Convert MOBI to EPUB

FileReshape's MOBI to EPUB converter turns a DRM-free MOBI, AZW or PRC Kindle book into an EPUB 3 file with the book's text, images, cover, links and table of contents. The book is converted in your browser and is not uploaded. Books with DRM from the Kindle Store and KFX files cannot be converted.

Drop your MOBI file here or click to choose

Did a file not convert correctly? E-mail [email protected], ideally with a small sample file, and it will be fixed.

Key facts

Input: MOBI (.mobi). Output: EPUB (.epub).
Your files are not uploaded: the work is done in your browser, on your own device.
File size: up to 300 MB per book.
Needs a current browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) on a computer, tablet or phone; nothing to install.
Free to use, with no sign-up.

Why convert MOBI to EPUB

MOBI is the old Mobipocket format that the first Kindles used. Plenty of books still come as .mobi: older purchases from shops that sold Kindle-ready files, Project Gutenberg downloads, books from small publishers and files you made yourself years ago with KindleGen. Few apps outside Amazon open them. Kobo readers, Apple Books, Google Play Books, PocketBook, Tolino and most library apps read EPUB instead, and Amazon's own Send to Kindle service stopped accepting MOBI files in 2022 but takes EPUB. This tool opens the MOBI in your browser, decompresses the text, splits it into chapters at the book's page breaks, keeps the cover and pictures, turns the internal links and the table of contents into normal EPUB links, and writes a standard EPUB 3 file that also carries an EPUB 2 table of contents for older readers. If the MOBI also contains a newer KF8 version of the book, as files made by KindleGen often do, the richer KF8 version is used.

How to convert MOBI to EPUB

Drop your .mobi, .azw or .prc file in the box, or click to choose it. The title, author and cover appear.
Click Convert to EPUB.
Save the EPUB, then copy it to your e-reader, open it in your reading app or send it to your Kindle.

What changes when you convert

Books with DRM cannot be converted

Books bought in the Kindle Store are usually protected with DRM (copy protection), and only Amazon's Kindle apps and devices hold the key. The tool reads the DRM flag in the file and tells you instead of writing a broken EPUB. DRM-free MOBI files, such as those from Project Gutenberg, many independent authors and your own files, convert fine.

KFX files are a different format

Newer Kindle apps and devices download books as KFX (files ending in .kfx or .azw that start with a CONT header). KFX is not a MOBI file and cannot be read outside Amazon's software, so the tool tells you when it finds one.

Old MOBI books have simple formatting

The MOBI format only knew basic HTML: bold and italic text, headings, indents, alignment and pictures. The EPUB keeps exactly that, so it looks like the original rather than like a newly typeset book. Your reading app chooses the font and line spacing, as it does with any EPUB.

Chapters follow the page breaks

An old MOBI is one long text with page-break marks. Each part between two breaks becomes one file in the EPUB, which is usually one chapter. If a book has no page breaks, the EPUB has one long part, and the table of contents still jumps to the right places.

About the formats

MOBI

MOBI is the Mobipocket e-book format, which Amazon bought in 2005 and used for the first Kindle devices. A MOBI file holds simple HTML with images, compressed in a Palm database container. Amazon has since replaced it with KF8 (AZW3) and KFX, and Send to Kindle no longer accepts MOBI files, but many older books and downloads still come as .mobi.

Old Kindle books bought from Amazon use the .azw extension; they are MOBI files, usually with DRM.
MOBI supports only basic formatting: no embedded fonts, little CSS and no fixed-layout pages.
Many .mobi files made by KindleGen also contain a KF8 (AZW3) version of the same book.
Text is compressed with PalmDOC (LZ77) or Huffman coding and split into 4 KB records.

EPUB

EPUB is the open standard for e-books, first published by the IDPF in 2007 and maintained by the W3C since 2017. Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books and most library and e-reader apps open it. The text reflows to fit the screen and the reader's chosen font size, so an EPUB has no fixed pages.

An EPUB is a ZIP archive of XHTML pages, CSS, images and fonts, plus a package file (.opf) that lists them.
The spine in the package file sets the reading order. EPUB 2 (2007) and EPUB 3 (2011 onwards) are both common.
Books with DRM, such as Adobe ADEPT or Apple FairPlay, are encrypted and only open in the apps that hold the key. Kindle books use Amazon's own formats, not EPUB.
Fixed-layout EPUBs, used for comics and picture books, have set pages instead of reflowing text.

Frequently asked questions

Is my book uploaded?

No. The MOBI is read and the EPUB is written by your browser on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server, so the tool also works for private documents.

Can I send the EPUB to my Kindle?

Yes. Send to Kindle (by e-mail, the app or the website) accepts EPUB files and converts them for your Kindle. It no longer accepts MOBI, which is a common reason to convert.

What about AZW files?

A .azw file from Amazon is a MOBI file, usually with DRM. Without DRM it converts like any MOBI. For .azw3 files, use the AZW3 to EPUB converter, or drop them here, since both read the same files.

Will the EPUB pass validation?

The tool writes a standard EPUB 3 package and is tested with EPUBCheck, the official validator. Books with unusual markup may still give warnings, which reading apps ignore.