What happens when you convert EPUB to DOCX
- The EPUB is converted by Calibre, the widely used open-source e-book manager, on our conversion server, into a Word document you can edit.
- The chapters follow each other in reading order, keeping their headings, paragraphs, bold and italic, lists, tables and images. The title page comes first, after a table of contents that Word fills in when you update it (right-click it and choose Update Field).
- An e-book has no fixed pages, so Word lays the text out on its own pages, and the book's styling is turned into Word paragraph and character styles, which you can change for the whole document at once.
- Books bought from a store usually carry DRM, which no honest converter removes. DRM-free books, such as those from Project Gutenberg or your own, convert normally.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert EPUB to DOCX online
- Press "Choose EPUB files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to DOCX". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each DOCX with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your EPUB and the DOCX by then.
Why convert EPUB to DOCX?
EPUB files usually come from e-books from stores other than Amazon and free e-book libraries. People convert them to DOCX to edit a book in Word, Google Docs or Pages: to correct it, reuse its text, print it with their own layout, or send it to someone who works in Word.
How to convert EPUB to DOCX on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your EPUB files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each DOCX is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the EPUB files from Finder onto the drop zone and the DOCX files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose EPUB files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted DOCX appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose EPUB files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The DOCX is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for EPUB to DOCX
There are no settings: Calibre keeps the chapters, images and styling the Word format can hold, and adds a table of contents at the start.
After editing, keep the document as DOCX: Calibre, or the Word to e-book converters on this site, can turn it back into an e-book.
EPUB vs DOCX: the differences
| EPUB | DOCX | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Electronic publication | Word document |
| Type | document | document |
| Created by | the International Digital Publishing Forum | Microsoft |
| First released | 2007 | 2007 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossless |
| What it holds | chapters as XHTML pages, with images and a table of contents | formatted text, images, tables and styles in a ZIP of XML files |
| In a browser | opens in Apple Books, Google Play Books, Kobo and most e-reader apps; a Kindle needs it sent through Send to Kindle | opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice Writer |
| Common uses | e-books from stores other than Amazon and free e-book libraries | letters, reports, CVs and most documents shared at work |
| MIME type | application/epub+zip | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
About EPUB and DOCX files
What is an EPUB file?
An EPUB is a ZIP archive of web pages, one per chapter, plus a file that lists their order. That is why its text can be extracted with ordinary web tools.
What is a DOCX file?
DOCX has been Word's default format since 2007. Like XLSX it is a ZIP archive of XML files, which is how its text can be read without Word.
EPUB to DOCX not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in EPUB format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .epub is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert EPUB to DOCX from the command line
This page uses Calibre. Installed on your computer, its ebook-convert command does the same conversion:
ebook-convert input.epub output.docxConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
EPUB to DOCX converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting EPUB to DOCX?
The text, headings, images and tables are kept. Fancy e-book styling, such as drop caps and custom fonts, is simplified into Word styles.
Why is the DOCX a different size from the EPUB?
Usually of a similar size to the EPUB: both are compressed packages of the same text and images.
Are my EPUB files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful EPUB to DOCX conversion needs Calibre, the open-source e-book manager, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the DOCX as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several EPUB files to DOCX at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a DOCX file?
DOCX opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice Writer. DOCX is common for letters, reports, CVs and most documents shared at work.
Is this EPUB to DOCX converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert EPUB to DOCX on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the DOCX is saved to your Downloads folder.