AZW to PDF Converter
AZW is the file type of the first Kindles, and plenty of personal documents and older downloads still carry the extension. If the file is free of DRM, this converter lays it out as a PDF you can print, annotate or open on any device.
E-book Converter
or drop EPUB, MOBI, AZW … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
0 keeps the book's own size. E-readers let the reader change size anyway; this mainly matters for PDF, DOCX and TXT output.
Space around the text on each page. 5 mm suits e-ink screens; use 15–20 mm for a PDF you plan to print.
Justified text has straight edges on both sides like a printed book; left-aligned avoids wide gaps between words on small screens.
A5 is close to a paperback and reads well on tablets. Match device sizes the page to the reading device chosen above.
Keep the book's cover, use the first image as the cover (comics and photo books), or leave the book without one.
JPEG quality for pictures and comic pages. 85 looks identical on e-ink; lower it to shrink large comics.
Leave empty to keep the title stored in the file. This is the name shown in the reader's library.
Leave empty to keep the existing author.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the AZW file
Add .azw files, up to 20 per batch and 95 MB each. Files copied from a Kindle's documents folder can be uploaded with their original names.
- 2
Choose the page
PDF page size starts at A5, close to a paperback. For printing, pick A4 or Letter under Advanced settings and raise Page margins to 15–20 mm.
- 3
Convert to PDF
Press Convert to PDF and download the file. Uploads are deleted from the server 30 minutes after conversion.
What AZW is and how it differs from AZW3
Amazon bought the French company Mobipocket in 2005 and launched the first Kindle in 2007 with its own flavor of the MOBI format, saved as .azw. Technically an AZW book is a Mobipocket file, normally wrapped in Amazon's DRM, which is why the Kindle Store could sell it while other e-readers could not open it.
In 2011 Amazon introduced Kindle Format 8, saved as AZW3, with HTML5 and CSS3 layout, and around 2015 store books moved again to KFX, the format behind Enhanced Typesetting. The .azw extension stayed in use along the way, so the name alone does not tell you which generation is inside.
PDF is the opposite of a Kindle book: every page is fixed. That suits printing, annotating in a PDF app or an archive that must look the same in twenty years, and it suits small phones badly. The converter sets page breaks once, at the page size and margins you choose.
2007the year the first Kindle shipped, reading AZW and MOBI
AZW to PDF myths about DRM and layout
MythRenaming .azw to .pdf converts the book.
FactThe extension is only a label. The contents stay a Kindle book, and no PDF app can open them.
MythAny AZW copied from my Kindle can be converted.
FactStore purchases carry DRM tied to your Amazon account and are refused. DRM-free documents and downloads convert.
MythThe PDF keeps the Kindle's adjustable text size.
FactPDF pages are fixed. Set Base font size before converting; zooming later only magnifies the page.
MythChapters are lost in a PDF.
FactWith Table of contents on, the chapters become a clickable contents list in the PDF.
Page size and margins for an AZW to PDF file
For a phone or small tablet, keep PDF page size at A5 or choose Match device screen together with the right Reading device, so text fills the screen without zooming. For paper, choose A4 or Letter, set Page margins to 15–20 mm and a Base font size of 11 or 12 pt. Text alignment set to Justified gives the straight edges of a printed novel.
Old MOBI files from the same era convert the same way with MOBI to PDF, and a whole shelf of mixed files can go through in one batch of up to 20.
AZW
Amazon Kindle ebook (AZW)
AZW is the original Amazon Kindle ebook format introduced in 2007. It is essentially a MOBI file, usually protected by Amazon's DRM, and it is tied to Kindle devices and apps. DRM-free AZW files can be opened in Calibre; protected ones can only be read in Kindle software. Other e-readers and apps do not support it.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 2007 · Amazon
Portable Document Format
PDF was created by Adobe in 1993 and became the open ISO 32000 standard in 2008. It fixes text, fonts, images and layout so a document looks the same on every screen and printer. PDFs can contain forms, signatures, links, attachments and searchable text, and the PDF/A variant is used for long-term archiving. The fixed layout makes PDFs hard to edit, and scanned PDFs contain only images unless OCR is applied. Every browser and operating system can open them.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1993 · Adobe
AZW to PDF rescues DRM-free files from the first Kindle generation for printing, annotation or a tablet's PDF app; the opposite direction is rarely needed, because Kindles open PDF files directly.
AZW to PDF questions
How do I know whether my AZW file has DRM?
Try converting it: a protected file stops with a protection error and nothing is produced. As a rule, books bought in the Kindle Store are protected, while free public-domain downloads and documents you made yourself are not.
Can I print an AZW book?
Kindle reading apps generally offer no print option for books. A DRM-free AZW converted to PDF prints from any PDF viewer; choose A4 or Letter and margins of at least 15 mm first so the printer does not clip the text.
Is AZW the same as AZW3?
No. AZW is the original Mobipocket-based Kindle format from 2007; AZW3, also called KF8, arrived in 2011 with modern layout and fonts. Both convert when DRM-free, and AZW3 to PDF is set up for the newer one.
Why does the PDF have more pages than the Kindle showed?
Kindle page numbers and locations depend on screen and font size, while a PDF fixes them at the page size you choose. An A5 page at 11 pt holds less text than an A4 page, so the same book needs more of them.
Do the cover and pictures come through?
Yes. The cover becomes page one when Cover is set to Keep cover, and illustrations are placed where they sit in the text, scaled to the page width.
What about Kindle Store books I want as a PDF?
Those stay in the Kindle apps. Amazon's DRM ties each purchase to your account, and this converter does not remove it.