As a college student, you usually have to shoulder the cost of pricey textbooks. The good news is that some websites offer free access to textbooks. You can use these free textbook websites to your advantage to help you reduce costs.
Of course, you can buy used textbooks from local bookstores and online retailers, which is another way of saving costs.
Later, after you finish the book, you can sell textbooks online on BookDeal and get a decent portion of your money back!
However, to save money on books (and who isn’t?), check out these free college textbook websites!
Best Free College Textbook Websites to Check Out
Below, you’ll find the best free textbook websites. Go through them and find the one that best suits your needs:
1. The Open Textbook Library
The Open Textbook Library is a project by the University of Minnesota, and it’s one of the best free textbook websites to check out. It offers no-cost college textbooks in HTML and PDF formats.
Their use of Creative Commons licenses, which provide free download, printing, and sharing of their textbooks, sets them apart from competitors.
The Open Textbook Library stands out with over 1000 textbooks covering more than 20 topic areas. Each book is subjected to thorough peer assessment by professionals and academics, with over 60% of reviews from UNM professors.
This collection provides a wider range of advanced course materials compared to OpenStax. This is an excellent option if you’re looking for information other than basic textbooks.
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2. OpenStax
College textbooks are free through OpenStax in PDF and HTML versions. They are peer-reviewed by specialists in the field and span a wide range of subjects, including math, the humanities, and social sciences.
However, there are some drawbacks you need to consider. First, some lecturers may require specific textbooks not on OpenStax. Also, it’s unlikely to find advanced course materials because it primarily sells beginner textbooks.
Regardless, you may find the textbooks you’re searching for. So, it doesn’t hurt to search the website.
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3. Academic Torrent
Academic Torrent stands out as a top resource for free textbook websites for college students. Also, you can access the full library for free.
Thanks to its excellent features, navigating this website is simple. You can easily find the right textbook by searching for the right course, the book’s title, or the author’s name.
Academic Torrent uses BitTorrent technology to share research data and boasts an astonishing library of over 100 billion books. The website offers numerous file formats for downloading legal ebooks.
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4. BookBoon
Bookboon is a top source for free college textbooks in various subjects, including IT and Economics and Natural Sciences, Marketing, Strategy, Law, Management, and Engineering.
Students majoring in business can benefit significantly from Bookboon, which provides tools for classroom success and future employment.
This website improves student and employee performance while providing them with the necessary skills. It’s one of the best free textbook websites to consider.
5. Smashwords
Smashwords provides a massive collection of readily available free PDF books. It’s well-known worldwide as the top provider of independent eBooks, with over 40,000 eBooks in various categories carefully selected and designed.
You can easily find the book you want. After registering, Smashwords offers simple options for searching, book discovery and managing personal libraries.
Smashwords also meets their demands by providing authors and publishers with the resources they need for publishing and global distribution.
If you’re searching for the best free textbook websites, consider Smashwords.
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6. Bookshare
Finding a free college textbook website with information for less popular disciplines of study can take time and effort. Fortunately, Bookshare is your one-stop shop for anything unconventional.
You can choose a book to suit your needs, whether interested in food, literature, or graphic arts. Additionally, Bookshare can help if you get free college textbooks to study for standardized tests like the SAT, LSAT, MCAT, or GRE.
7. Freeditorial
One of the top free textbook websites is Freeditorial. It acts as a platform for online book publishing and provides free textbooks for college students. Thanks to its tools for academic articles and periodicals, you can publish your books on the platform.
One of its most unique features is that the Freeditorial website offers free textbooks without requesting registration. Textbooks are readily available and cost-free to download in PDF format.
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8. Libre Texts
Libre Texts is a non-profit website promoting educational change. It features an easy-to-use interface for producing and customizing Open Education Resources (OER), and it’s meant for college students.
Libre Texts helps an astounding 223 million students by providing 398 free textbooks for open access. Its expansion depends on the coordinated efforts of volunteers and committed partners. Interactive visualizations also improve the educational experience.
9. Free Book Spot
Free Book Spot is one of the best free college textbooks. Students already in school or preparing for college will find it especially helpful.
You can access sizable collections of college textbooks that cover a wide range of subjects and are available in several languages.
In addition to astronomy and cosmology, Free Book Spot has sections on architecture, education, the arts, engineering, and other topics. Its user-friendly search function also makes it one of the best free textbook websites.
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10. Project Gutenberg
The goal of Project Gutenberg, which offers a free online library of textbooks, is to conserve cultural works digitally and encourage the production and distribution of literary content.
