How can i convert kindle books to pdf

How to Convert a Kindle Book to PDF Using Free Tools

Amazon’s Kindle is a huge business. Both the hardware and the digital service changed how books, magazines, comics, and more are read each day. Unfortunately, customers can’t simply download Kindle books and read them through any app.

Contents

• Download the AZW file(s)
• Convert using Calibre (Windows/MacOS/Linux)
• Download and install DRM Removal Tool
• Adding your Kindle serial number to Calibre
• Adding your books to Calibre
• Converting your e-books to PDF

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

20 minutes

What You Need

For Digital Rights Management (DRM) reasons, all Kindle e-books are locked to Kindle hardware. These digital books use Amazon’s proprietary AZW file format, even though Kindle tablets also support MOBI files. That makes reading these e-books outside the Kindle bubble nearly impossible. The good news is that DRM protection can be removed using free tools, but it’s important you don’t share your e-books with anybody else, as you could find yourself in breach of copyright laws.

Once you’ve removed DRM protection, it’s easy to convert Kindle books into PDFs. It can be a little tricky to do, but this guide shows you how to convert a Kindle book to PDF so you can read your purchased favorites on any e-book reader, not just on a Kindle.

See more

• How to read EPUB books on your Kindle
• Best free Kindle books
• Common Kindle Fire problems, and how to fix them

Download the AZW file(s)

Due to Digital Right Management, the e-book can’t simply download to any PC. Readers must have a hardware Kindle linked to their Amazon account. Otherwise, they will see an error stating, “You have selected content that is not compatible with any of your registered devices.”

That said, even if the e-book is read via the Kindle app on Windows 10, Android, or iOS, without an actual Kindle device linked to an Amazon account, Kindle e-books will not download.

Step 1: With Amazon’s website loaded, click on your name, and then select Account on the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Select Manage Content and Devices listed under Digital Content and Devices.

Step 3: Click the Three-Dot Actions button next to the target e-book, as shown above.

Step 4: Click Download & Transfer Via USB on the pop-up menu

Step 5: A pop-up window appears with the registered Kindle selected. Click the yellow Download button.

The AWZ file will download to the default location on your PC, not to the listed Kindle device.

Note: Calibre now offers a plugin called the KFX Input plugin, which allows you to import KFX files as well. Skip to the Calibre section to find out how to use it.

Convert using Calibre (Windows/MacOS/Linux)

Calibre is software specifically designed to transfer and alter digital text into various formats. Fortunately, it will not eat up much of your device’s memory either. This software can support countless input formats, including MOBI, HTML, PRC, and AZW.

Calibre is an effective e-book manager that gives its users the creative freedom and plentiful options they need to customize their graphics and visual images. The app’s display is user-friendly and easy to navigate, making for an exceptional and incredibly informative changeover experience. Furthermore, Calibre can operate with or without a continual or running network connection.

Download and install DRM Removal Tool

In order to remove the DRM from your Kindle e-books, you’ll need to download an older version of Calibre, version 4.23.0. Once you have downloaded and installed the software, you’ll also need to download Apprentice Alf’s DRM Removal Tool. Rather than the latest version, you want to download and install v6.8.1, which will work with version 4 of Calibre. Just click on the DeDRM_tools zipped folder to download it to your computer, then unzip the folder by right-clicking it and selecting Extract All (or however you would normally unzip folders on your computer).

Here are the steps to follow to install the DRM Removal Tool Plug-in for Calibre.

Step 1: Launch Calibre and select Preferences from the top menu on the right-hand side.

Step 2: Scroll down, and under Advanced, click Plug-Ins.

Step 3: At the bottom right, click Load Plug-In From File, then select the DeDRM_Plugin zipped folder on your computer in the pop-up window.

Step 4: Click Open. Calibre will now install the plug-in.

Step 5: Restart Calibre.

Adding your Kindle serial number to Calibre

This is where things get a little complicated, but we’ll guide you through the next steps. You need to insert your Kindle serial number into Calibre, and here’s how:

Step 1: Select Preferences again from the top menu.

Step 2: Click Advanced, then select Plug-Ins.

Step 3: Double-click the line that says File Type.

Step 4: Double click on the DeDRM plug-in.

Step 5: Select the first option that says eInk Kindle ebooks and click OK.

Step 6: Now, you need to find and enter your Kindle serial number.

Step 7: On most Kindles, you can find this by going to Settings > All Settings > Device Options > Device Info on your Kindle. You should see information about your Kindle, including the serial number.

