Best Reading Apps in 2026: 13 Apps for Books and Long Articles, Ranked

Last verified 4 October 2026. The best reading app for most people is Libby: with a public library card it borrows ebooks and audiobooks for free, syncs your place across phone and tablet, and exports your notes and highlights. The catch is that you only get what your library licenses, so if you want to buy books, the free Kindle app opens the biggest store. Below are 13 apps we checked against each vendor's own site or app store listing this week, ranked for reading on a phone or tablet: where the books come from, which formats open, how sync, highlights and read-aloud work, and what the free and paid options cost.

Toolradar data: of the 17 read-later tools in our catalog, 6 are completely free and another 9 are freemium.

Quick Comparison

Our picks: the best reading apps for phones and tablets, ranked

1. Libby

Libby turns a public library card into a free ebook and audiobook app. It runs on iOS, Android 7.1 and later, and newer Fire tablets, with no subscription, no in-app purchases and no late fees. Loans, notes, bookmarks and reading progress sync across devices. To export notes and highlights, open a title's Reading Journey and choose Actions, then Export Reading Data, as a table or a spreadsheet. U.S. libraries can also send ebooks to a Kindle.

Pick it if you have a library card and read mostly books you do not need to own.

2. Kindle app

The free Kindle app runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, PC and the web. Books you buy on Amazon appear automatically, you can try a free sample first, and Whispersync syncs your bookmarks, last page read, notes and highlights. Send to Kindle adds your own EPUB and PDF files, up to 200 MB from the web, and you can share a notebook by email, with a download link that lasts 7 days. Kindle Unlimited is $11.99 a month plus taxes in the U.S..

Pick it if you want the widest store and do not mind your purchases staying inside Kindle apps.

3. Kobo

Kobo's app is a store and a reader in one, on iOS and Android. Kobo's help page says the iOS app opens EPUB, EPUB2, EPUB3, PDF, FlePub and MOBI files, and the Android app opens the same list without PDF. Bookmarks, highlights and notes sync across phone, tablet, Kobo eReader and the Kobo Web Reader, and Read Aloud works on select ebooks. Guest Mode lets you browse without an account. One limit is specific: Adobe DRM files (the ACSM format) work only on Kobo eReaders through Adobe Digital Editions, not in the app. Kobo Plus is a monthly subscription with a free trial in eligible regions.

Pick it if you want an EPUB-friendly store that pairs with a Kobo eReader.

4. Apple Books

Apple Books is free, with no subscription; ebooks and audiobooks are priced individually, and thousands are free. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro, and iCloud syncs your progress. Apple's support page says you can import PDFs and many EPUB books you got elsewhere, though ACSM, AZW and ODM files open only in other apps. Reading Goals track streaks, and Family Sharing covers up to five relatives. There is no Android or Windows app.

Pick it if every device you read on is an Apple device.

5. Google Play Books

Google Play Books is free on Android, iPhone and iPad, and it reads across your phone, tablet and computer. Google's help page says you can upload PDF and EPUB files under Library, then Uploads, and read them on any device you sign in to, with bookmarks, highlights and notes across devices. The iOS listing adds custom shelves and notes that sync with Google Drive. Uploads cover PDF and EPUB files.

Pick it if you use Android or a Google account and want your own PDFs and EPUBs in one synced library.

6. Hoopla

Hoopla is a second library app, and it covers more than books. Its listing promises instant access to ebooks, audiobooks, comics, manga and magazines, plus movies, TV and music, with offline downloads, no subscription and no ads. You need a card from a participating library. The catch is that each library sets its own monthly borrow limit, so check yours before you rely on it.

Pick it if you want comics, manga or instant borrows from your library card.

7. Everand

Everand is a reading subscription, but it is no longer all-you-can-read. Standard is $11.99 a month and unlocks 1 title; Plus is $16.99 and unlocks 3; Deluxe is $28.99 and unlocks 5. All plans share a catalog of 1.5 million audiobooks and ebooks, you can reread unlocked books while subscribed, and a curated selection is available without spending an unlock. The trial is 30 days on the website or 7 days through the App Store, and Fable Plus, a reading tracker, is included.

Pick it if you read one to five books a month and prefer renting a catalog to buying.

8. Readwise Reader

Readwise Reader holds web articles, PDFs, EPUBs, email newsletters, RSS feeds and YouTube videos in one library. Apps cover iOS, Android, the web, Mac and Windows, with browser extensions and an e-ink mode. You highlight as you read, and highlights export to Obsidian, Notion, Roam Research, Evernote and Logseq through Readwise. Reader can also read any article, PDF or ebook aloud with AI voices. It comes with the full Readwise plan at $9.99 a month billed annually or $12.99 billed monthly, after a 30-day trial.

Pick it if you read long articles and PDFs and want every highlight to land in your notes app.

9. Instapaper

Instapaper is the plain read-it-later app. Free accounts save unlimited articles, videos and pages, sync across web, iOS and Android, and organize them in folders. Premium is $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year and adds full-text search, unlimited notes, AI voices and text-to-speech playlists on mobile, speed reading and Kindle integration. It has no book store and is built for saved web pages, so it suits articles rather than books.

