As a college student who wants to make the best grades, you need textbooks to aid your studies, understand your lectures, and in the end, pass your exams without fuss. However, buying these textbooks can be a hassle due to their high prices, low availability, and minimal usage. Also, there are some textbooks that you won’t utilize fully as you only need a few chapters’ worths of information but no one is going to sell part of a textbook to you. Luckily, there are 33 websites where you can get college textbooks for free! Let’s have a look, shall we?
1. Archive.Org (The Wayback Machine)
Kicking off our list is Archive.org, a site that does more than you think. It offers an extensive catalog of media such as online books, PDFs, documents, and even old YouTube tutorials.
What’s more, you can download these books in different formats based on your preferences. With archive.org, you can back up your digital books and documents. As a website, it’s a testament to its name and you have access to media you can’t find anywhere else.
2. Bookboon
With Bookboon, you’re not only getting access to textbooks for free but also textbooks that were written and published by the top lecturers of the best universities. Whether the course you’re studying is in the Business department, Economics, Literature, Science and Technology, you have a catalog of top-end books to pick from.
Also, the site offers you a skill learning program for personal development.
3. BCcampus OpenEd
The aim of any free college textbooks website is to make higher learning tools more accessible to the masses. That’s exactly what OpenEd promotes through its catalog of materials centered on the most popular courses in British Columbia.
The books offered are well versed in areas of Accounting, Sociology, Media, Arts, Biology, Business, Skill Learning, Trading, and Technology. The site is easily accessible through keywords and specific fields.
4. bioRxiv
If you’re on the lookout for a free college books website that offers textbooks specifically for science, then look no further. bioRxiv is a science-dedicated website that offers a catalog of books for topics like Dermatology, Ecology, Pharmacology, and so on.
It’s also a site that keeps its consumers informed as you get notifications about newly published articles and papers. They also have a Twitter page that you can follow for updates.
5. Bookshare
It can be hard to find a free college books website that offers the less popular textbooks in the less known fields of study. Luckily, Bookshare is your go-to source for all things non-mainstream. From cooking to literature to graphic arts, there’s a book for each of your needs.
Also, if you require college books for free to prep for an SAT or MCAT, LSAT, or GRE exam, look no further than Bookshare.
6. Cite Seer X
When it comes to getting free college textbooks from before the 21st century, Cite Seer X is the website for you. With a wide array of books written before 2000 and created by Penn University, Cite Seer X offers a portal to the past and ensures you have a blast looking for the books you need. Cite Seer X also offers citations for the content you use; a handy tool.
7. Digital Book Index
As the name suggests, Digital Book Index offers links to hundreds of thousands of digital books for all subject areas. These subject areas range from Math to Sciences to Medicine to Religion to Law to Philosophy and History. At Digital Book Index, you are granted access to thousands of PDF books from authors, publishers, universities, and private websites, all for free.
8. Every Poet
Every Poet is your online buddy for all things poetry. You get access to outstanding classical poetic publications from renowned poets like Sylvia Platt and Robert Frost. What’s more, you can submit your publications for assays and even read other publications from other Every Poet users. A hub for poets looking for free college books, Every Poet is a website dedicated to making your studies of English and literature courses easier.
9. Free-E-Books.net
Free E-Books.net is a website that also offers free college textbooks for students to aid their studies. It offers a catalog of books in all areas of study, with a huge focus on Literature. When you access the website, you get a drop-down menu that organizes all textbooks based on their area of study. Another cool feature is the access to online videos and blogs from skilled experts in various fields of study.
10. Free Book Spot
Free Book Spot is another treasure chest for students looking for free college textbooks to download in PDF format. Here, you can search for digital books on topics such as Agriculture, Economy, Astronomy, Sciences, Math, Archaeology, and much more.
The Free Book Spot website allows you to search for digital books using keywords, authors, ISBN, and languages. You also have access to literature novels.
11. Freeditorial
What happens when you mix the features of an open digital library and an online publishing house to form one website? The result is an open-for-all hub of writers and publishers known as Freeditorial. You see, at Freeditorial, you get access to download free college textbooks from all spheres of education. Also, these books are available in English and Spanish in an easy-to-access catalog. Writers can also publish their works for the masses to see.
12. IntechOpen
IntechOpen has been a household name for all things digital textbooks since 2004. It boasts over 2,000 published textbooks in the fields of computer science books, robotics, and many STEM courses you’re interested in. To further prove its credibility and popularity, IntechOpen has amassed over 60 million downloads on its websites. The website also offers journals that have been reviewed by your peers in your field of study for your reading consumption.
13. Library Genesis
Popularly known as LibGen, Library Genesis is a website that offers college textbooks for free for any kind of student. That’s right, every free college textbook you need is available to download in PDF on the website. You can easily search through the LibGen Library using keywords, ISBN, year of publication, authors, extensions, and so on. The textbooks are available to download in various languages making them a popular choice around the globe.
14. Libre Texts
When it comes to the user-friendly interface and a large digital library, Libre Texts packs a punch in the hub of the digital book. With 398 textbooks on offer, the website is host to over 220 million students looking for free college textbooks. Also, it’s the kind of website you go to when searching for PDFs that have already been tested and reviewed by your fellow college students.
15. Lyryx
Lyryx is a website that offers free college textbooks but it doesn’t end there. With Lyryx, your learning process is taken a step further with the implementation of online assignments tailor-made to help keep your senses sharp and develop your skills. Lyryx as a website offers free college textbooks to all college students with subjects like Mathematics Statistics, Economics, and Business as their main focus.
