Textbooks cover the main topics and information students need to learn in a particular subject. However, PDF files are often preferred over them. You can carry thousands of PDFs on a single device. Physical textbooks can be bulky and heavy, especially for students taking multiple classes. You can easily search for a keyword in PDFs and annotate it digitally.

PDFs can also be more affordable than physical textbooks. You can find most of them for free through libraries or open educational resources, saving time and effort. So, read on if you are looking for websites with free online textbooks in PDF format.

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In this article
    1. Project Gutenberg: Best Free Textbook Site for EPUB and Kindle eBooks
    2. Free Kids Books: Best Kid-Friendly Free Online Textbook Website
    3. Medicos Times: Best for Free Medical Textbooks Download PDF
    4. Bookboon: Best Website for Professional eBooks and PDF Textbook
    5. Manybooks: Best Free Textbook Site for YA eBooks
    6. OpenStax: Best Website With Free Peer-Reviewed Textbooks
    7. OverDrive: Best Free eBooks and PDF Textbooks Online for K-12 Students
    8. Free-eBooks.net: Best Website To Download Fiction and Textbook PDFs
    9. PDF Drive: Best Free eBooks and PDF Textbooks for Personal Growth
    10. FreeTechBooks: Best Site To Download Free Computer Science Textbooks
    1. View Read Modes
    2. Reading Backgrounds
    3. AI Read Mode
    4. Print Modes
    5. Liquid Mode for Android Devices
    6. Convert PDF to EPUB Format

Part I. 10 Best Websites To Download Free PDF Textbooks

This list offers websites with free downloadable textbooks, eBooks, and PDFs for everyone – K-12, college, grad school, and working professionals. Each website differs, but all of them can help you download textbooks online for free.

1. Project Gutenberg: Best Free Textbook Site for EPUB and Kindle eBooks

project gutenberg website for free ebooks

Project Gutenberg is a giant library website with free textbooks and eBooks. It’s the oldest one out there, started in 1971. They have tons of books, mostly classics, with expired copyright. You can find novels, poems, and even historical documents – all free to download and read on any device.

Project Gutenberg aims to create and distribute eBooks to all interested. You’re bound to find something you love with over 70,000 eBooks.

Pros
  • Plenty of choices to explore different genres and authors
  • No need to register or pay a subscription fee
  • Supports different file formats to read the books, including online, EPUB, and plain text
Cons
  • Mostly out-of-copyright works
  • Formatting might not be perfect across all titles

2. Free Kids Books: Best Kid-Friendly Free Online Textbook Website

freekidsbooks online website for free textbooks

Love to get kids reading? Free Kids Books is a website loaded with free children’s books. You can find classic tales, original stories, and even free textbooks in PDF format here. Browse by age group to find the best fit, all with adorable illustrations and captivating stories. It’s a great, free way to get young minds hooked on books.

Pros
  • Easy to navigate with categories such as ESL English level, subject, and grade level
  • Convenient online access
  • Can view online reads and downloads of the file
Cons
  • Sponsored ads are present
  • Free resources might have varying quality compared to curated libraries

3. Medicos Times: Best for Free Medical Textbooks Download PDF

free medical textbooks download pdf

Medicos Times is your one-stop shop for free downloadable PDFs of medical textbooks. Check its library of MBBS books, USMLE books, study guides, and even updates on the latest medical news. Dive into subjects like neurology, pharmacology, or cardiology – they’ve got you covered. It’s definitely worth a bookmark.

Pros
  • The website is easy to navigate
  • Provides a table of contents without downloading the file
  • Can download the PDF via Google Drive
Cons
  • Need to ask permission for Drive files
  • Some download links are not working

4. Bookboon: Best Website for Professional eBooks and PDF Textbook

bookboon website with free textbooks

Bookboon is a giant online library for busy professionals in various fields. They started with free textbook PDFs for students, but now they have tons of eBooks on business skills you can learn in just a few hours. They even have 3000+ audiobooks for learning on the go. Companies use Bookboon to train their employees, too.

Pros
  • User-friendly and easy-to-use interface
  • Provides new content weekly to the readers
  • AI-powered recommendations
Cons
  • Limited free selection
  • Contains ads
  • Account needed for downloads

5. Manybooks: Best Free Textbook Site for YA eBooks

manybooks free textbooks online pdf

Bookworms will surely enjoy browsing the Manybooks website. It offers a massive collection of free eBooks, over 50,000. You’ll find classics like Aesop’s Fables alongside works from self-publishing authors. You can download these textbooks for free via Amazon Kindle, as PDF to your device, or read them online. They even have a daily newsletter to keep you updated on new free and discounted eBooks.

Pros
  • Can download the eBooks in various file formats
  • Covers various genres, from fiction like fantasy and historical fiction to non-fiction like cooking and art
  • User-friendly and intuitive interface
Cons
  • Need to sign up for an account to download
  • In-app purchases for additional content

6. OpenStax: Best Website With Free Peer-Reviewed Textbooks

openstax website for downloading textbooks free

OpenStax gives high-quality, peer-reviewed college textbooks online. You can download them as free PDFs or access them on their website. OpenStax even has some printed versions for a low cost. Their open-source textbooks are written by experts across various fields and meet standard requirements. Review subjects like Business, Computer Science, and Humanities.

OpenStax even has resources for K-12 teachers. It’s a great way to save money and get a solid education.

Pros
  • User-friendly interface
  • Expert-reviewed textbooks ensure you’re getting accurate information
  • Some online textbooks come with a study guide
Cons
  • Need to sign up for access
  • Have OpenStax watermark

7. OverDrive: Best Free eBooks and PDF Textbooks Online for K-12 Students

overdrive best free textbook site

OverDrive is a digital distributor that stocks libraries and schools with free eBooks, magazines, and audiobooks. So, check if your workplace or university library uses OverDrive next time you’re looking for a good read. You can also see new releases of the latest titles across their recommended collection. Plus, they have a global reach, so no matter where you are, you can likely download digital content with OverDrive.

