In today’s digital age, the market is filled with a myriad of options for accessing and downloading PDF files on diverse topics. While PDF Drive has been a popular choice for viewing and downloading PDFs, it’s not the only solution.
PDF Drive is a search engine that lets you search, preview, and download PDFs of over a million ebooks, magazines, articles, blogs, and more. Recently, users have been facing some issues with the PDF Drive and are looking for alternatives.
This article will tell you about 10 PDF Drive alternatives worth trying.
Why look for PDF Drive alternatives?
PDF Drive is a great website that allows users to download PDFs in numerous genres. However, the website has drawbacks that force users to look for a better alternative for convenience and seamless downloading.
It is crucial to know that some PDF Drive content is prone to copyright and legality issues, sometimes users cannot find the required document, face downloading and content-quality issues, inaccessibility to some PDFs, and more. Due to these reasons, users are looking for PDF Drive alternatives.
Below, we have listed the top 10 PDF Drive alternatives, highlighting their features, advantages, and categories. Check out this article to compare PDF drive options and pick one that suits you.
Top 10 PDF Drive Alternatives
1. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a US-based e-book platform that boasts a library of over 70,000 free e-books in the public domain, which you can read online or download in PDF format. Michael Hart founded Project Gutenberg in 1971, making this website the oldest digital library.
The content is available in plain text, and other formats are HTML, PDF, Epub, MOBI, Kindle, and more. You can find e-books in more than 50 languages and on various topics. All the books are added to the archive only after receiving proper copyright clearance and records. Even the websites have an audiobook collection and suggest various audiobook resources too.
Top Features:
- Over 70,000 free ebooks
- Boasts human and computer-generated audiobooks
- Mobile-friendly website
- Easy accessibility to content
- No registration is required
- Search box to find the ebook by title, author, subject, or other keywords
Website Link: https://www.gutenberg.org/
Bounce Rate: 51.56%
Categories: Fiction, Poetry, Biography, Essays, Literature, Philosophy, Periodicals, Travel, Politics, History, Religion, Drama, and more
2. Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), a website that hosts open access journals, was launched in 2003 with around 300 titles, generated from a list by Bo-Christer Björk. It is a community-driven website that offers free, quality online content for everyone.
DOAJ especially focuses on providing peer-reviewed open-access journals in various niches. All the content on the website is free of charge, making it accessible and affordable for everyone. You can apply on the website to join the community.
Top Features:
- Have an extensive library of 13,000+ journals and more than 10 million articles
- Free and open-access website
- Quality and peer-reviewed content
- Find any article by typing subject, language, publisher, and license type in the search and filtering option
- Independent, non-profit organization
- Provides content in over 80 languages and represents 135 countries
Website Link: https://doaj.org/
Bounce Rate: 65.92%
Categories: Academic (Science, Medical, Engineering, History, Commerce, Mathematics, etc.), Educational, Religion, Literature, General Works, and more
3. Z-Library
Download books for free easily from Z-Library, a digital collection of ebooks and PDFs on an extensive range of subjects and topics. Boasting over 100 million files, Z-Library is one of the largest digital libraries, making it a great PDF Drive alternative.
With its user-friendly interface, the website is easy to navigate. You can even search for the needed ebook or PDF by mentioning a keyword, author, or title. The content is available in other formats as well, like EUPB, TXT, PDF, and MOBI. Users can sign up on the website for a better experience, personal library management, and bookmarking options.
Top Features:
- Offers unlimited downloads
- Multilingual support
- User-friendly interface
- Allows you to search any book through its text, title, phrase, or writer
- Global accessibility
- Cross-device compatibility
- Provides recommendations and similar books
Website Link: https://z-lib.io/
Bounce Rate: 28.87%
Categories: Arts, Astronomy, Biography, Biology, Chemistry, Comics, Engineering, History, Fiction, Law, Language, Medicine, Mathematics, Nature, Poetry, Physics, Psychology, Religion. Romance, Science, Travel, and more
4. PDFCoffee
Designed to provide the best ebooks and PDFs, PDFCoffee is a virtual platform that focuses on file-sharing, uploading, viewing, and downloading. It supports PDF documents and allows users to upload them in common formats like MS Word and PowerPoint.
PDFCoffee supports multiple languages and mainly focuses on textbooks, guides, research papers, and user manuals on a range of topics. The website is properly optimized and offers a great user experience.
As an uploader, you can upload unlimited comments on the platform in PDF, MS Word, and MS PowerPoint formats. The platform will automatically adjust the content for proper display on the iPad, iPhone, Android, and other platforms.
Top Features:
- Free and easy to use
- Global accessibility
- Safe to download and upload content
- Multilingual support
- Mostly used by students and researchers
- No registration required
Website Link: https://pdfcoffee.com/
Bounce Rate: 61.6%
Categories: Career, Personal Growth, Politics, Science, Tech, Health, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Biography, History, Fiction, and more
5. Library Genesis
Library Genesis is a digital database for finding digital documents and file-sharing access online. The platform has journal articles, academic and general-interest books, PDFs, images, comics, audiobooks, and magazines.
With over 50 million files, Library Genesis features documents in PDF, EPUB, DJVU, and other formats as well. The website contains one-of-a-kind free books that are rarely available on different platforms. You can download the documents directly without registering on the Library Genesis website.
Top Features:
- Open-access and free sharing of content
- Periodic updates
- User-friendly interface
- Search functionality
- Operated in a decentralized manner
Website Link: https://libgen.gs/
Bounce Rate: 38%
Categories: Comic, Fiction, Science, Education, History, and more
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6. Scribd
With over 195 million documents and ebooks, Scribd is a popular app company that provides content on almost every topic and niche. However, this is a premium platform and charges a monthly fee from the users after a free trial period of one month. You can enjoy offline reading and personalized recommendations on Scribd.
