Convert a PDF for your Kobo
EPUB is what a Kobo reads natively, so there's no conversion step at the device end. Drop a PDF here, copy the EPUB across, done. Nothing gets uploaded on the way.
Read in this tab. Never uploaded. Here's why that's true.
This looks like a scan.
We found page images but no selectable text. Convert it and you'll get a book with nothing in it. Run it through OCR software first. We don't do OCR here.
These become the title and author in your library, which is what your device sorts by. Worth thirty seconds.
Working…
This runs on your machine, so the speed is down to your machine. Keep the tab open.
Your EPUB is ready
Getting it onto your e-reader
Kindle, pick any one
- USB. Plug the Kindle in and copy the file into the documents folder. No account, no internet, and the book never goes near Amazon. It does stay on that one device though.
- Send to Kindle. Drop it into the uploader. Easiest, and it syncs everywhere, but Amazon gets a copy.
- Email. Send it to your @kindle.com address from an approved sender. Same trade as above.
Kobo, Nook, PocketBook
Plug the device in over USB and copy the file across. EPUB is their native format, so there's no conversion step at all.
Routes 2 and 3 send the file to Amazon, who convert it on arrival and keep it in your library. That is a perfectly reasonable thing to want, since it is what gets you syncing across devices. It is just worth choosing on purpose.
Something went wrong
- EPUB
- Kobo's native format
- 0
- bytes uploaded
- Free
- no account, no cap
Kobo has the easier job here
Unlike a Kindle, a Kobo reads EPUB directly. There's no ingester converting things behind the scenes and no account to route the file through. What you copy across is what the device reads, which means the quality of the conversion is entirely down to what happens in this tab.
Copying it over
Kobo's own format list puts EPUB, EPUB2 and EPUB3 first, so there's nothing to convert on the device. A cable is the route that works on every model:
- Plug the Kobo into your computer with the USB cable. It mounts as a drive.
- Drop the EPUB anywhere on that drive, or into a folder if you like keeping things tidy.
- Eject the drive properly and unplug.
- The Kobo indexes the new file and it turns up in your library.
If it doesn't appear, the usual culprit is ejecting mid-copy. Reconnect, check the file is really there and the size looks right, then eject again.
Some models can skip the cable. The Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Elipsa 2E and Libra Colour sync from Dropbox (firmware 4.18 or later) and Google Drive (4.37 or later). The catch is that the book then passes through Dropbox or Google on its way, which USB never does. The Clara models aren't on either list.
KEPUB, and whether you need it
KEPUB is Kobo's own extended flavour of EPUB. It gets you their reading statistics, page-turn animations and marginally better text rendering. A standard EPUB works fine without any of that and is the more portable file.
If you do want KEPUB, convert here first, then either send the EPUB to the Kobo from Calibre, which has converted to KEPUB on the way by itself since version 8, or run it through kepubify. Starting from our EPUB gives either one proper structure to work with, which they can't get from a raw PDF.
Getting decent results
Leave Split into chapters on. Kobo firmware is noticeably slower opening a single huge document than several smaller ones, and chapter splitting is what keeps the file sizes sane. Leave Remove page numbers and running heads on too, unless your document has an unusual header scheme.
Set the title and author before converting. Kobo sorts your library by both, and PDF metadata is very often the name of whatever program produced the file.
Nothing is uploaded
The converter is JavaScript running in your browser. Your file is read off your own disk, never sent anywhere, and there's no server involved that could keep a copy. You can check: open devtools, watch the Network tab, convert something. Or convert one file, disconnect from the internet entirely and convert another, which also works.
Related
Questions
Does a Kobo read EPUB directly?
Yes. EPUB is Kobo's native format, so there's no conversion step on the device and no account involved. Copy the file across and it appears in your library.
What about KEPUB? Should I convert to that instead?
KEPUB is Kobo's own flavour of EPUB, and it enables their page-turn statistics and slightly better rendering. A plain EPUB works perfectly well without it. If you want KEPUB, convert here and then send the EPUB to the Kobo from Calibre, which has converted to KEPUB on the way since version 8, or run it through kepubify.
Can I send it to my Kobo without a cable?
On some models. Kobo supports Dropbox from firmware 4.18 and Google Drive from 4.37, but only on the Forma, Sage, Elipsa, Elipsa 2E and Libra Colour. Put the EPUB in the linked folder and it shows up on the device. USB works on every Kobo.
Why does my Kobo take ages to open the book?
Usually a single enormous chapter file. We split long chapters automatically for this reason, but a PDF with no bookmarks and no clear headings can still end up as one large document. Turning on chapter splitting helps.
Can I read PDFs on a Kobo without converting?
You can, and larger Kobos with bigger screens handle them better than a six-inch Kindle does. But it's still a fixed page: no reflowing, no font size changes, and a lot of pinching on anything A4.
Does this work with Kobo Clara, Libra, Sage and Elipsa?
Yes, all of them. They all read standard EPUB, which is what this produces. Same for Nook and PocketBook.
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