We like to read eBooks with tablets or e-ink eReaders a lot, but sometimes we will like or need to open a book on our Mac. So choosing which app to open the book is important for us. Here I guide you top 5 free ebook readers for Mac, the best apps to read ebooks on your Mac computer.
One of the following Apple® Mac OS X® operating systems: OS X version 10.9; OS X version 10.8.3; OS X version 10.7.5 (64-bit) OS X version 10.6.8 (32/64-bit) OS X version 10.5.8 (32-bit) CPU: 1 GHz Intel® processor, or better; RAM (Memory): 128 MB or more. Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Get it for PowerPC or 32bit Intel. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later is required. Get it for PowerPC or Intel. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. QuickTime 6.5.2 or later is required. Get it for PowerPC.
A lot of our purchased books from a particular store (iBooks, Kobo, Nook, Kindle) can only be opened with their dedicated reading app, while some books we find at open libraries can be read with a variety of free reading apps. No matter where your books come from, here I list some ebook readers for Mac, and put them together compared for you.
Apple's iBooks--If You Love Apple Defaults
We are so happy when hearing the Apple's announcement of iBooks coming to the Mac OS X. It's bundled with Mavericks. It's amazing that iBookstore provides us a beautiful and clean library interface than others (I think so). We can adjust type size and color of the pages, and add notes, highlights, the definitions. In fact there are more customization options as this screenshot shows below.
If you also own an iPad or iPhone, you can't miss this reader app. It helps us sync the books between the Mac and the iPad and iPhone.
iBooks supports EPUB and PDF. We can purchase them directly from the store, and then put them together in one place. What's more, iBooks keeps track of our PDF files, too. I like this function very much as I've collected many business proposals and project plans to read.
Kindle for Mac--If You Have a Kindle Account
I think there must be a lot of people think that Amazon shares the biggest market of eBooks industy. Except for its Kindle eReaders, Kindle store still has the largest array of eBook contents online. It is an eBook publishing powerhouse. If you have a Kindle content, I believe that you are a crazy eBook lover and must have collected a plenty of eBooks files at hand.
As the image shows, we can add manage Kindle collections in Kindle app itself. This is good for those people who have gathered many eBooks. Then we can sync the newly customized collections between devices that support Kindle. Whenever you close a book, the last page read is also automatically saved and synced across your devices, too.
But Kindle only supports its own eBook formats like AZW3, Mobi, AZW, PRC. Though it allows us transfer personal PDF to read, but it doesn't support EPUB. So if you also read books purchased from other stores, you may want to check out another alternative.
Kobo or Nook--If You Own an eBook Reader
If you have a Kobo, Sony or Nook eReader, you're probably best off using the offered reading software for Mac. Both Kobo for Mac and Nook for Mac allow us to browse, purchase and read eBooks in app. They support EPUB and PDF formats books.
The good news is that Kobo now lists their books' DRM and formats types again before buying.
But these two readers for Mac don't allow us to import books from outside stores. For example, if we bought one EPUB book from iBookstore, we are not able to open it with Kobo for Mac app.
Adobe Digital Editions--If You Buy From Public Library
Many public libraries including Kobo and Sony offer books protected with Adobe DRM, but Adobe create the Digital Editions for us to open those books. And we can also transfer such books between supported devices, such as Kobo, android, Nook, Sony. I can say a large number of online bookstores allow us open their contents with ADE.
ADE is the simplest ebook reader on Mac to open EPUB books. But I love it is because of its DRMed eBooks compatiblity. It opens books protected by Adobe DRM the one that most libraries with digital books use.
And here is my own suggestion, if you read books not only from rakuten Kobo but also Google Play books and even other more, there is no need to install the Kobo, or play books one by one. You just need this one app to open books you purchased from these stores.
But ADE can't open books from Kindle store and iBookstore.
Bookreader For Mac Os X 10.10
Conclusion
My opinion, if you really love reading ebooks you may have used these apps all. In other words, lovers who collected a lot of ebooks also need to install several apps. We can't open all the books just with one app. Such as, if you just use Kindle for Mac, you can't read your EPUB books. If you use iBooks, you can't read Kindle books. If you are using ADE, you can't open your Kindle contents.
But here I wil share you an easy way to resolve this problem. Just converting the eBooks formats between Kindle and common EPUB and PDF. But in fact the DRM limitation is also our obstruction that prevents us reading freely. Please install this fantastic tool Ultimate Converter, it helps remove DRM and convert formats pretty well. It's an all-in-one eBook tool that allows you to read eBooks on various devices and share your own eBooks with your friends and family without sharing the personal account.
All you need to do is firstly run this tool, and then choose one app you like from the list of top 5 ebook readers for Mac. My personal preference is converting books to EPUB by the tool and using iBooks to read the EPUB books on Mac.
Tips: These apps can be downloaded from iTunes store on Mac.
Ada Wang works for Epubor and writes articles for a collection of blogs such as ebookconverter.blogspot.com.
Jul 01,2020 • Filed to: Mac Tutorials
'Is there a reliable PDF reader for Mac (macOS 10.15 Catalina)?'
