Top 5 Calibre Alternatives

December 21, 2023 | Author: Maria Lin


Calibre
is advertised as the one stop solution for all your e-book needs. But as one famouse person said "I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats, but I don't think it would do all of those things very well." That's why though Calibre is free, there are a lot of people that are not happy with this software and are looking for alternatives. Not for alternatives that also can fly and float, but for smaller and easier alternatives that can either fly or float and do it better than Calibre. We have picked 5 interesting apps in four categories that can replace Calibre on your desktop.

1. Calibre alternatives for book management

Ebook management includes e-library visulization, parsing and editing ebook metadata, searching and sorting books in the database, managing ebook files, etc. In this category we recommend two programs: Alfa Ebooks Manager for PC and Delicious Library for Mac.



Alfa Ebooks Manager features a lot of templates and options for beautiful library vizualization. Besides, it allows to update book data from multiple web sources (like Amazon, Google Books, Barnes & Nobel, etc). It's also good at file management and metadata extraction. And the main thing, that it's much more easy-to-use than Calibre.



Delicious Library is not just the Mac alternative for Alfa Ebooks Manager or Calibre. It's a bit different. Actually it's a software not just for books but for managing all stuff at your home. It's greates feature - entering books via webcam shot (it recognizes ISBN code). This feature makes Delicious Library the best software for collecting paper books.

2. Calibre alternatives for ebook conversion



As usual we need to convert books in order to read them on the e-reading device. Except Calibre there is another free tool for this purpose - Hamster. It allows you to convert eBook files in proprietary formats for more than 200+ devices (Kindle, iPad, iPhone, iRiver, Sony, Nook, Kobo, etc). Hamster converts ebooks to TXT, Adobe PDF, FB2, LIT, HTMLZ, PDB, LRF, PUB. It also allows to move eBooks between devices and convert multiple files in the batch mode.

3. Calibre alternatives for e-reading device management



Those e-reading devices that use SD-cards for book storing can be easily managed by one of gereral-purpose ebook organizers, but some popular e-readers need specific treatment. Of course, the first in this line is Kindle, that doesn't support folders, but supports own collections. We've found the great third-party tool for managing Kindle - called Kindlian. It's a paid app, but it's very easy and beautiful and unlike Calibre allows to manage Kindle Touch.

4. Calibre alternatives for ebook reading



Calibre can open most of ebook formats. But it's more a tool for opening books, rather than for reading them. There are a lot of much more comfortable desktop ebook reading apps. One of them is KooBits. It's also compatible with almost every book format (like PDF, EPUB, XML, HTML, KBJ, and more) and provides more comfortable reading experience. It also allows to personalize your ebook with the Highlight and Stamp tools to mark important sections or use the Extraction tool to copy content and piecing them however you like in the scrapbook.
Author: Maria Lin
Maria Lin, is a seasoned content writer who has contributed to numerous tech portals, including Mashable and bookrunch, as a guest author. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of California, where her research predominantly concentrated on mobile apps, software, AI and cloud services. With a deep passion for reading, Maria is particularly drawn to the intersection of technology and books, making book tech a subject of great interest to her. During her leisure time, she indulges in her love for cooking and finds solace in a good night's sleep. You can contact Maria Lin via email maria@bookrunch.com

Comments
vermac | 27.10.12
Thanks for mentioning Delicious Library! I really think Delicious Library is worth the cash and worth you checking out. There really isn’t anything else like it out there and definitely nothing like it in the app store. It really sets a standard as far as function and use go for a Mac application and you should miss this gem.
themritech | 27.10.12
I have both Calibre and Alfa installed. I only use Calibre for its readers since Alfa doesn't have any integrated.

For me the biggest difference between the programs is how they handle files. I didn't like Calibre as a manager because it required the files to be copied into its own folder structure. If I didn't use Calibre to access my files, I could no longer easily navigate my files at all.

I only wanted a program that would link to my files from their current location and let me view them in a nice gui with detailed searchable information about them. This is exactly how Alfa functions.
Khiya | 02.11.12
Me too. I think you may use any Caliber alternative, but having Calibre is also a must if you are book collector like me :)
JD | 29.10.12
Beware! Hamster Free eBook Converter made by HamsterSoft and based on Calibre-engine and inherits all GNU GPL 3.0 restrictions
Ashwin | 29.10.12
KooBits is for kids! I would recommend FBReader and uBook. They support multiple DRM-free formats and are highly customizable. Two format-specific readers with background/text color change are MobiPocket Reader and eReader (which also has textured background options).
MelissaProffitt | 29.10.12
That's kinda like asking what is the best car. It depends on one's needs. I personally use the reader in calibre for ePubs, etc. and Adobe Acrobat (not the Reader) for PDFs. But, that's me.
Ahed Eid | 27.12.13
I'll Go With calibre .. with it's solutions .. one for all ..
it's open source , you can ask for features , or develop them
Nippur | 01.04.14
Where is the replacement for Calibre content server? Oh, right, there isn't one...
Conjada | 29.10.16
Alfa has an OPDS server.
Dan b | 29.06.15
FlexPaper reflow looks like a new promising alternative to Calibre. Google "FlexPaper Reflow" and you'll find it
guest | 25.09.16
There apparently isn't a free converter on the marker to go from epub to PDF that doesn't use calibre underneath their GUI.

So, if you have a file that won't convert in Calibre, it won't convert in a dozen other products either. Lame, apparently nobody but the Calibre guys knows the formats or something.
Hazzard | 20.10.18
thanx for the article! now moving to Alfa because calibre can't handle my big collection any more
noydb | 24.10.18
Hazzard - how big? I've just been reading of people managing libraries of 53K and 60K in Calibre, no problems at all
denisp | 24.05.19
Calibre is designed with an eye toward cataloging eBooks, but it does not have the ease of use of more user-friendly eBook software
Leonardo | 15.09.19
I'm looking for Calibre alternative now. What would you advise for audiobooks from Audible?
Sebastian | 14.12.19
All Audible books are available on Amazon. I advise AEM, it has good integration with Amazon and support audio books
Marta Tsvengrosh | 10.10.20
Is it possible to import Calibre library to Alpha Ebook Manager?
Lina | 21.10.23
Calibre is plagued with constant glitches, making it an incredibly frustrating and unreliable software to use
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