MOBI Converter

How to Convert MOBI to EPUB or PDF

1. Upload Your MOBI File: Drag and drop your .mobi book or click "Add Files" — you can also pull it in from Google Drive or Dropbox. Batch is supported, so drop in a whole shelf of old Kindle books and each one converts in turn.
2. Pick an Output Format: Choose EPUB to modernize the book for current e-readers (this is the default), or PDF for a fixed-layout, printable copy. The output-format selector is the main control you set.
3. Keep the Optimized Defaults (or Open Advanced Options): xconvert's defaults are tuned to preserve chapters, the table of contents, and inline images during the conversion, so most books need nothing else. Advanced Options is there if you have a specific reason to override the defaults.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared.

Popular MOBI Conversions

• MOBI to EPUB — the modern open ebook format that current Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and Google Play Books all read
• MOBI to PDF — a fixed-layout copy for printing, annotating, or sending to anyone regardless of e-reader

The reverse direction — building a MOBI from another format — is linked further down the page. If you have an EPUB you want back in legacy Kindle form, use EPUB to MOBI; to turn a document into a MOBI, see PDF to MOBI.

Why Convert a MOBI File?

MOBI is the Mobipocket ebook format, created by the French company Mobipocket SA (founded 2000) and acquired by Amazon in 2005. It became the foundation of the early Kindle: Amazon forked it into AZW (MOBI plus DRM) for the first Kindle in 2007, then moved on to AZW3/KF8 with the Kindle Fire in late 2011 and to KFX in 2015. MOBI itself is a legacy format now — a record-based file structure inherited from the old Palm OS / PalmDOC era, with no support for the reflowable-plus-rich-layout content that modern readers expect.

The bigger reason to convert is that Amazon has retired MOBI on its own platform. Kindle's "Send to Kindle" stopped accepting MOBI files in 2022, and Kindle Direct Publishing stopped accepting MOBI uploads — first for reflowable books on August 1, 2021, then fully (including fixed-layout) on March 18, 2025. Kindle now prefers EPUB, which it auto-converts on its end, and KFX. So a .mobi file you saved years ago can be awkward to open on a current device.

Converting forward fixes that:

• For any modern e-reader — convert MOBI to EPUB. EPUB is the open ebook standard maintained by the W3C, and it reflows text to fit any screen, font size, or device. Current Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books, and most reader apps all open EPUB natively (Kindle silently converts it on import). This is the right target for actually reading an old MOBI on today's hardware.
• For printing or fixed layout — convert MOBI to PDF. PDF freezes the page layout, which is what you want for annotating, printing, or sharing a copy that looks identical everywhere. It doesn't reflow, so it's a worse reading experience on a small phone screen, but it's the universal "looks the same on every device" format.
• To preserve a book before its reader disappears. MOBI has no living spec and fewer apps open it each year. Moving your library to EPUB now is the safest way to keep those books readable long-term.

Ebook Format Comparison

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MOBI still supported by Kindle?

Not for new files. Amazon retired MOBI from "Send to Kindle" in 2022 and stopped accepting MOBI uploads in Kindle Direct Publishing — reflowable books on August 1, 2021, and the rest (fixed-layout) on March 18, 2025. Existing MOBI books already in your Amazon library still work, and older Kindles can still read MOBI files copied over by USB, but you can no longer email or upload a MOBI to a current Kindle. The supported path today is to convert MOBI to EPUB, which Kindle accepts and auto-converts on its end.

Should I convert MOBI to EPUB or to AZW3 for my Kindle?

For almost everyone, EPUB. Kindle now accepts EPUB through Send to Kindle and converts it on import, so it's the official, future-proof route — and EPUB also works on every non-Kindle reader you might switch to. AZW3 (Kindle Format 8) is only worth it if you're sideloading directly to an older Kindle over USB and want a Kindle-native file; it's a proprietary Amazon format with no benefit on other devices. Since this converter targets EPUB and PDF, EPUB is the practical "make my old book read on a modern Kindle" choice.

Will converting MOBI to EPUB keep my chapters, table of contents, and images?

In our testing, a standard reflowable MOBI novel converted to EPUB kept its chapter breaks, the linked table of contents, and inline images intact, because both formats store the book as structured HTML-like content. The conversion re-wraps that content into EPUB's open packaging. Heavily styled or fixed-layout MOBI files (some illustrated or technical books) can shift slightly, since MOBI's layout model is older and less precise than EPUB 3's — but for ordinary text-and-image books the structure carries over cleanly.

What's the difference between MOBI and EPUB?

MOBI is a legacy format tied to the early Kindle, built on a record-based structure inherited from Palm devices, and it's no longer actively maintained. EPUB is the open ebook standard maintained by the W3C, currently at EPUB 3.3 (released May 2023); it supports richer layout, embedded fonts and media, and reflows to fit any screen. The practical difference: EPUB opens natively on essentially every modern reader (Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play Books), while MOBI is increasingly a format you have to convert before you can read it.

Should I convert MOBI to PDF instead?

Convert to PDF when you care about a fixed page layout — printing, marking up, or sending a copy that looks pixel-identical on every device. PDF doesn't reflow text, so on a small phone or e-reader screen you'll be pinching and scrolling, which makes it a poor choice for casual reading. For reading on an e-reader, EPUB is better because it adapts to the screen and your chosen font size. Use MOBI to PDF for the fixed-layout copy and MOBI to EPUB for the readable one.

What's the file size limit for converting a MOBI?

There's no fixed per-file cap. The conversion runs on our servers, so the practical limit is your upload size and connection speed rather than your device — and MOBI ebooks are small files (usually well under 50 MB even for image-heavy titles), so uploads are quick. You can batch a whole library at once and download the results together. Files are deleted automatically from our servers after a few hours, with no sign-up and no watermark on the output.