PDF to EPUB Converter
A PDF page is the size of a sheet of paper, which on a 6-inch e-reader means squinting or zooming on every page. Converting to EPUB turns the fixed pages into reflowable text that fits any screen and lets the reader choose the font size.
PDF Converter
or drop PDF 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.
Scanned PDFs are pictures of pages. Auto runs OCR only on pages without a text layer; On forces it for every page.
The language printed in the scan. Picking the right one noticeably improves accuracy for accents and non-Latin scripts.
Flowing text reflows into normal paragraphs that are easy to edit. Exact layout places every block where it was, which looks identical but is harder to edit.
Where detected tables go in the workbook.
Page numbers or ranges separated by commas, e.g. 1-3, 5, 8-10.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the PDF book or article
Add up to 20 PDFs at once, 95 MB each. Text-based PDFs give the cleanest ebooks; scans are read with OCR.
- 2
Keep text flowing
Flowing text and Keep images are on by default, which is what an ebook needs. Turn images off under Advanced settings for a lighter file on older readers.
- 3
Convert and send to your reader
Press Convert to EPUB, then copy the file to your e-reader, open it in Apple Books or Google Play Books, or email it with Send to Kindle.
EPUB in one paragraph
EPUB is an open ebook standard first published by the International Digital Publishing Forum in 2007. EPUB 3 followed in 2011, the IDPF merged into the W3C in 2017, and EPUB 3.3 became a W3C Recommendation in 2023. Inside, an .epub is a ZIP file of XHTML pages, CSS and images, essentially a small website packaged for offline reading, which is why it can reflow where a PDF cannot.
Converting means taking the PDF's positioned text and turning it back into that structure: paragraphs, headings that start chapters, images placed between paragraphs. Page numbers, running headers and footers have no meaning in a reflowable book, so a good conversion leaves them out of the flow.
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
EPUB
Electronic Publication
EPUB is the open ebook standard, first published by the International Digital Publishing Forum in 2007 and now maintained by the W3C. It packages XHTML, CSS, images and metadata in a ZIP file, so text reflows to fit any screen size and font setting. EPUB 3 adds audio, video, fixed layouts and accessibility features. Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books and most reading apps open EPUB, and Kindle accepts it through Send to Kindle.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 2007 · IDPF (now W3C)
People convert PDF to EPUB to read comfortably on e-readers and phones, where fixed letter-size pages are too small and text that reflows to the screen is far easier on the eyes.
Which reading apps open EPUB, PDF and TXT
| from ↓ · to → | Apple Books | Kobo | Kindle | Play Books |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPUB | EPUB to Apple Books: yes | EPUB to Kobo: yes | EPUB to Kindle: yes | EPUB to Play Books: yes |
| PDF to Apple Books: yes | PDF to Kobo: yes | PDF to Kindle: yes | PDF to Play Books: yes | |
| TXT | – TXT to Apple Books: no | TXT to Kobo: yes | TXT to Kindle: yes | – TXT to Play Books: no |
PDF to EPUB: what you gain and what you give up
You gain
- Text that fits the screen at any size
- Night mode, dictionary lookup and highlights in reader apps
- Smaller files for text-heavy books
- Delivery to Kindle through Send to Kindle
You give up
- Exact page design and page numbers
- Multi-column layouts, which become one column
- Footnotes tied to the bottom of a page, which may end up after the paragraph instead
- Complex tables, which may need horizontal scrolling
If the conversion leaves a few rough edges, the free, open-source Calibre ebook manager can edit an EPUB's metadata, cover and table of contents. For a book you only want to search or quote, PDF to text is lighter still, and when the target is an older Kindle that you load over USB, the EPUB to MOBI converter covers that last step.
PDF to EPUB FAQ
Can I read the EPUB on a Kindle?
Yes. Amazon's Send to Kindle service has accepted EPUB files since 2022 and converts them to Kindle format during delivery, by email, the Kindle app or the Send to Kindle website. It stopped accepting MOBI around the same time, so EPUB is now the format to send. The guide to sending EPUB to Kindle walks through each method.
What is the difference between reflowable and fixed-layout EPUB?
A reflowable EPUB lets text rewrap to the screen and the chosen font size, like a web page; a fixed-layout EPUB keeps each page exactly as designed, like a PDF. This converter produces reflowable EPUB, which is what most novels, essays and reports should be on an e-reader.
Will the chapters show up in the table of contents?
Headings detected in the PDF become chapter breaks and entries in the EPUB navigation, so the reader app's contents menu works. PDFs with clear, consistently styled chapter headings give the best table of contents.
What kind of PDF converts badly to EPUB?
Layouts that depend on the page: comics, magazines with text wrapped around images, sheet music, math-heavy papers and forms. These lose their meaning when reflowed. For them, keep the PDF, or turn pages into images for a picture book.
How do I convert the EPUB back to PDF later?
Use EPUB to PDF. Be aware that the round trip will not reproduce the original page design, because the EPUB stores text and images, not the PDF's page geometry.
Is it legal to convert an ebook PDF I bought?
Converting a DRM-free file for your own reading is generally treated as personal format shifting, though rules differ by country and by the seller's terms. The converter cannot open password-protected or DRM-locked files.