Mac users have a number of PDF reader programs to choose from, including Adobe Reader for Mac and Preview. But if you want a better PDF reading experience, you might want to use a more robust and powerful PDF program. In this article, we’ve compiled the top 5 PDF reader for Mac tools including PDFelement Pro, which offers more features than a simple PDF reader.
Part 1: Top 5 Best PDF Reader for Mac
1. PDFelement Pro - The Best Alternative Free PDF Reader Pro for Mac to Adobe Acrobat.
As high-quality as Adobe Reader is due to its constant updates and improvements, you can also look into alternative programs that can perform many of the same tasks. PDFelement Pro for Mac, as the best alternative PDF Reader to Adobe Acrobat for Mac, acts as both a PDF editor and reader that provides you full functions for PDF editing and a better experience reading PDF on Mac. This tool lets you add text, images, bookmarks, and more to your PDF. In addition, a user can also highlight text, underline, use strike-through features on the text and crop PDF pages on Mac. Watermarks can also be used to protect your PDF files on Mac. You can even edit and convert scanned PDF files with PDFelement Pro.
Key Features of this PDF Reader for Mac:
- Add, delete or edit text, images, graphics, links, watermarks, and more.
- Convert PDF to Word and other formats, or create PDFs from Webpages, images, and text files.
- Quickly mark up and annotate PDFs with various annotation tools.
- Combine or split PDFs, organize pages, and easily fill out PDF forms.
- Edit and convert scanned or image-based PDFs using the OCR feature.
- Easily add watermarks, passwords, and signature to PDF documents.
2. Skim - A Popular and Well-developed Macbook PDF reader
Skim is a popular PDF Reader on Mac that is tailored towards scientific purposes, although it can also be used to view other types of documents as well. This free PDF reader software is designed to be customizable for individual use, and is handy for notes and previews. The reason why Skim is one of the most popular options is because it includes easy-to-use and visually impressive reading modes.
Key Features:
- Single swipe highlight mode for easy use
- AppleScript support
- Ability to preview internal links
3. Adobe Reader for Mac - A Widely Used Free Mac os PDF reader
You can download PDF reader for mac-Adobe Reader for free and set it as your default PDF reader. Adobe Reader for Mac is considered the industry standard. Adobe is still a very well respected product on the market, as they are constantly making improvements and upgrades to the program, but there are other options that offer many of the same features at a lower price and without without complicated licensing agreements.
Key Features:
- Fast and easy to use
- Established platform worldwide
- Considered industry standard
- Well developed and supported
4. Haihaisoft Reader for Mac - A Small Size Free PDF Reader for Macos
A prominent feature of Haihaisoft Reader for Mac is its small size at only 3MB ; this compact PDF Reader for Mac takes up much less space than other programs like Adobe Reader (see below). The package covers a wide range of languages and is designed for ease of use, while it is also well supported and has been developed for use on a number of platforms. Interesting features include:
Key Features:
- Instant launch time
- No background net connection for added security
- Opens all PDF documents
- Protection with DRM-X
5. PDFSam - A New Free PDF Reader for Macbook Pro or other Macs
PDFSam is a relatively new release that has been met with mixed reviews. This free PDF reader for Mac is designed for splitting and merging documents, hence why it is called 'SAM'. Some users report problems while using the application, though generally it is reported to be user-friendly and quick for the average user.
Key Features:
- Split and Merge - (SAM)
- Extract sections as separate PDFs
- Reorder pages when needed
- Compose documents by dragging and dropping
Part 2: Troubleshooting on Opening and Reading PDFs in macOS
Many people experience problems when trying to open or read PDFs on Mac. This is due to a variety of reasons, but luckily this problem is usually quite an easy one to solve in just a matter of minutes. Here are the three main reasons why you may have a problem reading a PDF on Mac, and what you can do to solve the problem.
Question 1. Your Web Browser needs Updating
Mac Os X Latest
Solution: This is one of the most common problemsthat can prevent you from being able to read a PDF. Not all not all browsers update automatically, and it could be that yours needs a manual update. You can usually run a regular software update, but other times you may be required to update manually through the menu. An outdated browser may be the issue, in which case you may need to update your browser to resolve the issue. You can then make annotations and markups within your document.
Question 2. Your Browser is not Compatible
Solution: This issue depends on your operating system. If you are running OS 10.5 x, as many are, you will find that the later versions of Safari, for example, are non-compatible with your operating system. This will lead to you being unable to open PDFs, as well as a number of other problems. It is recommended that users with this operating system try using Firefox instead, as that may solve the problem.
Question 3. Check the Adobe Reader Plug-in
Solution: This problem also affects many users. If you are opening your PDF with Adobe Reader, the Adobe Reader Plug-in can be problematic, especially if it is an automatic launch when you enter your browser. The trick is to delete the plug-in (just the plug in, not Adobe Reader itself). Try using Adobe Reader as a stand-alone program rather than having it run within your browser, and the problem should be solved. You can also re-install the plug-in if necessary.
Mac Os X 10.8 Download Free
Part 3: Best Recommendation
With so many options of PDF reader for Mac, sometimes it is hard to make a choice. But taking all the possible troubles into consideration, PDFelement can be regarded as the best PDF reader for Mac because it can provide you with a cozy reading experience without those troubles. Besides, do you think PDFelement is only a PDF reader? The answer is no, it is a PDF editor and PDF converter as well