Step 8: If you’re unsure where to find your Kindle’s serial number, a quick Google of “serial location” plus your Kindle model, e.g. “10th-gen Paperwhite,” should help.

Step 9: Enter the serial number without any spaces into Calibre.

Step 10: Click Close, then OK, then click Apply.

Now you’re ready to convert your DRM-free e-books to PDF!

Adding your books to Calibre

Before converting your e-books to PDF, you’ll need to add them to Calibre. Just click on Add Books on the top left in the menu, then select the books from your downloads folder or wherever you stored them after downloading them from Amazon earlier.

Converting your e-books to PDF

Now that you’ve installed the DRM Removal plug-in, the actual conversion of an e-book to PDF is easy, as Calibre takes care of everything. Here’s how to convert your book.

Step 1: Click on the book in your list that you’d like to convert to ensure it is highlighted.

Step 2: Click Convert Books from the top menu in Calibre. You can also right-click on a book and select Convert Books, then choose Convert Individually or Bulk Convert.

Step 3: In the pop-up window, ensure "AZW3" is showing as the Input Format at the top left. At the top right, where it says, Output Format, select PDF from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: It’s also possible to adjust output settings like line height, font size, and so on, but we recommend converting the book first to see how it looks — you can always re-convert it later if you need to adjust any settings. Most books are fine with the default settings.

Step 5: Check that the title and author on the right side of your screen are correct.

Step 6: Click OK at the bottom of the screen and the conversion will begin.

Step 7: Once it’s finished, the job counter at the bottom right will return to zero.

Step 8: When you highlight the book in your list, at the right of your screen under Formats, you should now see a blue link that says "PDF."

Step 9: Click this to open your book in PDF format.

Step 10: By default, Calibre stores e-books to the Calibre Library folder on your hard drive.

Step 11: If you want to send the book to yourself (via email, for example) to read on other devices, you can select Click to Open on the right-hand side of your screen in Calibre, under Formats. This will bring up all the files associated with that book, including the cover, on your hard drive.

Remember that you should never share a DRM-free e-book with somebody else, as this is a breach of copyright law.

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How to convert a Kindle book to PDF

Change your Kindle book into PDF with ease

(Image: © Future)

After the original publication of this article, we received an email from an online writer who was concerned TechRadar was publishing this article. In part, they noted:

"There is no ethical reason why someone would need to convert a kindle book to a pdf. Those dinosaur days of kindle 1.0 are over and have been for a decade. With the free kindle apps and the cloud system there is zero reason why books can’t be synced across multiple devices. I know this first hand because I use this feature all the time. I have kindle on my kindle paper white, cell phone, desktop, laptop, and iPad. I can start a book on my phone, then finish it on my desktop. It keeps track of my progress and syncs my library. Many kindle books even allow lending, which lets you send it to a friend for 2 weeks and then the file comes back to you when the two weeks expire or they return it."

As we first noted, "due to copyright, don't plan to share these PDFs with others since it's not legal." 

Amazon continues to be the leader in eBooks thanks to its popular Kindle devices and apps. However, because of Digital Rights Management (DRM), you can only open Kindle eBooks on Amazon Kindle hardware or through official Kindle apps such as ones for iPad. Unfortunately, this limitation means you can't open these books anywhere else since they are saved in Amazon's proprietary AZW file format. Luckily, you can convert these files into PDF format, so they're readable in other locations.

Whether you should convert your AZW files to PDF is open to debate. Yes, if you plan on using the file for yourself. However, due to copyright, don't plan to share these PDFs with others since it's not legal.

We've also got a guide on how to send PDFs to your Kindle if you want this process the other way around.

• Best Kindle 2022: which Amazon ereader should you buy?

Downloading Kindle books

You need to download your Kindle books to your computer as a first step. To convert Kindle books to PDF format, you must have a physical Kindle device connected to your account. Unfortunately, you're out of luck if you're only using the Kindle service through apps.

With Kindle hardware connected to your Kindle account, log into your account on the Amazon website. Click 'Account & Lists' at the top right of the page. Under 'Your Account,' select 'Content & Devices.' Next, choose 'Books.' From the pull-down, choose 'Download & transfer via USB.'

If you don't have a physical Kindle connected to your account, you'll see the message, 'You have selected content that is not compatible with any of your registered devices.' Otherwise, click on the radio dial next to your Kindle, then choose 'Download.' Your book has been successfully downloaded onto your computer.

