QuireFree · Runs in your browser · No account
Read EPUB books in your browser
Open an EPUB file below to read it as a book: turn pages, jump between chapters, search the whole text and bookmark your place. Your browser does all of it on this device, and the book is never uploaded.
Books you open stay in a library in this browser, with your reading position and bookmarks, so you can come back to them later.
Prefer it in Chrome? Install Quire EPUB Reader Add to Chrome (free)
How it works
Select Open EPUB, or drop an .epub file on the reader.
Turn pages with the arrow keys, the space bar or the arrows at the edges of the page. Press M to switch between pages and scrolling.
Use Contents to jump to a chapter, and the search button to find a word anywhere in the book.
Press B or select the bookmark button to mark a page. Your bookmarks are listed next to the contents.
Select Appearance to change the theme, font, text size and spacing. Select Library to go back to your books.
Questions
Questions and limits
What this tool does and what it can't do.
Is my book uploaded anywhere?
No. The page and the reader load from quireapps.com. After that, your browser unpacks the book and shows it inside this tab. Nothing is sent to a server, and the page has no analytics or tracking. If a book tries to load pictures, styles or fonts from the web, the page blocks those requests, so opening a book can't tell anyone you are reading it. To check, open your browser's developer tools and watch the Network tab.
Where are my books and bookmarks kept?
In this browser, on this device. When you open a book, the reader keeps a copy in the browser's storage (IndexedDB) so it can stay in your library, and it saves your reading position and bookmarks next to it. That is why you can close the tab and pick up on the same page later. To delete a book, select the trash icon on its cover in the library: the copy, its position and its bookmarks all go. Clearing this site's data in your browser settings deletes everything. Your library does not sync to other browsers or devices.
Can it open DRM-protected books?
No. Quire opens DRM-free EPUB files only. Many books from stores and library loans are locked with Adobe DRM or Readium LCP. Quire checks for both and tells you the book is DRM-protected, rather than showing scrambled text. Open those books in the app the store or library recommends, such as Adobe Digital Editions. An .acsm file is a download ticket for Adobe Digital Editions, not a book. The guide on DRM-free and DRM-protected EPUBs explains the difference.
What can I do while reading?
Turn pages or scroll, jump to a chapter from the contents, search every chapter for a word or phrase, and bookmark pages. You can pick a light, sepia or dark theme, and change the font, text size, line spacing and page width. Read aloud speaks the book from the current page and highlights each paragraph as it goes. Press ? in the reader to see the keyboard shortcuts.
How does read aloud work?
It uses your browser's built-in speech feature with the voices installed on your device. To keep the text on your device, the reader only uses voices the browser marks as local, and it skips online voices. If your system has no local voices, the reader says so; install a voice in your system settings and reload the page.
Which files does it open?
EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 books, including books with images and embedded fonts. It is built for EPUB only. For PDF files, use the Quire PDF editor. Kindle books bought from Amazon are DRM-protected and won't open. If a book won't open, the reader says whether the file is damaged, not an EPUB, or DRM-protected.
Does it work on a Chromebook?
Yes. ChromeOS has no built-in EPUB reader, and this page runs in Chrome, so you can open a book from the Files app without installing anything. The guide to opening EPUB files on a Chromebook covers the other options.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
It is free, and you don't need an account. There are no ads and no limit on the number of books. Very large books depend on how much memory your device has.
Does it work offline?
Not reliably. Books in your library are stored in this browser, but the reader itself loads from quireapps.com and is not set up as an offline app.
Which browsers does it work in?
Testing covers Chrome, plus a shorter check in Firefox (opening, reading and searching a book). Edge uses the same engine as Chrome. Safari has not been tested. Read aloud depends on the voices each browser offers.
Is there a Chrome extension?
Yes. The Quire EPUB Reader extension has the same reader. It can also open EPUB links you click on the web straight in the reader, so you don't have to download the file first. It is free on the Chrome Web Store.