# Plato e-reader software

21 Hacker News commenters recommended Plato e-reader software and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A fast, simple, free alternative reader for Kobo e-readers that people praise for its speed and for handling large PDFs. Some critics say it has bugs and design issues.

## Why people recommend it

- Faster than stock Kobo software (2 comments): "The device is also weirdly sluggish with the default Kobo software, and much faster in Plato." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48310913)) "Love Plato- it's so performant!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283911))
- Good PDF reading, handles large files (3 comments): "I found the built in mupdf much more intuitive and elegant." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49098034)) "it has a really nice experience for reading PDFs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49097048)) "Plato is better at handling huge PDF files" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47837596))
- Simple and free (2 comments): "Love koreader and Plato. Great free software" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49110307)) "I currently use Plato for its simplicity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283806))
- Popular alongside KOReader (2 comments): "it's not much of a bother to relaunch koreader or Plato on the rare occasions that I have to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49001953)) "KOReader and Plato are both popular" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48535641))

## What people warn about

- Bugs and design issues (1 comments): "it's got a lot of bugs and design issues" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283975))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [CrossPoint Reader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crosspoint.md): 60 recommend
- [CrossInk](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crossink.md): 8 recommend
- [Freeink](https://hackerapproved.com/p/freeink.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Plato e-reader software", https://hackerapproved.com/p/plato/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).