# Kobo Store

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Kobo Store and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend its comprehensive catalog and DRM-free EPUB downloads as an alternative to Amazon. Caveat: some titles are only sold on Amazon, and some books carry DRM.

## Why people recommend it

- Convenient, pleasant to buy from (2 comments): "Kobo store is convenient but feels pricey sometimes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48253019)) "I love buying books from the Kobo store" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46325319))
- Used as an alternative to Amazon (2 comments): "I bailed on their ecosystem for Kobo's store" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47817616)) "is another option I have used a lot" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47679376))

## What people warn about

- DRM on many eBooks (2 comments): "The eBooks in Kobo's store are also locked down with DRM." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46324888)) "The kobo store has problems with DRM" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47837646))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [O'Reilly subscription](https://hackerapproved.com/p/o-reilly-subscription.md): 24 recommend
- [Bookshop.org](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bookshop-org.md): 15 recommend
- [AbeBooks](https://hackerapproved.com/p/abebooks.md): 8 recommend
- [ebooks.com](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ebooks-com.md): 6 recommend
- [Humble Bundle Linux the Good Stuff Bundle](https://hackerapproved.com/p/humble-bundle-linux-the-good-stuff-bundle.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.kobo.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Kobo Store", https://hackerapproved.com/p/kobo-store/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).