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How to download a book 📲

Find out how you can download ebooks within the Perlego mobile app for offline reading.

You can download books in the Perlego mobile app to read offline on IOS and Android.

Good to know: Downloaded books are stored inside the Perlego app. They are not exported as separate files (like PDFs) that you can keep forever or move to other apps.

Downloading books

Step by step

Three-step graphic showing how to download a book in a mobile reading app: search results for “The pink book,” then the book detail page with a “Download book” button and “Downloading…” status, and finally the same page with the button changed to “Read book.”

  1. Pick a book.

  2. Tap Download book.

  3. Wait while the book downloads — you'll see a Downloading… indicator.

  4. Tap Read book once the download is complete, or go back to your library to download more.

You’ll need an active subscription to access complete books on Perlego.

How downloads work

Downloads last up to 180 days. If a book is inactive for 30 days, the download will expire automatically — you can always re-download it.

🔔 No expiry notifications. We don’t currently send push or email notifications before a download expires. If a download has expired, you’ll see the download option again and can simply tap to re-download the book.

Limits

How many books can I download at a time?

You can store up to 30 downloaded books in the app at a time. If you try to download a 31st book, you'll see a "Download limit reached" message.

To free up space, remove books you're no longer reading — see Manage your downloads below.

How many downloads can I run at once?

You can download up to 5 books at the same time. If you already have 5 in progress, wait for one to finish before starting another.

Share feedback

Wish you could download more than 30 books? We'd love to hear what limits matter to you — we shape what we build based on reader feedback.

Tell us what you need →

Manage your downloads

To remove a downloaded book from your device:

  1. Go to your Library by tapping the book stack icon.

  2. Find the book and tap the three dots (…) next to its title.

  3. Select Remove from Downloads.

A few things to know:

  • Removing a download does not remove the book from your Bookshelves or change its reading status (e.g. Reading, Completed, Want to Read).

  • You can re-download the same book at any time, as long as it's still available on Perlego.

  • Downloads don't sync across devices — each device has its own set of downloads.

Supported devices

For the full list of supported devices and minimum OS versions, see The Perlego App Minimum Specifications.

Syncing offline and online reading

Reading progress, notes, highlights, and bookmarks made offline will sync to your account once you reconnect to the internet.

If your library appears out of sync:

  • On the mobile app: log out and log back in.

  • In a browser: refresh the page. If that doesn't help, clear your cache and cookies, then sign in again.

Troubleshooting

"Download limit reached" message

You've hit the 30-book cap. Remove books you no longer need — tap the three dots (…) next to a title in your Library and select Remove from Downloads — then try downloading again.

A download expired unexpectedly

Downloads expire after 30 days of inactivity — this can catch readers off guard since we don't send an expiry notification. Simply tap Download book on the book's page to re-download it instantly.

Downloads not appearing after re-opening the app

Try logging out and back in. If the problem persists, chat with us using the link below.

Still need help? Contact support

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