How to Convert PDF to EPUB for E-Readers
Try it free — no sign-up needed
Use PDF Mate's PDF to Word tool directly in your browser.
PDF vs EPUB on E-Readers
PDFs display a fixed page layout — what you see on a 24-inch monitor is the same layout on a 6-inch Kindle screen, which means tiny text and horizontal scrolling. EPUB is a reflowable format: text adapts to the screen size, the user can change font size, and reading is far more comfortable. For long-form reading on an e-reader, EPUB is always preferable to PDF.
What Converts Well — and What Doesn't
Text-heavy PDFs (novels, articles, reports) convert to EPUB reasonably well. Layout-heavy PDFs (magazines, textbooks with sidebars, technical manuals with complex tables) often produce poor EPUB output because EPUB's reflowable nature conflicts with fixed two-column or multi-column layouts.
Step-by-Step: Convert PDF to EPUB With Calibre (Free, Desktop)
- Download Calibre (free, open-source) from calibre-ebook.com.
- Click Add Books and import your PDF.
- Select the book and click Convert Books → Convert Individually.
- Set Output Format to EPUB.
- Click OK — Calibre converts and saves the EPUB to your library folder.
- Transfer the EPUB to your e-reader via USB or your device's send-to feature.
Online PDF to EPUB Converters
Zamzar, CloudConvert, and Online2PDF offer browser-based PDF-to-EPUB conversion. Upload your file, choose EPUB as the output, and download. Quality varies — test with a short PDF first to check the result before converting a long document.
Sending to Kindle
Amazon Kindles accept EPUB files via the Send to Kindle app or by emailing to your @kindle.com address. Alternatively, Amazon's own conversion service (via the Send to Kindle desktop app) accepts PDF directly and converts it — with varying quality depending on the PDF's structure.