Is There An App To Read Kindle Books On Kobo Devices?

I’m a great reader and I own several e-readers, including some Kindle models and some Kobo models. I have a huge library of books, and as far as I know, Kindle books only work within Amazon’s ecosystem of Kindle e-readers, the Kindle app for smartphones and tablets, and Kindle Cloud Reader for web browsers. In contrast, Kobo e-readers run on their own independent platform, and Kobo stores sell Kobo-specific e-books, as well as EPUB e-books that can be loaded onto a Kobo e-reader. Because of this, there is currently no Kindle app available for Kobo e-readers, meaning that Kindle book readers cannot access their vast libraries of Amazon-purchased e-books on a Kobo e-reader.

Note that it is generally considered to be against Amazon’s terms of service to remove DRM from Kindle ebooks, and you do so at your own risk. However, to read Kindle ebooks on a Kobo, to remove the DRM from your Kindle ebooks and convert them to EPUB format, which can then be added to your Kobo eReader via USB, or uploaded wirelessly via your Kobo eReader’s connection to your Dropbox account, using, for example, the free e-book management software, Calibre. This is not for the faint of heart, but does work for those who are technically-minded.

Another option for reading Kindle books on Kobo eReaders is to use Amazon’s Kindle Cloud Reader within your eReader’s experimental browser. Unfortunately, this is far from an ideal solution. Not only does Kobo’s browser not get updated as frequently as the core eReader app, the Kindle Cloud Reader is optimized for use on a desktop or tablet, so expect a fairly poor reading experience that won’t provide all of the features you’ve come to expect from Kindle (like offline reading, for instance). In such a case, using a secondary tablet or smartphone, on which you run the Kindle app, in conjunction with your favorite Kobo eReader, would likely prove to be far more satisfying in the long run.

While these workarounds don’t create a single app that allows readers to access their Kindle books on a Kobo e-reader, they can be an option for avid readers of both formats. If you’re deeply invested in the Amazon Kindle ecosystem, but love the feel and reading experience of your Kobo e-reader, it’s worth the effort. But for casual readers, or those who already use a tablet or smartphone to read their eBooks, sticking to native eReaders and using a separate device for your Kindle books may be the best option.

Same reason you can't put PlayStation games on an Xbox: Amazon and Kobo are competing gardens, and they have no interest in helping you read your books on devices sold by their competitors. As a Kobo reader owner, you can only purchase books to put on that Kobo from Kobo’s stores, from Google Play, or from public domain EPUBs that you can sideload.

In short, after getting a Kobo as a gift, I realized I couldn’t access the majority of the books I had purchased for my Kindle. So, to make things easy, I now read most of my books on my Kobo and use an old Kindle for my Amazon purchases. Not perfect, but it works.

This is a business decision, not a technical one. The Amazon Kindle App is not being released for Kobo because Amazon wants to maintain control of the market, and Kindle readers within it. As a consumer, you have to pick a camp and support it, for me that is Kobo. They offer a very open platform to developers and to readers, and I’d rather be supporting them than Amazon.

My advice would be to go with Kobo if you’re new to e-readers and have little in the way of a pre-existing library of eBooks. On the other hand, if you’re deeply embedded in the Kindle eco-system with hundreds of eBooks, switching is going to be painful to say the least. Factor that pain into your decision.