Guide

Where to find DRM-free ebooks

To turn a book into an audiobook, an app has to open the file. DRM-free ebooks open anywhere, and there are far more of them than you might think. Here is where to look.

Free, public domain

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Project Gutenberg: 70,000 titles in many languages. The Discover tab in Book2Speech has them ready to play, no download needed.
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Standard Ebooks: beautifully typeset public-domain classics, the best-made EPUBs you will find.
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Internet Archive and Wikisource: a huge range; check the file quality first.
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Feedbooks public domain and Manybooks: handy mirrors with their own formatting.

Paid, DRM-free by policy

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Tor: every Tor ebook has been DRM-free since 2012, from any retailer.
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Baen Ebooks: science fiction and fantasy, DRM-free from Baen’s own store, plus a free library.
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Kobo: many titles say “DRM-free” under the format. Download the EPUB from your account.
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Humble Bundle: book bundles with DRM-free EPUB and PDF.
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Smashwords and Draft2Digital storefronts: independent authors, DRM-free by default.
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Leanpub, Pragmatic Bookshelf, No Starch Press and O’Reilly (direct): technical books, DRM-free.
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Small presses and authors selling direct through Payhip, Gumroad, Shopify or BookFunnel. Search the title plus “DRM-free”.

Your own writing and documents

Manuscripts, theses, notes and exported Google Docs are always DRM-free and make great audiobooks. Save them as DOCX, EPUB or TXT and drop them in.

Got a book with DRM?

Book2Speech opens DRM-free files. If your copy is protected, check whether the publisher sells a DRM-free edition (Tor, Baen and many independents do), or start with one of the 70,000 free classics in the meantime.

Questions people ask

How do I tell whether an EPUB has DRM?

Open it in Calibre: protected files won’t open. Kobo and some other stores label formats “DRM-free” on the product page.

Are Kindle books DRM-free?

Store purchases usually aren’t. Personal documents you sent to your Kindle, and books from DRM-free publishers such as Tor and Baen, are.
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