• Best ereader 2022: the top choices of Kindle and Kobo
• Amazon Kindle review

Converting into PDF using Calibre

For book management on PC or Mac, you can't do much better than the open-source Calibre. It's a terrific tool that makes it possible to open various file formats beyond AZW, including MOBI, HTML, and PRC. Best of all, it's free. Download the Calibre app from the official website, then install it just as you would any other app. You'll also need to download the latest version of Apprentice Alf's DRM Removal Tool, which comes in .zip format.

After launching Calibre, choose 'Preferences,' then 'Plugins.' Next, click 'Load plugin from file.' Next, open the DRM removal tool you just downloaded and follow Calibre's additional instructions. Once complete, close Calibre, then restart the app on your PC or Mac. 

In Calibre, choose 'Preferences,' then Plugins. Double-click on the DRM Removal Tool that was recently installed. Choose 'eLink Kindle ebooks' from the available menu, then select 'OK.' Add the serial number for your physical Kindle and follow the additional instructions in Calibre.

Calibre will not convert the Kindle file to PDF without the serial number entered.

Next, it's time to create your PDF. In Calibre, choose 'Add books' from the menu, then open the Kindle book you downloaded previously. Highlight the book you just added, select 'Convert Books' from the menu. Choose 'PDF' from the Output format toggle at the top right. Click 'OK' at the bottom right to convert the book into PDF.

Finally, after the book is converted, right-click 'PDF' next to Formats on the right side of the app. Next, select 'Save the PDF format to disk from the menu. Finally, save your converted book.

Converting into PDF using Epubor Ultimate

You can also use Epubor Ultimate to convert Kindle books to PDF. It follows a similar process, although it will cost you $30 for a license to use the software long-term. First, download and install Epubor Ultimate just as any other app. Once it's installed, open the app. 

For Mac users only

If you're using the latest version of Kindle for Mac on your computer, you'll probably see a message in Epubor Ultimate indicating you must instead install Kindle for Mac version 1. 31. Follow the directions within Epubor Ultimate to do so. Luckily, the process is pretty straightforward.

With the correct versions of Epubor Ultimate and Kindle installed on the computer, open the Kindle app and sign in with your Amazon account. Next, Right-click on the book you want to convert, then choose Download from the menu. Next, go to Epubor Ultimate and select the Kindle tab on the left side.

Drag the book you wish to convert to the right side of the app. Doing so will decrypt the Kindle file. Next, click 'Convert to PDF.' Finally, tap the folder icon at the bottom right, which will open up the location of your converted PDF. That's it; your Kindle book is now available in PDF format.

Why choose Epubor Ultimate over Calibre?

You might be wondering why you should buy Epubor Ultimate when you can use Calibre for free. There are two big reasons for this. First, Epubor is much easier to use. Second, it lets you convert files from many different formats. Besides Kindle, you can convert DRM-protected files from Kobo, Google Play, Nook, and Adobe Digital Edition without installing plugins.

If you only have one Kindle book to convert to PDF, it makes sense to use Calibre. Otherwise, consider Epubor. Both are available on PC and Mac.

Read more:

• Top 10 books read by IT professionals
• New Kindle Paperwhite (2022): what we want to see

Bryan M. Wolfe is a staff writer at TechRadar, iMore, and wherever Future can use him. Though his passion is Apple-based products, he doesn't have a problem using Windows and Android. Bryan's a single father of a 15-year-old daughter and a puppy, Isabelle. Thanks for reading!

How to convert a Kindle book to PDF

The lack of a Kindle shouldn't stop you from reading a book. Fortunately, with an online EPUB converter or Caliber e-book manager, you can get the books you want from Amazon and read them without a Kindle device.
Converter apps are free and the process of converting a Kindle file to PDF takes just a few steps. Once you've converted your books to PDFs, you can save your titles in Caliber.
Download AZW Files First

Both of these software options require your Kindle books to be in AZW format, not the new KFX format that Kindles now uses. You can get the AZW file by logging into your Amazon account on your computer or laptop. Go to your account and select Manage content and devices. Where it says Show in the top left, select Books, then click the three dots on the left next to the title or titles you want and select Download and Transfer via USB. You will be prompted to select one of your Kindle devices and the AZW file will be downloaded to your computer.
Note: Caliber now offers a plugin called the KFX Input plugin which also allows you to import KFX files. Go to the second page to learn how to use it.
Convert with EPUB Converter - Online
As the name suggests, EPUB Converter is a free online utility used to convert e-book files to and from their native format. The tool currently includes options to convert electronic publications such as EPUB, PDF, MOBI, and AZW among other formats, as well as convert Kindle files to PDF directly. It's fast, simple, and doesn't require a large desktop. How is it for sustainable?
Step 1: Accessing the EPUB Converter
Launch your favorite browser, then go to Kindle to PDF Converter in EPUB Converter.

