A DRM-free comic reader for the comics you bought
A DRM-free comic is a file you download and keep, usually a PDF, CBZ, CBR or EPUB, with no lock that ties it to one store's app. To read DRM-free comics, add the files to LiveComics in the app or in any browser, and they open on every phone, tablet or computer you sign in on: page by page, one panel at a time, or read aloud. Adding your files and reading them is free.
What does DRM-free mean for comics?
DRM, or digital rights management, is a lock some stores put on what you buy so it only opens in their own app. A DRM-free comic has no lock: the store lets you download the file and open it in any reader you like. A comic you can only read inside a store's app, with no download button, is usually locked to that app, and it stays there.
Where do DRM-free comic files come from?
From anywhere that hands you the file itself: a Humble Bundle of comics, the digital reward from a Kickstarter or BackerKit campaign, a comic from a creator on itch.io, PDFs from stores like DriveThruComics, and some publishers' own web stores. The format varies by seller and even by title, so check the download page to see what you get.
Read Humble Bundle comics · Read Kickstarter digital comics · itch.io comic reader
How do I read DRM-free comics?
Download the files first, then add copies of them here.
- Download each comic from the store or site you bought it from. Save the files somewhere you can find them, like the Files app on an iPhone or your Downloads folder.
- Make a free account at livecomics.to, or get the app from the App Store, Google Play or the Microsoft Store.
- In your library, press + Add Comics and pick the files. You can pick many at once.
- Under Import as, choose Pages, Panels or Panels + Audio, pick the reading type and press Add. Tick Use these choices for the other files too, and any issue already in your library is skipped.
Each file can be up to 2.6 GB. A free account imports 30 comics a month and holds 1 GB, about 20 single issues, with no card. For a bigger collection, Collector is $3 a month for 50 GB and lifts the import limit.
Which DRM-free formats can I read?
CBZ, CBR, PDF and EPUB. CBZ and CBR files hold the page images, so they open fastest. A PDF takes a few minutes to prepare, because every page has to be rendered first. An EPUB works as long as the book is a comic made of page images. For manga, choose Manga as the reading type and the panels run right to left.
PDF comic reader · EPUB comic reader · CBZ manga reader · CBR vs CBZ
Can I read DRM-free comics on my phone or tablet?
Yes. LiveComics is in the App Store for iPhone and iPad, on Google Play for Android and in the Microsoft Store for Windows, and it runs in any browser. Your place is kept on every device.
App Store · Google Play · Microsoft Store · Comic reader for iPad · Comic reader for Android · How to read comics on your phone
Can I read them one panel at a time, or aloud?
Yes. Choose Panels and the comic plays one panel at a time, framed to fill the screen, free on every issue. Choose Panels + Audio and every speech balloon is read aloud by two synthetic narrators matched to each speaker, with the drawn sound effects and a soundscape under every scene. Voices come with a monthly plan or a top-up, and you see the price in credits before you press Add.
What won't work?
A comic locked to another store's app can't be added, because there is no file to add. A PDF with a password is refused, so add a copy without the password. A zip file full of PDFs is refused too: unzip it and add the PDFs themselves.
Straight answers
What is the best DRM-free comic reader?
One that opens every format you own and reads the way you like. LiveComics takes CBZ, CBR, PDF and EPUB, shows one panel at a time on a phone, and can read the comic aloud, on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows and in any browser.
How do I read DRM-free comics on an iPad?
Save the files to the Files app, then add them in Live Comics: Comic Book Reader, from the App Store, or at livecomics.to in Safari. They read page by page, one panel at a time, or aloud.
Can I read my old ComiXology backups?
Yes, if you downloaded them. ComiXology used to offer DRM-free backup copies of some comics as PDF and CBZ files, and those are ordinary files you can add here. Comics that only live in the ComiXology or Kindle app stay there.
Can LiveComics remove DRM from my comics?
No. LiveComics reads files you can already open. A comic locked to a store's app has to be read in that app.
Is LiveComics free?
Yes, to add and read your comics. A free account imports 30 comics a month with 1 GB of storage and no card, Panels is free on every issue, and voices come with a monthly plan or a top-up.
Are my comics private?
Yes. What you upload lands on your own private shelf and nowhere else, and you can delete any of it at any time. You keep ownership of everything you add.
LiveComics is not affiliated with Humble Bundle, Kickstarter, BackerKit, itch.io, DriveThruComics or ComiXology. They are named only to describe where your files may have come from.
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