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MOBI to PDF Converter

Turn a DRM-free Mobipocket or Kindle e-book into a PDF you can print, annotate or read on any device. The book's compressed text is decoded in your browser, split into chapters with its images and cover, and typeset on pages with the size, font and margins you choose.

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How to use the MOBI to PDF Converter

  1. Choose your MOBI file or drop it on the box. The title, author, cover, chapter list and a text preview appear.
  2. Pick the page size: A5 or 5.5 × 8.5 in for tablets and e-readers, 6 × 9 in for a paperback look, A4 or Letter for printing.
  3. Set the font, size, line spacing, margins and alignment. Larger text suits small screens.
  4. Choose the extras: images, cover page, the book's page breaks, chapter bookmarks and page numbers.
  5. Press Convert to PDF. The PDF downloads when it is ready; long books take a few seconds.

Inside a MOBI file

A MOBI e-book is stored as a Palm database (PDB): a 78-byte header, a list of record offsets and the records themselves. The converter reads it step by step:

  1. Record 0 holds the PalmDOC header (compression type, text length, number of text records, encryption) and the MOBI header with the text encoding, the index of the first image and the optional EXTH block with the title, author, language and cover image.
  2. Text records (normally 4,096 bytes each before compression) are stripped of their trailing index entries and decompressed. PalmDOC compression is a simple LZ77 scheme: single bytes are literals, two-byte codes copy 3 to 10 bytes from up to 2,047 bytes earlier, and one byte can encode a space plus a letter. Older books may use Huffman/CDIC compression instead.
  3. The joined text is decoded as UTF-8 or Windows-1252 and parsed as HTML. Mobipocket tags such as <mbp:pagebreak/> become page breaks and <img recindex="…"> points to an image record.
  4. The pages are typeset with real font measurements, chapters become PDF bookmarks and the cover becomes the first page.

Kindle and e-book formats

ExtensionFormatWorks here?
.mobi, .prcMobipocket (MOBI 6)Yes, if DRM-free
.azwKindle store MOBIYes, if DRM-free
.azw3Kindle Format 8 (KF8)Yes, if DRM-free
.pdbPalmDOC plain-text e-bookYes
.kfx, .azw1, .tpzKFX and TopazNo
.epubEPUBUse EPUB to PDF

Choosing PDF settings

Reading onPage sizeFont sizeMargins
PhoneA514 to 16 ptNarrow
Tablet or large e-readerA5 or 5.5 × 8.5 in11 to 13 ptNormal
Printing at homeA4 or Letter11 to 12 ptWide
Book-like printout6 × 9 in10 to 11 pt, serifNormal

Frequently asked questions

What is a MOBI file?

MOBI is the Mobipocket e-book format that Amazon adopted for early Kindles. The file is a Palm database: a header record with the title, author and settings, followed by records holding the book's HTML text, compressed in 4 KB blocks, and then the images. AZW is the same format from the Kindle store, and AZW3 (KF8) is its newer HTML5-based successor in the same container.

How do I convert MOBI to PDF?

Open the .mobi file above, choose a page size and font size and press Convert to PDF. The tool decompresses the text, turns it into chapters with their images and lays them out on pages in your browser, then downloads the PDF.

Can I convert Kindle books I bought?

Only books without DRM. Books bought from the Kindle store are usually encrypted, and the tool tells you when a file is protected; no converter can read their text without the key. Free classics, books from authors who sell DRM-free and personal documents you created usually work.

Does it work with AZW3 and KFX files?

AZW3 (KF8) files without DRM are supported: the HTML text and images are read from the book. KFX and Topaz (.azw1, .tpz) are different formats used by newer Kindle apps and cannot be converted here.

Will the PDF look like the book on my Kindle?

The PDF keeps the book's structure and styling: chapters, headings, bold and italic text, lists, quotes, centered lines, images, the cover and the book's page breaks. It uses standard PDF fonts (Times or Helvetica) and fixed pages, so line breaks differ from the reflowing text on an e-reader.

Why do some characters show as question marks?

The built-in PDF fonts cover Latin alphabets with accents. Books in Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew or Asian scripts need Print / Save as PDF, which uses your system fonts and keeps every character.

Is my e-book uploaded?

No. The MOBI file is read, decompressed and converted entirely in your browser, so the book never leaves your device.

Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?

Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.

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