Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

Hackershelf is a community-curated collection of legally free books available online. Launched in 2012, the platform allows users to discover and share books that are freely accessible, making it useful for readers… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Hackershelf. Community curated collection of legally free books launched in 2012; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Bookself▲361

   The social reading app 📚💬

   2019 · bookself.app · its alternatives →

2. 2HC
   HackerBooks.com▲351

   2011 · hackerbooks.com · its alternatives →

3. 3BM
   Books mentioned on Hacker News in 2025▲613

   Dec 2025 · hackernews-readings-613604506318.us-west1.run.app · its alternatives →

4. 4
   DevFreeBooks – A collection of free books for developers▲571

   A collection of free books for devs

   2016 · devfreebooks.github.io · its alternatives →

5. 5HI
   HackPad is the best wiki ever▲209

   2012 · hackpad.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   HackerStash▲114

   Community-led micro finance for hackers and entrepreneurs.

   2020 · hackerstash.com · its alternatives →

7. 7TB
   Top books mentioned in comments on Hacker News▲463

   2016 · hackernewsbooks.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   DevFreeBooks▲288

   A collection of free books for developers

   2016 · devfreebooks.github.io · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Bookstck▲345

   A curated bookshelf (+100 books) made by entrepreneurs

   2015 · its alternatives →

10. 10
    SaaS Bookshelf▲203

    100+ curated startup books with key takeaways

    2023 · saasbookshelf.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    Hackershelf▲15

    Collection of free books for the intellectually curious

    2015 · its alternatives →

12. 12MB
    Meta book recommendations from Ask HN threads▲273

    2020 · mapfilterfold.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    hack.css▲174

    The CSS framework for hackers

    2016 · hackcss.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    HackerCouch▲162

    Hospitality for Hackers, by Hackers.

    2015 · hackercouch.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Nonfik▲117

    A social reading library for free guides and ebooks

    2022 · its alternatives →

16. 16JB
    JavaScript books, free online▲222

    2016 · exploringjs.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Loreshelf▲66

    Reduce the information noise and cultivate your notebooks

    2020 · loreshelf.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    IHBOOKS▲200

    A curated list of +160 books recommended by Indie Hackers

    2018 · ihbooks.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Hackr.io▲368

    Product Hunt for Online Programming Courses & Tutorials

    2015 · hackr.io · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Hackerhunt – categorised curation of Show HN submissions▲335

    2017 · hackerhunt.co · its alternatives →

21. 21
    The Art of Community▲70

    Awesome open source book to manage communities in general

    2016 · artofcommunityonline.org · its alternatives →

22. 22
    Hack▲239

    A typeface designed for source code

    2015 · sourcefoundry.org · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Bookshlf▲86

    Earn tips for the content you curate

    2021 · its alternatives →

24. 24H1
    HackSource – 18,510 Curated Programming Tutorials▲18

    2017 · hacksource.xyz · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →