Online PDF to EPUB converters compared

Last updated 10 October 2026

Six PDF to EPUB converters you can use from a browser, compared on where they convert, whether your file is uploaded, how long an uploaded file is kept, OCR for scans, and whether you need an account. Every entry for another service comes from that service's own pages, checked on 10 October 2026.

What is the short answer?

Four of the six upload your PDF and convert it on their servers: CloudConvert, Zamzar, Online-Convert and Convertio. FreePub and Finepress convert in your browser, so the PDF is not uploaded.

• The four that upload say they delete files after a set time, from 24 hours to 7 days, or do not state a time on the pages checked.
• None of the four offers OCR on its PDF to EPUB converter. Online-Convert and Convertio have OCR as separate tools.
• FreePub's text option uses OCR as a fallback; otherwise it turns each page into an image. Finepress runs OCR on scanned pages in English and simplified Chinese.

How do the converters compare?

"Not stated" means the service's pages listed under the table do not say.

How do FreePub and Finepress differ?

Both run in the browser and do not upload the PDF. They make different kinds of EPUB.

• FreePub is set up for sending PDFs to a Kindle. Its site says it renders each page as an image and packs the images into a fixed-layout EPUB, so the pages look like the PDF. Its text option extracts the text instead, and its site says that option removes images and tables.
• Finepress makes a reflowable EPUB from the text. It removes running headers and page numbers, reads columns in order, and keeps figures. Tables are flattened into text. It is also a reader, with marks, notes and search.

If you want the PDF's exact pages on a Kindle, FreePub's page images do that. If you want text that fits the screen, use a reflowable EPUB. Read a PDF on your Kindle covers that route.

How can I test a converter myself?

Make one short test PDF with the pages that usually go wrong, convert it with each tool, and compare the EPUBs. Use a file you do not mind sharing when you test a converter that uploads.

1. A page set in two columns, such as a page from a journal article
2. A page with a running header and a page number
3. A paragraph where a word is split across two lines with a hyphen
4. A scanned page with no text layer, such as a photo of a printed page saved as PDF
5. A page with a figure and a caption

To see whether a converter uploads the file, open your browser's network panel before you add it. Convert a PDF to EPUB without uploading it shows how.

What should I look for in the EPUB?

Open each EPUB in a reader, make the type larger, and check these points.

• Reflow: the lines rewrap when you change the type size. Page images do not.
• Column order: the two-column page reads down the first column, then the second.
• Headers and page numbers: they are gone from the middle of the text.
• Split words: the hyphenated word is joined.
• Scanned page: it has text you can search, not only a picture.
• Contents: the chapters are listed and each one opens at the right place.

In Finepress, Check EPUB in a book's details looks for structural problems in the file, and you can add an EPUB from another converter to check it the same way.

How was this comparison made?

On 10 October 2026, each service's privacy policy, PDF to EPUB page and related help or pricing pages were read. No files were uploaded to any of them.

• CloudConvert: privacy policy, PDF to EPUB page, pricing, and its public format list
• Zamzar: privacy policy and PDF to EPUB page
• Online-Convert: privacy policy, terms, help, pricing and EPUB converter
• Convertio: privacy policy, security page and PDF to EPUB page
• FreePub: its home page, dated 25 June 2026

A service can change its policy or its tools, so read the current pages before you rely on them.