Pick it if you want a quiet place to save long reads and pay little or nothing.

10. Moon+ Reader

Moon+ Reader is an Android reader with 4.0 stars from 269,000 reviews and over 10 million downloads on Google Play. It opens EPUB, PDF, DJVU, AZW3, MOBI, FB2, CBZ and DOCX, among others, and connects to OPDS libraries. It highlights, annotates and translates, and it backs up to Dropbox or WebDAV and syncs reading positions between phones and tablets. The free version has ads and in-app purchases; the Pro version removes ads and adds text-to-speech and reading statistics.

Pick it if you read your own files on Android and want every layout setting.

11. KOReader

KOReader is a free, open-source document viewer under the AGPL license, aimed mainly at e-ink readers. It runs on Android, Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, reMarkable and Linux, and opens EPUB, PDF, DjVu, CBZ, FB2 and MOBI. It integrates with calibre (including OPDS browsing), Wallabag and Wikipedia. Its interface is built for e-ink, with paged menus and no animation, so expect a spare look on a phone. There is no store and no iOS version.

Pick it if you own an e-ink device or a calibre library and want full control.

12. Speechify

Speechify is a text-to-speech app, not a book store. It reads documents, articles, PDFs and email aloud, and its listing says you can photograph a printed page and hear it read. Apps cover iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows, plus Chrome and Edge extensions. The free plan limits speed to 1.5x and offers 10 robotic-sounding voices. Premium is $29 a month billed monthly, adding 1,000-plus voices, 60-plus languages and speeds to 5x; the page says yearly billing saves 60%.

Pick it if you would rather listen to PDFs, papers and articles than read them.

13. Blinkist

Blinkist is a summaries app, so it does not replace reading a book. It offers audio and text summaries of 9,000-plus books and podcasts that take about 15 minutes each. The free plan gives one hand-picked title a day, and a 7-day trial unlocks Premium, which adds the full library, offline access and Kindle integration. Pro adds Blinkist AI for summarizing your own content. Blinkist's help page lists no price, so check your country's checkout.

Pick it if you want the key ideas of nonfiction fast, and treat it as a way to choose which books to read in full.

How to choose a reading app

Start with where the books come from. Libraries (Libby, Hoopla) are free but limited to your library's catalog. Stores (Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books) sell you books. Everand rents a catalog by the month. Your own files go in Google Play Books, Apple Books, Moon+ Reader, KOReader or Kobo.

Check the format before you buy. Your Kindle purchases stay inside Kindle apps and devices, and Send to Kindle takes EPUB and PDF files. Kobo's Android app does not list PDF support, and Adobe DRM (ACSM) files do not open in the Kobo app at all. Apple says ACSM, AZW and ODM files open only in other apps.

Match the app to your devices. Apple Books is Apple only, Moon+ Reader is Android only, and KOReader runs on Android but not on iPhone. Libby, Kindle, Kobo and Google Play Books cover both major phone platforms.

Decide what happens to your highlights. Libby exports them as a table or spreadsheet, Kindle shares notebooks by email, and Readwise Reader sends them to Obsidian, Notion and others. For where they end up, see our guide to the best note-taking apps, or browse every read-later tool in the catalog.

Add up the real cost. Libraries cost nothing. Instapaper Premium is $5.99 a month, Readwise is $9.99 a month billed annually, and Kindle Unlimited and Everand Standard are both $11.99 a month, though Everand Standard unlocks one title.

FAQ

What is the best free app for reading books?

Libby is the best free option if you have a library card: free ebooks and audiobooks, no ads and no late fees. Hoopla adds comics and instant borrows, and Apple Books and the Kindle app both offer free samples and free titles.

What is the best ebook reader app for EPUB and PDF files?

Google Play Books is the clearest choice: Google documents uploads of both formats to a synced library. Apple Books imports PDFs and many EPUBs on Apple devices, Kobo's iOS app opens both, and Moon+ Reader supports the widest list of formats on Android.

Can I move books between Kindle and other apps?

Your Kindle purchases are read in Kindle apps and on Kindle devices. In the other direction, Send to Kindle accepts EPUB and PDF files, and Libby can send library ebooks to a Kindle for U.S. libraries. Adobe DRM files do not open in the Kobo app.

What is the best app for reading long articles?

Readwise Reader is the most capable, with highlights that export to note apps and read-aloud for articles and PDFs. Instapaper is the cheaper choice, free to save unlimited articles, with Premium at $5.99 a month for search and speech.

Which reading app can read to me?

Speechify reads documents, articles and PDFs aloud, and Readwise Reader reads articles, PDFs and ebooks with AI voices. Libby, Kobo and Everand also play audiobooks, and Kobo's Read Aloud works on select ebooks.

Are book summary apps a replacement for reading?

No. Blinkist condenses books and podcasts into 15-minute summaries, which helps you decide what to read in full. Its free plan gives one title a day, and Premium unlocks the full library.

Bottom line

Get Libby first if you have a library card, because free is hard to beat. Add the Kindle app if you want to buy books, or Google Play Books if your files are EPUB and PDF. Choose Readwise Reader for long articles and highlights that reach your notes. For most readers, the decision is simple: start with Libby, and buy from a store only when the book you want is not at your library.