Online eBook ePub Viewer compared with Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions and Kindle app| Online eBook ePub Viewer (Fviewer) | Calibre | Adobe Digital Editions | Kindle app |
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| Main use: The Fviewer page opens an EPUB file in the browser by drag and drop or by URL. It is meant for one-off reading when no reader is installed. | Main use: Calibre is a library manager with a viewer, a format converter, a metadata editor and a content server. It targets people who maintain a collection. | Main use: Adobe Digital Editions is a reader for EPUB and PDF with bookmarks, highlights, notes, full-text search and library borrowing. | Main use: The Kindle app is the reading application from Amazon for phones and tablets. It is built around Kindle content. |
| Formats and conversion: The viewer accepts EPUB files only and does not convert them. | Formats and conversion: Calibre views the major e-book formats and converts dozens of file types, with control over style, table of contents and margins. | Formats and conversion: The page lists EPUB, EPUB3 and PDF. It reads these formats but is not a converter. | |
| Installation and platform: Nothing is installed. It runs in a browser, on desktop or smartphone, which is the main reason to choose it. | Installation and platform: Calibre is installed locally and can run from a USB stick. Developers support Windows, Mac and Linux. | Installation and platform: Adobe lists PC, Mac, tablets and mobile devices, with apps on the App Store and Google Play. | Installation and platform: The app is installed on a mobile device, and its listing includes the Apple App Store. |
| Openness and cost: The service is free and the page mentions no account. An API lets other projects embed the viewer. Source code is not described. | Openness and cost: Calibre is free and open source, with optional donations and a plugin system. It is the only open source option of the four. | Openness and cost: The reader is a free download from Adobe. The page does not describe its licence terms. | |
| Privacy of the file: The page does not explain how an uploaded file is stored or deleted. A confidential or unpublished manuscript is better opened locally. | Privacy of the file: Library files stay on the local disk, and the optional content server is under the control of the user. | Privacy of the file: Files are handled in a local application, and library content can appear on several devices of the same account. | |