Step 2: Download and Convert Kindle
Assuming you have the file(s) on your computer, click the yellow Add File button below the PDF information and above the conversion instructions. Next, locate the Kindle file you want to convert—most likely formatted in Amazon's proprietary file type, AZW, or MOBI—and click the gray "Open" button located in the lower right corner of the pop-up window. EPUB Converter also allows you to upload and convert files at the same time, so you can add as many files as you like. When finished, click the yellow Start Upload button to the right of the file you just added.

Step 3: Download PDF
When the conversion is complete—a potentially lengthy process depending on file size—right-click or CTRL-click the resulting PDF file and select the Save As link to save the file to the desired location. Either left click or single click the link to request a download or view the PDF in a browser.

EPUB Converter will host the file on its server within two hours, giving you enough time to download the new PDF. You can repeat the process as many times as needed by clicking the "Add File" button located below the newly converted file.
Convert using Caliber - Windows, MacOS and Linux
No wonder Caliber has become the go-to solution for most people who are looking for a free Kindle to PDF conversion. The e-book manager is relatively lightweight, but is replete with noteworthy features and has an attractive interface that is both resourceful and straightforward. The software also handles a huge range of input formats, from MOBI and HTML to PRC and AZW, and can work with or without a permanent or active network connection. The app has been known to create new folder directories, reorganize ebook files, and tend to be a bit buggy, but our hands-on experience hasn't led to such cases. In addition, it is equipped with intuitive options to customize the appearance and aesthetics of the resulting PDF.
Step 1: Download, install and run Caliber
Launch your favorite browser, go to the Caliber homepage and click the blue Download Caliber button. Then select the appropriate operating system and follow the installation instructions on the screen after downloading. Run the program when you're done. Step 2: Add a Kindle file just formatted in Amazon's proprietary file type, AZW, or MOBI - and click the gray "Open" button in the lower right corner of the pop-up window. Or drag the files you want to convert into the application window. Caliber offers bulk upload and direct conversion with the program, so feel free to add more than one file at a time.

Step 3: Convert Kindle
File Select the files you want to convert and click the "Convert Books" button located on the left side of the navigation bar. A pop-up window will appear containing various options for changing the book cover, title, author, tags, and other metadata components, as well as many options for changing the page design and structure of the resulting PDF file. Select PDF from the drop-down menu to the right of the Output format and make any other file settings before clicking the gray OK button in the lower right corner of the window.

Step 4: Download PDF
Once the conversion is complete—a potentially lengthy process depending on file size—select the eBook again and right-click or CTRL-click the blue PDF link next to Formats. Select the second option from the drop-down menu that appears, save the PDF format to disk, and select the desired save location. Alternatively, left click or single click on the same link to view the PDF file using your operating system's standard PDF viewer. Repeat the process as needed.

Editor's note

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How to convert a Kindle book to PDF

Kindle has become a very popular tool used by almost everyone these days. It's a small device that can store tons of e-books for you to read in your spare time. kindle books save all publications in a compatible format like AZW, MOBI, KFX, etc. But all these formats are not supported by Mac or computer. So, what if you want to read e-books stored in a Kindle book on your computer. This is a very simple task. All you have to do is convert your Kindle book to PDF and that's it. Now the question is how to do it? You can easily convert Kindle to PDF online or convert Kindle to PDF on Mac in no time.

Processes are discussed here.

This is a very simple method that won't take you much time. This process uses a Kindle converter. Several Kindle converters are available online. But we've discussed the top two here. They are listed below. However, before starting the process, transfer the required Kindle file to your Mac or computer, and then make sure the Kindle file is in AZW format. Here's how to do it.

• Sign in to your Amazon account from your computer.
• Go to Account > Manage your content and devices > Show.
• Now click "Select Books" and then select the three dots next to the three dots in the title.
• Click on the "Download and transfer via USB" option.
• When prompted, select one of the Kindle devices and the file will be downloaded to your PC.