Scribd
Huge library of user-uploaded documents you can read free with ads, or download with a subscription.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
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About Scribd
Scribd is a San Francisco company's document-sharing site, holding hundreds of millions of documents uploaded by its users: academic papers, study notes, manuals, legal filings, sheet music, reports and more. Anyone can read and upload without paying; documents can also be embedded on other websites. A subscription removes ads, allows document downloads for offline reading, adds AI summaries of documents, and includes access to SlideShare's presentation library, which Scribd also owns. Ebooks and audiobooks, which used to be part of Scribd, moved to its sister service Everand, so Scribd today is mainly about documents. Uploaders must own the rights to what they share, and Scribd runs an automated fingerprinting system to remove copyrighted books. It runs in the browser and in Android and iOS apps. Its search is useful for finding obscure manuals and papers, but quality varies and some content is uploaded without permission until it is taken down.
Best for: Students and researchers hunting for papers, notes, manuals and other documents others have shared.
Pros and cons
What works
- Very large library of documents on almost any topic
- Free to read and upload, with embedding on your own site
- Subscription also covers SlideShare downloads
Why people leave
- Downloads and ad-free reading need a subscription
- Ebooks and audiobooks now require a separate Everand plan
- Document quality and copyright status vary
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Why people left Scribd
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Scribd: common questions
Is Scribd free?
Scribd has a free plan and paid plans.
Is Scribd open source?
No, Scribd is not open source.
What platforms does Scribd run on?
Scribd is available for Web, Android and iOS.