# OverDrive

11 Hacker News commenters recommended OverDrive and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free ebook and audiobook borrowing through public libraries, with native support on Kobo and other readers. The most common caveat is long waits for popular titles.

## Why people recommend it

- Free books from public libraries (3 comments): "I make a lot of use of my local library through the native Overdrive integration" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48253019)) "I like my Overdrive library books and Kobo Store." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48534877)) "which are also free from the library" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47709468))
- Holds let you queue popular titles (2 comments): "If you read one book a week you can queue up fifty good books and wait for that one to come available at some point in the year." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283603)) "What works for me with overdrive is using holds and then when it comes available" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283630))
- Good integration with Kobo (2 comments): "The Kobo does have good Overdrive integration and that's a huge plus." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49512688)) "Kobo also integrates with public libraries via Overdrive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47856268))

## What people warn about

- Long waits for popular titles (2 comments): "I love Overdrive but cannot imagine to stick to the forced regime of lending periods and random waiting times." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283971)) "Either the book I'm interested in isn't available or it's unavailable for weeks." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283578))
- Unreliable integration and missed holds (2 comments): "the Overdrive issues are infuriating, especially when you miss out on a hold from the library" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47836848)) "the integration with Overdrive is unreliable, only working some of the time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47836657))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Libby](https://hackerapproved.com/p/libby.md): 45 recommend
- [Hoopla](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hoopla.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

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

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "OverDrive", https://hackerapproved.com/p/overdrive/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).