ManyBooks
Focus: ebooks, free books and reading. Shares library with Open Library. Same 4.4 rating.
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.4Visit
Website
Open Library
An open, editable library catalogue with a page for every book, and free lending.
Rating
4.4 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Beginner
Works on
Web
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is Open Library?
Open Library is an Internet Archive project aiming for one web page for every book ever published. You can search millions of titles, track your reading and borrow many digitised books for free with a free account.
Pros: what Open Library does well
- Millions of books searchable in one place
- Free borrowing of digitised titles
- Reading lists and tracking
Cons: where it falls short
- Borrowed books use limited loan periods
- Availability varies by title
Who Open Library is for
Readers and students who want to find and borrow books online for free.
Who can skip it
People who want to keep permanent copies of every title.
Open Library alternatives
Not sold on Open Library? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Libby
Focus: ebooks, audiobooks and reading. Shares library with Open Library. A mobile app, not a website. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (Open Library: 4.4).
Mobile AppFreeiOS, Android
4.8Visit
Wikipedia
Focus: encyclopedia, reference and research. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb, iOS
4.8Visit
BBC Bitesize
Focus: revision, gcse and school. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Rated 4.7 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Google Arts & Culture
Focus: art, museums and culture. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.7 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb, iOS
4.7Visit
Internet Archive
Focus: digital library, wayback machine and archives. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Rated 4.7 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.7Visit
Free alternatives to Open Library
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
PubMed
Focus: medical research, papers and citations. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Rated 4.7 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.7Visit
The Public Domain Review
Focus: public domain, art history and images. Also in Reading and Learning, like Open Library. Rated 4.7 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.7Visit
web.dev
Focus: web development, performance and accessibility. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Rated 4.7 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.7Visit
BetterExplained
Focus: maths, calculus and intuition. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Rated 4.6 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.6Visit
Learn X in Y Minutes
Focus: programming, cheat sheets and syntax. Also in Learning and Reading, like Open Library. Rated 4.6 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.6Visit
LibriVox
Focus: audiobooks, public domain and classics. Also in Reading and Learning, like Open Library. Rated 4.6 (Open Library: 4.4).
WebsiteFreeWeb
4.6Visit
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