SOLVED: How To Find The 1 Million Free eBooks on Kobo

UPDATED: Sept 1st 2013

If you have heard the hype on the Kobo ereader you know there are supposedly 1 million free ebooks for it.  Where are they? They don’t show up in the Kobo Desktop software.  They are online so just follow this simple process to find those freebees:

MAKE SURE YOU SIGN IN BEFORE doing any of the three below or you will not find any free Kobo ebooks.

EASY WAY:

Click http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=&t=free

STILL EASY WAY:

Click the FREE EBOOKS link near the top of the page.

As of August 2013 that link goes to www.kobo.com/free-ebooks

Take note that these instructions apply to INTERNET EXPLORER.  For some reason when you sign in with Firefox it takes you to STORE.KOBOOOKS.COM and not WWW.KOBOBOOKS.COM

HARD WAY:

  1. Surf to www.kobobooks.com
  2. Search on any key word, like mystery
  3. Then set the ‘filter’ drop down to FREE ONLY
  4. OPTIONAL – set the ‘sort order’ drop down to TOP RATED

THIS search will bring up ab0ut 1800 “mysteries” sorted by their user rating.

 

View Comments

  • the filter no longer exists that you mention in your instructions. Update your blog or whatever this here page is called.

  • This really is certainly excellent... Thank you so much as well as continue
    the great job...

  • I have tried all your tips on finding free books but none work. I have Firefox as my browser and dont really want to change. I'm also in the UK which seems to cause a problem!
    You mentioned library free books, which I have downloaded for my Sony Ereader, is it an easy process? Is there anyway of downloading free ebooks from other non-Kobo sites?
    Thank you :)

    • Yes, you can go to your public library and they will almost certainly have an easy process for you to get eBooks on your Kobo. My father lives in a Town of 20,000 and even their local library supports Kobo (and most all ereaders).

  • Ah, when I did try again I found some 6 free categories, but when I clicked on any of them it said "these are not available in your region". Is it cuz I'm in Canada??

  • I have bought a Kobo touch, living in the UK we don't seem to get the "free books" option on the drop down menu after searching. Taking it back to the shop and will buy an iPad.

    • Hi Jonathan;

      An iPad is a poor replacement for a Kobo. A backlit overpriced tablet with nutty Apple licensing is not competing with an epaper inexpensive book reader (note that the key differentiator is NOT the price, it is ePaper vs backlit LCD... this massively changes weight, batter life, size...)

      Regardless, if I lived in the UK I would just call UK support, which I found in < 1 min on the UK's Kobo play.com site: Email: if you would prefer to email the team, our email address is customercare@play.com Phone: call us free on 0808 131 1311 from a landline or 0333 313 3311 from a mobile I hope this helps.

      • I have google Chrome as a browser and can't see free anywhere, although I did find it and download a bunch of free ebooks about 4-6 months ago.. Are they possibly fazing out the free books? Maybe they think they will sell more books if they stop giving them away free?

        I'm disappointed because I touted the free category and got my dad a glo for Xmas, and now he can't even test the darn thing without shelling out cash...

  • Just bought our new Kobo aura readers and can not get into the list of free e books by any of the methods you describe.

  • I have tried to get onto kobo but no free books. I type in kobo.com and it takes me to the store. I have signed in and still no free books link of filter drop down box.

    • I see you are in the UK. Perhaps the free books are not licensed for that market. I would call Kobo/Chapters/Indigo and ask. We love ours and hear VERY few complaints about them so I hope this works out for you.

  • Since the site has been changed I cannot access the free books section. Have tried all options. I believe this is
    really miss representation on their part.

    • Have you tried different Browsers. I really like Internet Explorer but for some reason, Kobo has set different browsers to show different content.

  • In New Zealand none of the kobo websites has free books.
    Sure it says free but when under each of the options is a price. Free Romance for example gives 3 books ranging from $4.99 to $6.28
    My view of free is with no cost!
    On searching, irrespective of the site, or the browser, there is no filters under the search bar.
    I am now questioning the value of Kobo and wonder if they have a new owner.

      • Hi Ian... Fine name by the way.

        I just logged into Kobo and checked the site again. They appear to moved the free content AGAIN! Their HELP system indicates that you can now access the free ebooks:

        1. Navigate to http://www.kobobooks.com.
        2. Sign in to your account with one of these options, depending on what you see:
        • Click the Profile icon at the top right of the page, then click Sign In.
        • Click the Menu icon at the top left of the page, click the Profile icon, then click Sign In.
        3. Locate a free book by completing these steps: a. Type any part of the author name, book title, series or publisher name in the search field.
        b. Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.
        c. Click the Sort by filter at the top right of the results list.
        d. Select Price: Low to High. Any free books will appear at the top of the list.

        4. Click Free eBook under the book that you’d like.
        5. Click Add to Library.
        6. Sync your eReader or tablet to see the covers of your new free eBooks in your Library.

        • It worked, finally!!! Nothing else did, no "free books" link at top, no "free books" filter. Thanks!!

Published by
Ian Matthews

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