ePub authoring tools and readers

There are a large number of tools that can be used to read, create, and edit ePubs. These include both open source options (available to the public for use and modification) and commercial products.

EPUB READER SOFTWARE

Open source:

• Readium: ePub reader available for Google Chrome. Available on iOS and Android. https://readium.org/

Free & Commercial:

• Adobe Digital Editions: Industry leading software that allows a user to import text from common document formats, create both reflowable and fixed ePubs, and create a print book that can be simultaneously export in an eBook format. Available on Windows and Mac. https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions.html
• Aldiko: eBook reader for Android and iOS. http://www.aldiko.com
• Apple Books: eBook reading and store application by Apple for its iOS and macOS operating systems and devices
• Google Play Books: eBook digital distribution service operated by Google and available on the web, Android, and iOS. https://play.google.com/books
• Kitaboo: Web based ePub reading application, cloud library and authoring tool. https://kitaboo.com/
• Vital Source Bookshelf: Leading platform for distributing, accessing, consuming, and engaging with digital textbooks and course materials on the web. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/user/signin
• Active Textbook: ePub reader and publisher that allows users to turn their PDF and ePub documents into interactive eBooks enriched. Runs on all devices and platforms. https://activetextbook.com/
• Benetec Bookshare: eBook library that includes customizable eBooks for people with reading barriers. https://www.bookshare.org/cms/

EPUB AUTHORING SOFTWARE

Open source:

• eXeLearning: Educational resource creator that can export to ePub formats. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux http://exelearning.net
• Calibre: Contains an eBook reader, integrated editor, and library manager. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Requires knowledge of HTML and CSS to effectively use. https://calibre-ebook.com/
• Sigil: Free software program for creating and editing ePub files across Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux platforms. Knowledge of HTML and CSS is required to properly use this software. https://sigil-ebook.com/
• Tobi: Tobi is an authoring tool geared towards re-purposing published material. It allows users to add audio narration to a text-only document, to synchronize a podcast with a structured script, or to review and improve an existing Digital Talking Book. To create text from scratch, we recommend popular editors such as Microsoft Word or Open Office, which can both produce DTBook markup thanks to their respective Save as DAISY add-ins. More information is available in the Tobi project area. Support for EPUB 3 has been added. Review Tobi User Guide and articles on DAISYpedia.

Free & Commercial:

• Adobe InDesign: Industry leader that allows ePub creators to import text from world processing formats and create both reflowable and fixed formats. http://www.adobe.com/indesign/
• Kotobee Author: Software for Windows and Mac that allows you to create interactive ebooks based on ePub format. The eBooks can be exported freely as ePub files, web apps, desktop apps, with full customization enabled. Other export formats (such as native mobile apps), as well as SCORM integration, require paying for the service. https://www.kotobee.com/products/author
• Aquafadas: Software company specialising in creation of tools for digital publications and mobile applications. https://www.aquafadas.com/
• Atavist: Platform for enhanced eBooks and other digital applications. https://docs.atavist.com/ebooks
• iBook Author: eBook authoring application for the Apple iBooks Store. May also export to PDF. https://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/
• Bloom by SIL Lead: Tool for creating digital publications and translating them into multiple languages as well as exporting to accessible ePub formats. Bloom is also supported by All Children Reading's Book Boost:Access for All Challenge. https://bloomlibrary.org/landing
• Booktype: Free software for creating, editing, and publishing eBooks in a variety of formats including ePub. Available on Mac and Linux. https://booktype.pro/
• iStudio Publisher: Desktop publishing application that can export to ePub formats. Available on Mac. http://www.istudiopublisher.com/
• Jutoh: Dedicated eBook editor, converter, and creator. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. http://www.jutoh.com/
• PubCoder: Creator for mobile eBooks. Available for Mac and Windows. https://www.pubcoder.com/
• oXygen: XML editing tool that can also create blank ePubs. Requires knowledge of HTML and CSS. Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. https://www.oxygenxml.com/
• Vital Source Content Studio: Authoring tool for creating digital-first content and ePubs. https://get.vitalsource.com/

SCREEN READERS

• NVDA 2018 - Download.

OTHER EPUB TOOLS

• ePub Check: Tool for validating the conformance of ePub publications against ePub specifications. https://github.com/w3c/epubcheck
• Pagina ePub-Checker: A drag and drop validation tool for unzipped EPUB based on the official open-source epubcheck tools (version 4.0.2). https://www.pagina.gmbh/produkte/epub-checker/
• DAISY ACE: Ace is a tool to run automated accessibility checks for EPUB Publications to assist in the evaluation of conformance to the EPUB Accessibility specification. https://daisy.github.io/ace/getting-started/installation/
• ePub Validator: Validation tool for the epubcheck version 3.0. https://www.ebookit.com/tools/bp/Bo/eBookIt/epub-validator
• eCan Crusher: Software to Zip and Unzip ePub Files. https://www.docdataflow.com/ecancrusher/ 
• POET: Image description tool developed by The DIAGRAM Center. Open source, web-based tool for creating and providing guidelines to writing image descriptions for images in existing DAISY and ePub books. http://diagramcenter.org/poet.html
• Adobe Acrobat: Adobe's proprietary PDF editor. https://acrobat.adobe.com/
• LibreOffice Draw: Free and open source part of the LibreOffice suite. LibreOffice Draw includes tools to extract images from PDFs. https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/
• GIMP: Free and open source sophisticated image editing tool. https://www.gimp.org/downloads/
• Komodo Edit 11.0.1: A free open source editor code editor for editing individual files within the unzipped ePub. https://www.activestate.com/ 
• Sublime Text 3 editor: A cross-platform code editor for editing individual files within the unzipped EPUB. https://www.sublimetext.com/