16. Manybooks.net
From the name of the website, it’s pretty obvious how abundant the catalog of this website is. With over 29,000 digital books available to college students, Manybooks.net boasts an extensive catalog and houses an attractive interface that makes searching for books to download worthwhile. But it’s not just their books that are many, the website offers free college textbooks in 46 languages making it a global go-to place.
17. Mobilism
Originally created as a forum for users to share their media with others, Mobilism has established itself as an extensive eBook library for the masses. With an extensive catalog and an easy-to-search feature, you’ll face zero difficulties finding the academic books you need. Another great feature of Mobilism is the regular updates, especially to the download links. So, if you encounter a broken link, the authors can be notified and changes will be made.
18. Online Mathematics Textbooks
Online Mathematics Textbooks website provides students with a list of 77 titles that can be safely attributed to the category of ‘must-have’ mathematics textbooks. Such a book collection is a real find for aspiring math students and people with a keen interest in math. The book list is thoroughly elaborated by George Cain from Georgia Tech, being at the same time one of the authors of various textbooks, and includes valuable materials created by other professors. All books are 100% free and available for downloading.
19. Openstax.org
Openstax is a website created by Rice University, a nonprofit organization. It’s a website that provides free college textbooks in PDFs with the sole aim of improving students’ access to learning tools. The website offers its services in both English and Spanish languages. As for the textbooks offered, they range in subjects from Math to Sciences to Economics to Business and so on.
20. Open Textbook Library
Open Textbook Library is a free online source for college textbooks that was created by the Open Educational Network. It was set up to help improve the quality of higher education as well as increase access to learning tools such as free textbooks. They offer PDFs for subjects such as Arts, Mathematics, Social Sciences, History, Media arts, Journalism, and many more. These textbooks have been licensed by the authors and made available for your use.
21. OER Commons
A subsidiary of the Open Educational Resources, OER Commons is a digital platform for you to explore thousands of useful digital books. With a variety of subjects available for you, the platform offers you access to educators and their works, all to help improve your educational prowess. The advanced search feature of the website makes it easy to search for the free college textbooks you need quickly and accurately.
22. Ocean of PDF
The name of the website says it all. Just like the ocean is a massive body of water, Ocean of PDF is a massive digital library of free college textbooks for you to pick from. With its extensive library and easy interface, searching for the textbooks you need is a piece of cake. Dive into the Ocean of PDF, and if you don’t find what you need, you can request for it to be added.
23. Open Culture
Founded in 2006, Open Culture is a website that offers an immense amount of resources with textbooks offering every form of knowledge available. The site is most popular for its provision of materials centered on cultural and educational media content. The site is home to thousands of free college textbooks and you can bump up your learning with audiobooks if you wish. The website is easily accessible and the contents are of top quality and free too.
24. Project Gutenberg
A dream come true for students of the Humanities department. Project Gutenberg is a project that offers an increase in the distribution of useful resources, especially free college textbooks. Humanities students will love this site because of its extensive library of large fictional and cultural resources. The textbooks are easy to search for and downloading them is no fuss at all.
25. PDFBooksWorld
Sometimes your search for a free college textbook requires a trip to the past and that’s what PDFBooksWorld offers its users. The website’s library is filled with textbooks written by renowned authors from the pre-digitization age. One feature that makes this site worthwhile is the availability of different digital textbooks, each suited to the different screen sizes available. This makes reading a lot easier.
26. PDF Grab
PDF Grab is another website that grants you access to free college textbooks in the form of e-books or PDFs, depending on your visual preference. The search feature of the website allows you to search using either the title of the book or ISBN. With PDF Grab, you get access to digital books of different categories including Business, Law, Medicine, and so on.
27. PDF Drive
There are classical books that help your research, and then there are the new, modern textbooks that offer a different perspective to your learning scheme. PDF Drive is just the website you need to discover these textbooks and download them for free. Browse through their catalog and discover the most sought-after textbooks.
28. PDF Magazine
Just like the name suggests, PDF Magazine is host to thousands of magazines that can be viewed and downloaded in PDF format. The large library of this website contains half a million resources and is a good place to source the free college textbooks you need. A great feature of this website is the availability of textbooks in 40 different languages, making it easy to access globally.
29. ScholarWorks
A few of the free textbook websites on this list have their roots in universities, and this is no different. Created and maintained by Grand Valley State University, ScholarWorks offers a wide range of free college textbooks for students and aims to improve learning at a higher level. This is achieved through the easily accessible digital books written and published by scholars.
30. Saylor Academy
Saylor Academy is a digital free college textbooks library that offers you textbooks in PDF, Microsoft Word, and Epub formats. Added to that, you’re allowed to review each textbook through a survey so you can let the publishers know what you think of their books and papers. Saylor Academy offers diverse digital books across many fields of study including online marketing and public speaking.
31. Sci-Hub
Sci-Hub is for students in the science field looking for free college textbooks specific to their area of study. Regardless of its specificity, the website has a lot of great content and features digital books, journals, and research papers. The site also houses files that are hard to find and makes it easier to access a lot of science-related textbooks.
32. The Assayer
If you’re on the lookout for a large digital library that houses all the free college textbooks that remain constant from year to year, then The Assayer is a great pick. The contents of the digital library are textbooks that have been released by publishers and made available for public use. This site makes it easier to download textbooks from previous years rather than spend money on new ones.
33. Wikibooks
Picture a website that has an immense wealth of knowledge in all fields across the globe. This is exactly what Wikibooks offers. It’s a site dedicated to helping you start up and build your knowledge in all fields including STEM courses, Social Sciences, and language learning. Browse the various e-books available to get started.