Michael Hart established Project Gutenberg in 1971, which turned the company’s development from an idea into a fully-fledged enterprise. Project Gutenberg produced thousands of e-books per day by the 2000s, which has increased over time.
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11. E-Books Directory
E-Books Directory stands out compared to the other free textbook websites. Rather than housing the books, it’s a portal to more than 100,000 free eBooks online. You may find other websites listed here due to your searches.
With the help of the convenient search feature provided by this directory, you can look through eBooks by author, title, or subject. Additionally, you can search books based on their categories, which include everything from business to literature to computer science.
E-Books Directory is a great option if you’re looking for a specific book you can’t find on other websites.
12. Digital Book Index
The Digital Book Index is one of the best free textbook websites. This website has excellent tools that make it easier to find textbooks.
Free textbook access is available through the Digital Book Index for various areas, including physics, medicine, health sciences, history, and more.
You can quickly find items using filters like title, year, related themes, ISBN, and page count.
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13. Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is one of the best websites for free college textbooks, boasting over 30 million publications. It kindly provides unlimited access to its whole book collection.
It’s easy to find the textbooks you want on this website, and here’s an unusual fact: the Internet Archive works with well-known libraries.
The Internet Archive is a priceless resource for college students, offering thousands of free textbooks in various areas.
Also, this platform provides free access to numerous materials, such as books, journals, software, websites, music, and much more.
14. ManyBooks.net
Manybooks.net was established in 2004 to provide free online textbooks through a sizable library of PDF books. Many of the free PDF books on this website are drawn from the Project Gutenberg website and include a wide range of classic literature.
It offers a wide variety of reading alternatives with more than 29,000 e-books compatible with Kindle, iPad, and other e-readers.
Manybooks.net provides unlimited access to all users and is entirely free to use. Simply click the download button next to the PDF book in the catalog to download the resources, and they will be saved to your device.
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15. Library Genesis
As one of the best websites for finding free college textbooks, Library Genesis is an excellent source for aspiring and present college students.
This website offers a wide selection of college textbooks ideal for students with various academic backgrounds and boasts a collection that exceeds four million books.
Whatever your field of study, Library Genesis offers free access to their textbooks, which cover various subjects like business, computer science, etc. It’s one of the best free textbook websites to check out.
16. Open Culture
Open Culture, a website launched in 2006, offers a massive selection of resources, including books covering a broad range of subjects. Although it includes all types of knowledge, it excels in providing resources for cultural and educational media content.
In addition to offering a massive selection of free college textbooks, Open Culture also offers audiobooks to help you learn more effectively.
The website is straightforward and provides quick access to excellent content offered without charge. It’s one of the best free textbook websites to check out.
17. Saylor Foundation
The Saylor Foundation is dedicated to enhancing education’s accessibility and affordability.
One of their tactics is to offer free college textbooks, which may be downloaded, printed, and distributed without charge, thanks to a Creative Commons license.
The Saylor Foundation has a sizable collection of more than 200 textbooks that span a wide range of areas, including sociology, history, and accounting.
They also provide free course materials, lectures, tests, and free textbooks, improving the educational process.
18. OpenEd
Compared to the other free textbook websites, OpenEd is unique. It functions as a search engine for open educational information rather than acting as a library of free textbooks.
With this unique method, you can use OpenEd to find resources that resemble textbooks for various subjects. You can download, print, and distribute these materials without charge because they are all available under a Creative Commons license.
Various instructional resources are available on OpenEd, including films, games, tests, and assessments. These resources supplement your current textbooks or help you design a course specifically for your requirements.
19. IntechOpen
IntechOpen, which has been around since 2004, is one of the biggest providers of open textbooks. With a library of over 2,000 published textbooks, it lives up to its name by providing various textbooks and articles on computer science, robotics, and other STEM fields.
They also offer readers different peer-reviewed journals to explore. According to the website’s data, IntechOpen has handled more than 60 million downloads for people worldwide.
That makes it one of the top free textbook websites that most people use today.
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20. Lyryx
Lyryx’s goal is to provide accessible educational resources, such as open textbooks and supplements, in line with UNESCO’s framework for global education and social responsibility growth.
The platform’s main business, economics, mathematics, and statistics are their main study areas.
Lyryx also provides educational software, including summative tests, formative online homework, and open textbooks.
These tools offer beneficial chances to improve your abilities and practice, which helps you understand each subject more fully.
