Kindle-compatible formats and how to convert any book to a readable format

  • Kindle supports its own formats (AZW, AZW3, MOBI, PRC) and other common formats such as PDF, DOC, TXT and images, but does not read ePUB directly.
  • The best Kindle reading experience is achieved by using native adjustable formats (especially AZW3) rather than PDF or other fixed formats.
  • To convert ePUB, PDF and other formats to Kindle you can use Calibre on desktop or online services such as Online-Convert, To ePub, Convertio or Ebook2Edit.
  • Mastering these formats and tools allows you to save money, take advantage of free libraries, and get much more out of your Kindle for study and leisure.

Amazon Kindle

They are the most famous eBook readers so far, with millions of units sold and reaching a large market share. The well-known Kindle are the perfect option when reading a book, not having to use traditional books.

Compatibility is the only negative point of these eReaders, but over time tools have been arriving with which to convert from one format to another. Let's talk about the formats compatible with Kindle, which at the moment are up to three at least those available by the company.

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Formats supported by Kindle

kindle-1

Amazon Kindle has high compatibility, but it is worth mentioning that at least four of them are to be able to read electronic books. Among its formats are the proprietary ones, which are AZW and AZW3, but the company acquired MOBI, a compatible format for this device and other readers.

A format that is also compatible with Kindle is PRC, but everything as long as it is without DRM projection, if it has it, it becomes not readable. Besides, this reader can read other well-known formats such as TXT, PDF, as well as other common formats such as DOC, DOCX, JPG, GIF, BMP and PNG.

There are up to four compatible Kindle formats to be able to read books, as long as the PDF is designed for other types of uses. The AWZ, AWZ3, MOBI and PRC are the four available at the moment and which are currently the ones that users of this device can use.

All formats compatible with Kindle

kindle read

  • AZW3: It is the native format launched by Amazon for their Kindle, being read by readers from the seventh generation. It is right now the one that is being used by the owners of an eReader from the manufacturer
  • AZW: It was the first native format released by Amazon, but was later replaced by AZW3, which now has better KIndle compatibility
  • MOBI: Monipocket ebook was acquired a few years ago by Amazon, although it is maintained as an open standard for the edition of electronic books and is used by other readers together with the ePUB format
  • PRC: It is a book format recognized by Kindle, although it has to be said that it is the least used at the moment, to read books of this type they have to be without DRM protection

The other formats are the ones mentioned above, although they are read, they are not used to read any book, although it is worth mentioning that the PDF is used by newspapers, magazines and many other uses. PDF is joined by others such as TXT, DOC, DOCX, GIF, PNG, JPG and BMP, the last four are used by images.

ePUB format is not readable by KIndle readers, which is why many have been discarding this eReader for not reading this format, which is compatible with other readers. One way to be able to read that book in ePUB is to convert it to another recognized format such as AZW3, MOBI or AZW.

Convert from an unsupported format to one that it supports

eBook online convert

With an online tool it will be more than enough for it to be read in an Amazon e-book reader. Imagine having many ePUBs and not being able to read them on your Kindle, there is a quick solution to this and it is none other than converting each one of them into AZW, AZW3, PRC or MOBI.

The eBook Online Converter page focuses on being able to quickly convert one file to another, so you can use it on any of the readers, be it an eReader, computer or mobile phone. Thanks to its converting power, we will be able to go from one to the other in a matter of a minute. Up to 9 formats can convert.

To convert from one format to another with eBook Online Converter, Do the following:

  • The first thing is to open the page of Online eBook Converter
  • Choose the format you want to go to, for example you can do it in AZW and MOBI, two formats supported by Kindles
  • Click on “Select file” and click on the “Start” button, it will show you a loading bar
  • Once the file has been passed, it will be downloaded automatically to the computer or mobile phone

It is worth mentioning that the downloaded file has been in the AZW3 extension, the latest released by Amazon and supported by Kindle for reading. This format weighs slightly a little more, but it is not one of the heaviest, almost 1,8 megabytes has the file, which in ePUB weighed a total of 1,68 megabytes.

Caliber

Caliber

It is a well-known and very powerful computer converter, similar to the online converter and that is capable of going from one format to another in just over a minute. To do this, the application goes from a non-readable format to another that is readable for kindle, a reader that has up to four formats to read books.

The application is available for desktop operating systems, which are Windows, Mac OS and GNU/Linux, not being on Android. The only solution to use Caliber on a phone is to plug in the USB and read a book comfortably while the tool is open on the computer.

Its installation requires little space, it is also not a very heavy program, so it can be installed on a low-mid-range computer if you want. To use Caliber and convert a book with the app, do the following:

  • The first and fundamental thing is to download Caliber since Official Site
  • Select the file to convert, for example an ePUB
  • If you have chosen the file, now click on “Convert books”, it will appear above and show you a new window
  • On the right side, where it shows output format, select the format to pass among the many available
  • For example select AZW3 and click on the “OK” button
  • The conversion will take just under a few seconds, so you have the converted and downloadable file to use in your reader
  • And that's it, you've already converted that ePUB to AZW3, a format that KIndle does support.