The platform also offers the opportunity to share your ideas and knowledge with the audience by allowing you to upload your documents to Scribd for free. Scribd also has a website and app, supported on both iOS and Android.
Top Features:
- 500,000+ ebooks and 200,000+ audiobooks
- Reading tools like adjustable font sizes, background colors, and bookmarks are available
- Notes and annotations
- Personalized recommendations
- Subscription model
- Over 700,000 monthly subscribers worldwide
Website Link: https://www.scribd.com/
Bounce Rate: 60.3%
Categories: Arts, Business, Biography, History, Home & Garden, Language, Law, Comics, Computers, Lifestyle, Literary Criticism, Politics, Cooking, Religion, Finance, Foreign Language Studies, and more
7. Smashwords
Browse nearly one million original ebooks on Smashwords, a self-publishing ebook platform and store, launched in 2008 by Mark Coker. You can find both free and premium ebooks on Smashwords. The ebooks are available in various formats, like EPUD, Kindle, PDF, and RTF.
Multiple ebook delivery options are available on the platform, allowing you to add the ebook to your Smashwords library or Dropbox or email it to your e-reading device. From romance to fiction, science to spirituality, a lot of ebooks on several topics are available on Smashwords.
Top Features:
- Self-publishing platform
- The author retains full control
- Global reach
- Purchased books are forever accessible in your Library
- All books are DRM-free
- Multiple languages support
Website Link: https://www.smashwords.com/
Bounce Rate: 48.6%
Categories: Fiction, Adventure, Biographical, Business, Antiques & Collectibles, Art, Architecture, Photography, Career Guides, Children’s Books, Cooking, Food, Wine, Spirits, Law, Music, LGBTQ+, Relationships & Family, Religion & Spirituality, and more
8. LibriVox
If you are an audiobook lover, LibriVox is the perfect PDF Drive alternative. This unique website is ideal for blind people who love reading but don’t want to depend on someone else to listen to its narration.
Powered by volunteers, LibriVox provides free audiobooks in the public domain and features an extensive catalog of fictional and non-fictional content in various languages. LibriVox was started by Hugh McGuire in August 2005. With an advanced search option, you can seamlessly find the required e-book or PDF.
Top Features:
- Public-domain audiobooks
- Volunteer-driven
- User-friendly interface
- Audiobooks are available in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis formats
- Free access to audiobooks and other content
Website Link: https://librivox.org/
Bounce Rate: 38.43%
Categories: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Erotica, Family Life, Biography, History, Nature, Comedy, Poetry, Romance, Sports, Suspense, War, Education, and more
9. Open Library
Get free access to millions of books on multiple topics with Open Library, a non-profit organization founded in 2006 and became one of the excellent PDF Drive alternatives. You can read various books online for free, set a yearly reading goal, keep track of your favorite books, join the community to volunteer on the website and upload your book on this platform.
This internet archive was created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Malamud with the motive of offering online digital copies to everyone in multiple formats.
Top Features:
- Digital borrowing of books
- Free access to public-domain books
- Search and discover tools to find books by title, author, or subject
- Integration with the Internet Archive
- Multiple formats, such as PDF, ePub, and DAISY
Website Link: https://openlibrary.org/
Bounce Rate: 38.43%
Categories: Arts, Science, Animals, Health, Places, History, Textbooks, Business, Mathematics, Social Science, Biography, Books by Language, Fiction, and more
10. Bookboon
Bookboon, founded in 1988, has flourished with a mission to provide high-quality content for personal and corporate development. The website has curated students starting their careers and professionals who want to foster their soft skills.
From corporate leadership to career management, Bookboon is the perfect platform to educate anyone on corporate and industry-related matters. Users can get free textbooks and PDFs. Also, with an affordable monthly subscription, you get access to an exclusive, easy-to-use library with hundreds of ebooks on soft skills and personal development.
Top Features:
- The largest collection of bite-sized audio content, with 3000+ titles
- Content is designed with input from professors, professionals, and industry experts
- Ad-Supported Free Access
- Premium business ebooks with high-quality content
- User-friendly interface
Website Link: https://bookboon.com/
Bounce Rate: 31.96%
Categories: Personal Development, Productivity, IT, Digitalization, Management, Leadership, Marketing, HRM, Career, Economics, Finances, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, etc.
The Final Words
These PDF Drive alternatives will provide you with a plethora of books and PDFs, including articles, journals, essays, notes, novels, stories, and more. All the websites are safe and legal to use, allowing you to continue with your research, reading, or studies without any worry. Whether you are a student, professional, bookworm, or casual reader, all these PDF drive alternatives will open up a world of PDF files. From education to technology, fiction to poetry, you can find every type of content on these digital PDF platforms. Explore the above-mentioned websites, expand your knowledge, and enjoy reading.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Name some copyright-friendly content-downloading websites.
- Project Gutenberg
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- LibriVox
- Open Library
Is it safe to use PDF-downloading websites?
With proper precautions, it is safe to download PDFs from websites. Download the PDF from a known website with “https” in the address. Also, use a trusted PDF reader to check for any vulnerabilities in the downloaded PDF, keep your software updated, and always scan PDF files after downloading.
Which are the best websites to download reading material?
Some great options are Project Gutenberg, ManyBooks, Bookboon, FreeBooks, LibriVox, and more. However, you can search for other options if you don’t find suitable e-books on these websites.
