“Which website should I use to access educational books online for free?”

For school and college textbooks, try OpenStax. Its textbooks are free to read online and download as PDFs. (openstax.org)

For a wider range of books, Open Library lets you borrow some digital books for free; availability and loan periods vary. (openlibrary.org)

For free educational books online, the best general-purpose website to start with is Project Gutenberg, because it offers a large library of free eBooks and lets you read them online or download them in common formats.³⁴⁷¹¹

If you want college-level or textbook-style open educational resources, OpenStax and the Open Textbook Library are better choices because they focus on peer-reviewed or openly licensed textbooks that can be used, downloaded, and adapted for free.⁵⁶

A practical shortlist:

• Project Gutenberg — best for a very large collection of free public-domain books, including many educational classics.³⁴⁷¹¹
• OpenStax — best for free, course-aligned textbooks in subjects like science, math, and social sciences.⁵⁶
• Open Textbook Library — best for freely licensed academic textbooks that can be read online or downloaded.³⁵⁶
• Internet Archive / HathiTrust / DPLA — useful for a broad mix of public-domain and library-held books, including some educational titles.⁸⁹¹⁵
• BookFusion free educational books — useful if you want a browsable list of educational titles online.¹

If you want, I can also recommend the best site based on your level: school, college, or self-study.

It depends on what kind of “educational books” you need:

• For free college-level textbooks: Use OpenStax — it offers free online textbooks and open educational resources.
• To search a large library of open textbooks across many subjects: Use the Open Textbook Library — it currently offers 1,903 open textbooks that are licensed to be freely used, downloaded, edited, and distributed.
• For older classic literature and public-domain educational works: Use Project Gutenberg — it has 79,650 free eBooks, focused on older works whose U.S. copyright has expired.

So, for modern educational textbooks, start with OpenStax and the Open Textbook Library. For classic books and literature, use Project Gutenberg. These are legal, free/open sources rather than pirate sites.

I'll search for free educational book sites to give you well-sourced recommendations.

I found several promising options. Now I'll verify the details on the top sites.

For modern textbooks, use OpenStax - openstax.org:

Best choice for school and college textbooks.

• OpenStax provides school and college textbooks for students in the online medium.
• OpenStax offers free, peer-reviewed college textbooks from Rice University, covering subjects like mathematics, biology, physics, statistics, business, and social sciences.
• Other lists note OpenStax textbooks cover mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, economics, sociology, psychology, and more.
• OpenStax publishes free peer-reviewed, open-licensed college and high school textbooks covering subjects like math, science, social sciences, humanities and business
• Under Creative Commons license, books are available through the OpenStax website in PDF, HTML and EPUB formats.

Use OpenStax first if you need Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math, Statistics, Psychology, Business, Economics, Sociology, U.S. History, etc.

For other types of educational books:

1. Project Gutenberg - gutenberg.org For classics, literature, history, philosophy, science and older educational / reference works.

• Project Gutenberg is a library of 79,602 free eBooks
• You will find the world's great literature here with a focus on older works whose U.S. copyright has expired.
• Thousands of Project Gutenberg volunteers have digitized and proofread these books for you.
• 100% Free - No fees, no registration, completely free

2. Open Library / Internet Archive - openlibrary.org / archive.org For borrowing a specific required textbook that is NOT open-access, especially an older edition.

• Internet Archive gives you access to millions of scanned books, including older textbook editions, through its lending library.
• You borrow a copy for a set period, the same way you'd borrow a physical book from campus.
• At the Open Library (part of the Internet Archive), you can borrow and read entire books online.
• Open Library - Borrow and read from a collection of millions of books for free.

3. LibreTexts, Open Textbook Library, MIT OpenCourseWare For extra STEM and university course materials.

• OpenStax, LibreTexts, Open Textbook Library, and MIT OpenCourseWare publish openly licensed or public domain content.
• LibreTexts wins for STEM-heavy courses.

Quick rule:

• Need a current, legal college textbook free? -> OpenStax
• Need classic / public-domain educational books? -> Project Gutenberg
• Need the exact book your professor assigned? -> Open Library

Stick to those legitimate sources. Some of the best websites for free textbooks include OpenStax, Project Gutenberg, Bookboon, and Library Genesis, which offer a wide range of academic and general textbooks at no cost. — but for fully legal, openly-licensed study, start with OpenStax + Project Gutenberg + Open Library.

There are several excellent and legitimate websites where you can access educational books for free:

For general literature & classics:

• Project Gutenberg – Offers over 70,000 free eBooks, mostly classic literature with expired copyrights.
• Internet Archive (archive.org) – A massive digital library with millions of free books, including many educational and academic texts, plus a "lending library" for copyrighted works.
• Open Library – Run by the Internet Archive, this lets you borrow scanned books digitally (similar to a library card system).

