PDF or EPUB: which e-book format should you want?
Updated
Short answer
EPUB reflows: the text re-wraps to any screen and any font size, which makes it best on phones and e-readers. PDF is a fixed page: it looks exactly as designed on every device, which makes it best for books with a deliberate layout, and best on tablets, laptops and print.
The one difference that matters
Almost everything else follows from this: EPUB is text that flows; PDF is a page that stays still.
- EPUB re-wraps its text to fit whatever screen it is on. You can make the letters bigger and the lines simply get shorter. Nothing is ever cut off.
- PDF keeps the page exactly as it was typeset — the margins, the cover, where each line breaks. Bigger text means zooming in, not reflowing.
Where each one is better
Choose EPUB for novels and long plain text read on a phone or an e-ink reader, where being able to set your own font size matters most.
Choose PDF when the layout is part of the book: a designed cover, a contents page that lines up, diagrams, anything meant to be printed, or a book you want to look identical on every device and in ten years' time. PDFs also open everywhere without a special app.
Can you convert one into the other?
Yes, with conversion tools — but PDF to EPUB is the hard direction. A PDF does not record which lines are headings or where paragraphs end, so conversions often come out with broken lines and stray page numbers. Converting EPUB to PDF is easier and usually clean.
Reading your PDF on a particular device: Kindle, iPhone or iPad, Android.
Questions people also ask
- Can a Kindle open EPUB files?
- Kindle devices do not read EPUB directly, but Amazon's Send to Kindle accepts EPUB files and converts them for your Kindle library.
- Which format is better for printing?
- PDF. It prints exactly as it looks on screen, page for page.
- Is a PDF e-book less of a book than an EPUB?
- No — it is the same text in a different container. The choice is about the screen you read on and whether the layout matters.
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