Pros
  • Huge selection of eBooks and audiobooks
  • Access them anywhere with your device
Cons
  • Need a separate reading app
  • May not have the latest bestsellers

8. Free-eBooks.net: Best Website To Download Fiction and Textbook PDFs

get pdf textbooks on free-ebooks

Free-eBooks.net offers eBooks and audiobooks in categories like youth, advertising, and law. They boast a large collection, so you can download textbooks in PDF, EPUB, Kindle, or TXT format if you find something interesting.

This website has 1000+ new authors for fiction and non-fiction, and if you can’t choose, you can search by title, too. Free-eBooks.net has a membership option that lets you download five free textbooks as a PDF each month.

Pros
  • Easy-to-navigate interface
  • Provides an overview of each textbook
  • Download counts can give you a sense of a book’s popularity
Cons
  • Limited selection of textbooks for college students
  • Signing up with an email is needed

9. PDF Drive: Best Free eBooks and PDF Textbooks for Personal Growth

pdf drive website for pdf textbooks

Check out PDF Drive, a search engine for PDFs with millions of eBooks for your personal development. You tell it what you’re looking for, and it scours the web for PDFs matching your search. Plus, you can preview files before downloading them to ensure they are what you need. This website for textbooks is free to use, and there are no download limits.

Pros
  • No ads on the PDF files when downloaded
  • Shows recommended content you’ll love based on what you read
  • Advanced filtering for page number, publish date, file size, and popularity
Cons
  • Doesn’t guarantee files are legal downloads; double-check copyright before downloading files

10. FreeTechBooks: Best Site To Download Free Computer Science Textbooks

freetechbooks website for free online textbooks

If you’re looking for free learning materials in tech, check out FreeTechBooks. Its website has over 1200 open-access computer science textbooks and lecture notes. You’ll find resources on programming, operating systems, and even math.

They don’t update often, but the resources they have are legit and cover a wide range of topics. You can download university textbooks for free in PDF or HTML format via the link to the publishers.

Pros
  • A vast collection of textbooks on a wide range of subjects
  • Provides clear licensing and publishing details upfront
  • Easy to navigate and has no ads
Cons
  • Sometimes, an external link won’t work
  • Free textbooks might not be the latest edition

Once you’ve downloaded your free PDF textbook on a website, you’ll need an easy-to-use PDF solution to view, annotate, and print it from your device. Most apps in the market, like Wondershare PDFelement, combine the power of AI and PDF editing in one. Explore this PDF editor in the next section and see how it can help you read PDF files.

Part II. PDFelement: Smart AI Tool for Viewing and Printing PDF Textbooks

PDFelement can handle the PDF documents you download from the websites for free textbooks. This user-friendly app lets you edit the PDF content, add text, and read seamlessly across your devices. Here are some of its key features to help you personalize your study experience and improve focus.

View Read Modes

Change PDF View reading modes to fit your textbook content. PDFelement has Single View for text-heavy sections, Double View for diagrams, and Scrolling for continuous reading. 3D read mode offers a unique perspective by simulating a turning page effect. It provides a more immersive reading experience, especially for lengthy textbooks.

pdfelement view pdf in 3d mode

Reading Backgrounds

Set the reading background from default to Day, Eye protection, Night, and Parchment.

  • A bright white background works well in bright environments. It provides good contrast for text and images, making them easy to read.
  • Eye protection mode uses a warmer color temperature, like an off-white. It reduces the blue light emitted from the screen, which can cause eye strain, especially during long reading sessions.
  • Night mode reduces the glare from the screen and makes it easier on your eyes. Perfect for those late-night study sessions poring over your textbooks.
  • Parchment creates a more aesthetically pleasing reading experience, especially for documents with a historical feel. Experiment to find your ideal reading experience.

AI Read Mode

Textbooks are static by nature. AI Read Mode can transform them into a dynamic learning experience on the full screen. Suppose you have a question about a specific paragraph. With AI Read Mode, you can ask the AI assistant to clarify a concept or provide additional details. This interactivity fosters better understanding and keeps you engaged with the material.

Print Modes

PDFelement’s Print modes (size, poster, multiple, booklet) offer flexibility for printing textbooks. They allow for enlarged visuals, efficient draft printing, and the creation of study guides or handouts.

Liquid Mode for Android Devices

free online textbook websites pdfelement

Liquid Mode for Android in PDFelement reflows the text and adjusts the layout to fit your phone screen. It makes reading much more comfortable without zooming in and out constantly.

Convert PDF to EPUB Format

PDFelement’s “Convert” feature provides a simple way to convert your textbook PDFs into EPUB format. This app also allows batch processing to convert your textbook collection or semester’s worth of PDFs into EPUBs. It creates a well-organized digital library on your eBook tablet.

Now you’ve seen how PDFelement streamlines your experience with reading, annotating, and managing your free textbooks. Experience these features at an affordable price. Download the app on your device if you want to try it for free. Students can get discounted prices with its Education plan today.

Conclusion

Different free online textbook websites listed here cater to various subjects and levels of education. These websites offer digital content to help people learn and love reading.

Free e-textbooks help you learn more for school or work. Save money and explore these sites to find what you need. Remember, free education is out there – you just have to know where to look. For a smooth reading and organization experience, consider PDFelement to manage all your PDF textbooks.

Audrey Goodwin
Audrey Goodwin Sep 23, 24
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12 years of talent acquired in the software industry working with large publishers. Public speaker and author of several eBooks on technical writing and editing.