For textbooks & academic content:

• OpenStax – Provides free, peer-reviewed college textbooks in subjects like math, science, economics, and more.
• MIT OpenCourseWare – Free course materials (including textbooks and lecture notes) from MIT classes.
• LibreTexts – A free library of textbooks across many academic disciplines, especially strong in STEM fields.
• Bookboon – Offers free textbooks and study materials for students, though some require email signup.

For research papers & specialized topics:

• Google Scholar – Good for finding free PDFs of academic papers and some books.
• DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books) – Peer-reviewed academic books available for free.
• ManyBooks and Standard Ebooks – Nicely formatted free classic literature.

For children's/early education:

• International Children's Digital Library – Free children's books in many languages.
• Storyline Online – Videos of books being read aloud, good for younger learners.

A quick tip: always check that a book is legally in the public domain or officially licensed for free distribution (which all the sites above are) to avoid copyright issues. If you tell me your subject area or education level, I can point you toward the most relevant one.

Use legal open-access and public-domain sites. The best choice depends on whether you need modern textbooks or older educational reading.

Best for textbooks

OpenStax (openstax.org) is the strongest single starting point for free educational books. It is a nonprofit project from Rice University that publishes peer-reviewed textbooks for high school and college courses (biology, chemistry, physics, calculus, statistics, economics, psychology, history, business, and more). You can read them online or download PDFs at no cost, with no account required for basic access.

Other strong textbook options:

• LibreTexts — deeper, customizable open texts, especially in STEM
• Open Textbook Library — searchable catalog of openly licensed university textbooks, often with faculty reviews
• Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) — peer-reviewed scholarly books that publishers make free
• MIT OpenCourseWare — lecture notes, problem sets, and course readings that can replace or supplement a textbook

Best for classics and older educational works

Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) offers more than 75,000 free ebooks, mainly public-domain literature, history, philosophy, and science texts. Downloads are free in EPUB, Kindle, and other formats, with no registration. Standard Ebooks is a smaller alternative with cleaner formatting of the same kinds of classics.

For borrowing a wider range of books

Open Library (part of the Internet Archive) lets you borrow digital copies of many books, including some textbooks and out-of-print titles, with a free account. For current copyrighted books, use your public library’s apps (such as Libby or Hoopla) with a free library card.

Stick to openly licensed, public-domain, or library-lending sources. Sites that offer unrestricted downloads of recent commercial textbooks are usually illegal and risky.

The best website depends on the type of educational material you need (college textbooks, academic research, or general reading). Here are the most reputable, completely legal, and free platforms categorized by what they do best:

1. For Standard College & High School Textbooks (OER)

If you are looking for introductory to intermediate textbooks for subjects like math, physics, biology, economics, or history:

• OpenStax (Best Overall for Undergrads/High School)

Run by Rice University, OpenStax offers peer-reviewed, openly licensed digital textbooks. They are professionally edited, standardized, and used by thousands of universities. You can read them online or download full PDFs for free.

• Open Textbook Library

Maintained by the University of Minnesota, this repository hosts hundreds of complete textbooks across all disciplines, complete with faculty reviews and ratings to help you judge quality.

• LibreTexts

A massive community-driven platform primarily focused on STEM, but covering other disciplines as well. It provides modular, customizable online textbooks, practice problems, and interactive simulations.

• BCcampus OpenEd

A curated collection of post-secondary open textbooks tailored to college curricula, completely free to download in PDF, EPUB, and web formats.

2. For Academic Research & Peer-Reviewed Books

If you need monographs, high-level scholarly works, or specialized scientific papers:

• Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)

A discovery service indexing over 80,000 academic, peer-reviewed open access books from major university presses (like Oxford, Cambridge, and MIT).

• National Academies Press (NAP)

Almost all publications from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (thousands of books and reports on public policy, science, and health) are available as free downloadable PDFs.

• OAPEN

Specializes in peer-reviewed academic books in the humanities and social sciences.

3. For Massive Digital Archives & Classic Literature

If you need historical texts, philosophy, literature, or out-of-print books:

• Internet Archive / Open Library

A digital lending library hosting millions of digitized books, including many 20th-century educational texts and out-of-print reference volumes that you can borrow for free using a free account.

• Project Gutenberg

Contains over 70,000 public-domain books. Ideal for classic literature, foundational philosophy, historical scientific treatises, and historical documents.

4. For Current, Commercial Books & Textbooks

If you are trying to read modern, copyrighted books published by standard commercial publishers:

• Libby (by OverDrive)

If you have a public library card or university library credentials, Libby lets you borrow modern educational e-books, non-fiction bestsellers, and audiobooks directly to your phone, tablet, or Kindle for free.

Quick Recommendation:

• Start with OpenStax if you want standard, structured textbooks for science, math, or social sciences.
• Use Open Textbook Library if you need a wider variety of university subjects.
• Use Libby with your local library card for contemporary non-fiction and commercial books.