: 4.7).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform

fd

Focus: file search, command line and developer tool. Shares open source with calibre. Same 4.7 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

restic

Focus: backup, encryption and snapshots. Shares open source with calibre. Same 4.7 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

Yazi

Focus: file manager, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source with calibre. Same 4.7 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

Free alternatives to calibre

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

BorgBackup

Focus: backup, encryption and deduplication. Shares open source with calibre. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

Czkawka

Focus: duplicate finder, disk cleanup and similar images. Shares open source with calibre. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

dua-cli

Focus: disk usage, storage cleanup and terminal. Shares open source with calibre. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

Etcher

Focus: usb, sd card and disk image. Shares open source with calibre. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

eza

Focus: file listing, terminal and command line. Shares open source with calibre. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows

FreeFileSync

Focus: file sync, backup and folders. Shares open source with calibre. Rated 4.6 (calibre: 4.7).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
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