What formats does Kindle support?
Not every ebook format works with Kindle. Here are all the supported formats and how you can convert unsupported ebook formats to a native Kindle format.
Several years ago, when I got my first Kindle, I found an ebook online that used the EPUB format. I wanted to download it, but I first needed to verify if Kindle supported it. It ended up that it didn’t support it, but it was possible to convert it to Amazon’s MOBI format. However, in 2022, Amazon discontinued support for its MOBI and AZW formats but added support for EPUB.
Existing MOBI and AZW files in a Kindle Library are converted to the KF8 (.azw3) format, but adding new MOBI and AZW ebooks is no longer supported by Send to Kindle. Whereas EPUB files can now be added to a Kindle Library, and like pre-existing MOBI and AZW files, they are automatically converted to KF8 files.
If you have MOBI or AZW ebook files that you want to add to your Kindle, you’ll need to use Calibre to convert them to EPUB format and then use Send to Kindle to get them into your Amazon Digital Content library. You can then find them filed under Docs, not Books. If you want them filed under Books, convert them to the AZW3 format in Calibre and copy them to the device directly via USB. Regardless of where they’re filed, all Kindle devices can read the ebook once it’s added.
Supported Kindle Formats
These are all file formats you can use on a Kindle device in 2023.
- Amazon KF8 ebook (.azw3)
- Amazon Print Replica ebook (.azw4)
- EPUB ebook (.epub)
- Unprotected PRC ebook (.prc)
- PDF document (.pdf)
- Microsoft Word document (.doc, .docx)
- Rich Text Format document (.rtf)
- Plain Text document (.txt)
- HTML page (.htm, .html)
- JPEG image (.jpg, .jpeg)
- PNG image (.png)
- BMP image (.bmp)
- GIF image (.gif)
Like MOBI and AZW, if you have an ebook format that Kindle doesn’t support, you can usually convert it to a compatible format using Calibre if it’s not protected by digital rights management (DRM).
How families can manage their ebooks with multiple Kindles and devices
People who read books on Kindle naturally tend to buy most of their ebooks from Amazon.com. They also get handed down to other family members, and before you know it, there are multiple Kindles within a single household. Fortunately, Amazon makes it easy to manage digital content for the entire family.
Amazon provides a feature called Family Library. It allows books to be shared between two adult accounts, and children can be added as child profiles as part of an adult’s account. The ‘Manage Your Household’ page is located at amazon.com/myh/manage.
Jon Henshaw is the founder of Coywolf and an industry veteran with almost three decades of SEO, digital marketing, and web technologies experience. Follow @[email protected]