PDF to EPUB — a real, reflowable eBook
Turn a PDF into an EPUB that reflows to any screen: chapters from its headings, pictures in place, the first page as a cover, running headers and page numbers taken out. Made on your device.
PDF to EPUB
Fit meter
Settings appear once you add a PDF.
Your settings are saved on this device.
Advanced 3
Readers use it to pick a dictionary and a hyphenation style.
Ctrl + Enter runs it ·
Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B · nothing leaves this tab
Every request this page makes is listed as it happens. You’ll see our own code loading, and for some formats a codec engine, but never your file going out.
- Waiting for network activity…
Check it yourself: open your browser’s developer tools on the Network tab, or turn off Wi-Fi once the page has loaded. The tools keep working.
- 100% private Your PDF never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
- No limits No file-size cap, no watermark, no sign-up and no daily quota. Free.
- Works offline Once this page has loaded, the tool keeps working without a connection.
How to convert PDF to EPUB
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Add your PDF: Drop your PDF. Its text is read in order, and the running headers, footers and page numbers that repeat on every printed page are taken out.
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Check the settings: Check the title and author, and whether to bring the pictures and use the first page as the cover.
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Save the result: Save the EPUB. Its chapters come from the PDF’s headings, and the text reflows to fit a phone, a tablet or an eReader.
Why it doesn’t upload
The PDFs people turn into eBooks are often manuscripts, course packs and papers they have been given in confidence. Conversion sites upload the whole thing; this one reads and rebuilds it in your browser, and the PDF never leaves your device.
Check it in your browser’s Network tabWorth knowing
- A scanned PDF has no text to reflow — it is a picture of each page. Make it searchable with the OCR PDF tool first, then convert the searchable copy.
- Complex layouts — magazines, multi-column newsletters, textbooks with sidebars — are read in reading order but lose their layout, which is the point of a reflowable book and also its cost.
- Tables become ordinary paragraphs; a reflowing eBook has no fixed width to hold a wide table.
- Footnotes stay where they fell in the text rather than becoming linked notes.
Under the hood
What happens to your file
The PDF’s text is put back into reading order — running heads, footers and page numbers removed, paragraphs split by a page break joined — and written as an EPUB 3 book: chapters from its headings, bold and italic kept, pictures included, with a table of contents any eReader can use.
Reference: EPUB 3.3, W3C
Why convert a PDF to EPUB?
PDFs have fixed pages, so on a phone or e-reader you zoom and pan through every line. EPUB reflows to fit any screen, with adjustable text size. This converter builds chapters from headings, keeps pictures, uses the first page as a cover and takes out running headers and page numbers.
The book is made on your device, so nothing is uploaded.
Common reasons to turn a PDF into an eBook
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Reading on Kindle, Kobo or Apple Books
Get reflowing text instead of tiny fixed pages.
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Long reports on a phone
Read a long PDF comfortably on a small screen.
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Course readings
Read set texts on an e-reader.
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Your own writing
Turn a manuscript PDF into an EPUB to proofread on an e-reader.
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Accessibility
Adjustable text size and fonts help many readers.
Tips for PDF to EPUB conversion
- Single-column books convert best; magazines lose their layout.
- Set the title and author so the book shows properly in your library.
- Scanned PDFs need OCR first; they have no text to reflow.
- Tables become paragraphs in a reflowing book.
- Going the other way? eBook to PDF typesets an EPUB as a PDF.
Questions
How do I convert PDF to EPUB for free?
Drop the PDF here and press Make the EPUB. It is rebuilt as a reflowable eBook in your browser, with no account, no watermark and no page limit.
Will the EPUB work on a Kindle?
Yes. Amazon’s Send to Kindle accepts EPUB and converts it for your device, so email the file to your Kindle address or use the Send to Kindle app. Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books and most other readers open EPUB directly.
Why not just read the PDF on my eReader?
A PDF is a fixed page: on a six-inch screen you zoom and pan, or read type too small to see. An EPUB reflows — the text wraps to the screen, and you choose the font and size.
Will the headers and page numbers end up in the text?
No. Text that repeats at the top or bottom of most pages is recognized as a running head or footer and left out, and paragraphs split across a page break are joined back together.
How are the chapters decided?
From the PDF’s own headings: each top-level heading starts a chapter in the eReader’s contents. A PDF without headings is split into parts of about twenty pages so it still opens quickly.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The text and pictures are read out of the PDF and the EPUB is assembled inside this browser tab. Nothing is sent anywhere.