21. Online Mathematics Textbooks
Online Mathematics Textbooks can be a helpful tool for those studying mathematics or any STEM subject, such as engineering, chemistry, or computer science.
The website is effective despite its straightforward HTML layout. It provides 77 books, ranging from basic pre-calculus materials to complex and sophisticated works.
Online Mathematics Textbooks will satisfy your demands, whether your homework involves numbers or simple, formative ideas.
22. Wikibooks.
Like its rival Wikipedia, Wikibooks is a beneficial tool that compiles knowledge and insights worldwide into a single, easily accessible library.
However, like Wikipedia, because anybody can change its information, its open-source nature also reduces its academic authority.
However, Wikibooks are a great place to begin understanding various concepts or topics, especially in the social sciences and STEM professions. It also provides excellent tools for learning languages.
In conclusion, it’s a helpful tool for improving your comprehension of academic subjects, yet you should check out your school library for citation needs. It’s one of the best free textbook websites to check out.
23. The Assayer
The Assayer contains a sizable library of free books made available by their writers. This database may contain a few recent topics, but you can access many relevant books.
Also, you can sign up as a member of this website, enabling you to publish your evaluations of the content already there and participate in conversations with other platform users.
It’s one of the best free textbook websites you should check out.
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24. ScholarWorks
ScholarWorks, which the Grand Valley State University Libraries manage, gives you access to a massive collection of scholarly works collected and selected by numerous university departments and centers.
ScholarWorks is a priceless tool for college students, with courses spanning more than 600 academic fields like behavioral sciences, history, legal studies, psychology, criminology, and administration.
Additionally, it is a valuable tool for academics and researchers who want to increase the accessibility of their work on a global scale.
25. PDF Grab
Students looking for free college textbooks PDF or free university textbooks online will find PDF Grab the best resource for free textbooks and ebooks.
These free textbooks cover numerous subjects, including business, computer science, engineering, humanities, law, and social sciences.
The website also features a handy search box that lets visitors look up textbooks by title or ISBN. It’s one of the top free textbook websites to check out.
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26. Textbooksfree
Online textbooks can be downloaded for free in PDF format from Textbooksfree. Discover various free textbook resources in several areas, including education, history, business and economics, the arts and social sciences, and other online collections.
For high school and college students, Textbooksfree offers free textbooks with unrestricted access. It’s one of the free textbook websites for high school students looking for free textbooks due to its user-friendly interface and comprehensive collection of PDF textbooks.
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27. PDF Books World
Free PDF books in various genres and categories are available from PDF Books World, an online library. You can get free PDF academic textbooks and preferred e-books, novels, and fiction and non-fiction works.
This website’s goal is to provide you with the most well-known writings of illustrious authors in a contemporary digitized format.
Free PDF books know that there is a great demand for free textbooks and e-books for each type of electronic device. That’s why they’ve produced specific book editions.
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28. MERLOT
An excellent resource for finding free and open textbooks for higher education is MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching).
MERLOT offers an extensive collection of resources with over 40,000 learning items, including textbooks, animations, videos, and more. These resources, chosen by editors, are available online or as PDF downloads. You can benefit from advanced search tools and browse content by discipline.
Furthermore, MERLOT has features that let you make your collections, rank content, and conduct peer evaluations. The platform is one of the best free textbook websites.
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29. OER Commons
OER Commons is a focal point for open educational resources that a network of institutions and educators has carefully selected. Its vast collection, which includes complete textbooks, chapters, and course modules, exceeds 50,000 textbook resources.
These resources can be customized to meet particular needs by downloading them in editable forms. With possibilities for keyword searches and browsing filters like subject, education level, and material kind, the website makes it simple to find resources.
Content is spread throughout various academic fields, including business, humanities, mathematics, science, and technology. Check out OER Commons if you want the best free textbook website for free textbooks.
30. BioRxiv
Consider BioRxiv if you’re looking for a free college textbook website specializing in science. Many books on this specialized science platform cover dermatology, ecology, pharmacology, and more.
Also, BioRxiv informs its users by sending alerts when new papers and articles are published. Additionally, you can stay informed by regularly checking their Twitter page.
Conclusion
Having the right advice and knowing where to find free textbook websites can enhance online learning and foster intellectual development.
Even though there are numerous reading and learning resources that e-learning platforms provide, many people still don’t know them. However, these services are legitimate, have simple user interfaces, and carefully arrange free textbooks to improve your search experience.
These platforms offer content for people of various ages and interests, from intellectual essays to early childhood novels.
Go through the free textbook websites and find the best one for you.