Libby
Focus: library and reading. Shares ebooks and audiobooks with Open Culture. A mobile app, not a website. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (Open Culture: 4.6).
Mobile AppFreeiOS, Android
4.8Visit
Website
Open Culture
A free guide to online courses, audiobooks, films and ebooks.
Rating
4.6 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Beginner
Works on
Web
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What is Open Culture?
Open Culture is a long-running website that gathers free cultural and educational media from across the web. It lists more than 1,700 free online courses from universities, along with audiobooks, ebooks, films and language lessons, and publishes daily posts on art, history, science and literature.
Pros: what Open Culture does well
- Huge range of free material
- Links to legitimate sources
- Interesting daily articles
Cons: where it falls short
- Some older links no longer work
- The site carries a lot of ads
Who Open Culture is for
Lifelong learners who want free courses, books and films in one place.
Who can skip it
People who need structured courses with certificates.
Open Culture alternatives
Not sold on Open Culture? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
LibriVox
Focus: public domain, classics and non-profit. Shares audiobooks with Open Culture. Same 4.6 rating.
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.6Visit
ManyBooks
Focus: free books, reading and library. Shares ebooks with Open Culture. Rated 4.4 (Open Culture: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.4Visit
Project Gutenberg
Focus: public domain, classics and literature. Shares ebooks with Open Culture. Rated 4.4 (Open Culture: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.4Visit
Standard Ebooks
Focus: public domain, typography and epub. Shares ebooks with Open Culture. Rated 4.4 (Open Culture: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.4Visit
Audiobookshelf
Focus: podcasts, self-hosted and media server. Shares audiobooks with Open Culture. A web app, not a website. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.7 (Open Culture: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, iOS
4.7Visit
Free alternatives to Open Culture
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
Komga
Focus: comics, manga and self-hosted. Shares ebooks with Open Culture. A web app, not a website. Same 4.6 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Calibre-Web
Focus: calibre, reading and open source. Shares ebooks with Open Culture. A web app, not a website. Rated 4.5 (Open Culture: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit
Kavita
Focus: reading server, self-hosted and open source. Shares ebooks with Open Culture. A web app, not a website. Rated 4.5 (Open Culture: 4.6).
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit
Wikipedia
Focus: encyclopedia, reference and research. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Culture. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (Open Culture: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb, iOS
4.8Visit
BBC Bitesize
Focus: revision, gcse and school. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Culture. Rated 4.7 (Open Culture: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Google Arts & Culture
Focus: art, museums and culture. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Culture. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.7 (Open Culture: 4.6).
WebsiteFreeWeb, iOS
4.7Visit
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