Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating the world's oldest free digital eBook library, founded in 1971, providing 75,000+ public-domain titles in 60+ languages to general readers, students, and educators worldwide through volunteer-driven digitization and multi-format distribution.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1971
- HeadquartersSalt Lake City, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Project Gutenberg does
Project Gutenberg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1971 by Michael Hart — widely credited as the inventor of the eBook — and operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (PGLAF), a corporation registered in Mississippi with a mailing address in Montclair, NJ. It runs the oldest continuously operating digital eBook library on the Internet, providing free access to over 75,000 public-domain titles (78,749 as of June 2026) in more than 60 languages and dialects, with a daily download volume averaging above 2.5 million. The service is used by general readers, students, and educators worldwide, with no registration, no fees, and no advertising.
The platform's production engine is the volunteer-run Distributed Proofreaders workflow at pgdp.net, which has scaled to over 10,000 contributors over the project's lifetime and now supplies the majority of new eBooks. Content is digitized from scanned page images, proofread collaboratively, and distributed through the gutenberg.org website in 30+ formats including EPUB3, Kindle/MOBI, PDF, plain text, HTML, and OPDS feeds for machine-to-machine discovery. Supporting products include MARC records for library catalog integration (with the Free Ebook Foundation), the Open Audiobook Collection of nearly 5,000 text-to-speech audiobooks (developed with Microsoft and MIT in 2023), and offline collections distributed via Kiwix. Hosting is provided by ibiblio at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The business model is donation-based rather than commercial: PGLAF accepts contributions through PayPal, BuyMeACoffee, and checks, and operates with a deliberately minimal paid staff (the firm is described as 11-50 employees, with the vast majority of work performed by volunteers). The organization is governed by a Board of Directors; Eric Hellman was appointed Executive Director in January 2026 following the October 2025 death of longtime volunteer CEO Dr. Gregory B. Newby, who had succeeded founder Michael Hart (d. 2011). There are no venture capital, private equity, or parent-company ownership interests.
Project Gutenberg firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Project Gutenberg
- Legal name
- Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
- Website
- https://gutenberg.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1971
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Project Gutenberg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating the world's oldest free digital eBook library, founded in 1971, providing 75,000+ public-domain titles in 60+ languages to general readers, students, and educators worldwide through volunteer-driven digitization and multi-format distribution.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Project Gutenberg industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Free Digital eBook Library
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130), Libraries and Archives (51921)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Reading Content & eBooks (Leveled Readers, Libraries) (EDAFACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Audiobook Technology & Services (Hosting/CDN, DRM, Analytics, Ad Insertion) (MPAJAIAI)
Keywords
Where Project Gutenberg is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Salt Lake City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Project Gutenberg business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Donations: Project Gutenberg is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies entirely on donations from the public. Donation options include PayPal (one-time or monthly), BuyMeACoffee, and check/money order. Donations support minimalist infrastructure, tiny staff, and volunteer support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Access - No pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels4 records
Project Gutenberg product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Project Gutenberg operates a free online digital library of over 75,000 public domain eBooks available in multiple formats (EPUB3, Kindle/MOBI, Plain Text, HTML, PDF) for download or online reading. Content is produced by volunteers through the Distributed Proofreaders platform, focusing on older works whose U.S. copyright has expired. Supporting offerings include the Open Audiobook Collection, MARC records for libraries, OPDS feeds, and offline catalog downloads.
Product overview
Project Gutenberg is a single, unified free eBook library offering over 75,000 public domain titles. The core product is the eBook collection available in multiple formats (EPUB3, EPUB, Kindle, PDF, plain text, HTML) for download or online reading. Supporting products include the Open Audiobook Collection (computer-generated audiobooks), OPDS catalog feeds for machine-to-machine access, MARC records for library integration, XML/RDF metadata exports, GUTINDEX plain-text catalogs, and offline catalog downloads. Content is organized via automatically-assigned Main Categories (mirroring bookstore sections) and volunteer-curated Reading Lists. All offerings are completely free with no registration required.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Project Gutenberg eBooks A library of over 75,000 free eBooks in multiple formats (EPUB3, Kindle/MOBI, Plain Text, HTML, PDF) available for download or online reading, focusing on older works whose U.S. copyright has expired. Accessible to the general public free of charge with no registration required.
- Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection Nearly 5,000 computer-generated audiobook titles produced through text-to-speech technology, derived from Project Gutenberg's public domain texts and made freely available.
- GUTINDEX
Quantifiable outcome
- 72+ million downloads in the last 30 days
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Project Gutenberg
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Project Gutenberg technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Project Gutenberg partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Distributed Proofreaders (pgdp.net)coreThe primary source of new Project Gutenberg eBooks. A web-based platform where thousands of volunteers collaboratively proofread scanned page images to create eBooks. Provides training, forums, tutorials, and quality assurance workflows. Started in 2000 and became the biggest single source of new eBooks.
- LibriVoxcoreVolunteer community that produces free human-read audiobooks from public domain texts. Project Gutenberg recommends LibriVox for audio versions of its texts. Many Project Gutenberg works are available as free LibriVox audiobooks.
- Microsoft and MITminorCollaboration in 2023 to create the Project Gutenberg Open Audiobook Collection - almost 5,000 computer-generated audio titles using text-to-speech technology.
- ibibliocoreHosts the Project Gutenberg website and servers. ibiblio is a consortium of the Center for the Public Domain and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Project Gutenberg competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Project Gutenberg social profiles
Digital presenceProject Gutenberg financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Project Gutenberg leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Project Gutenberg funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Project Gutenberg M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Project Gutenberg
What does Project Gutenberg do?
Project Gutenberg operates a free online digital library of over 75,000 public domain eBooks available in multiple formats (EPUB3, Kindle/MOBI, Plain Text, HTML, PDF) for download or online reading. Content is produced by volunteers through the Distributed Proofreaders platform, focusing on older works whose U.S. copyright has expired. Supporting offerings include the Open Audiobook Collection, MARC records for libraries, OPDS feeds, and offline catalog downloads.
Is Project Gutenberg a public or private company?
Project Gutenberg is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Project Gutenberg founded?
Project Gutenberg was founded in 1971. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Project Gutenberg based?
Project Gutenberg is headquartered in Salt Lake City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Project Gutenberg make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations.
Does Project Gutenberg have an API?
No public API is recorded for Project Gutenberg.
What industry is Project Gutenberg in?
Project Gutenberg's product category is Free Digital eBook Library. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFACAH, Digital Reading Content & eBooks (Leveled Readers, Libraries), with a secondary code of MPAJAIAI, Audiobook Technology & Services (Hosting/CDN, DRM, Analytics, Ad Insertion). Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.