What happens when you convert FB2 to PDF
- The FB2 is converted by Calibre, the widely used open-source e-book manager, on our conversion server.
- The book is laid out on A4 pages with margins of about 1.9 cm, keeping its chapters, headings, images and table of contents. E-books have no fixed pages, so the page breaks are new.
- 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 FB2 to PDF online
- Press "Choose FB2 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 PDF". 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 PDF with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your FB2 and the PDF by then.
Why convert FB2 to PDF?
FB2 files usually come from e-books from Russian and Eastern European libraries. People convert them to PDF because a PDF looks the same on every device and is what forms, portals and printers ask for.
In short, FB2 is good at what it was made for, and PDF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. FB2 opens in FBReader, Calibre and many Android reading apps, while PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer.
How to convert FB2 to PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your FB2 files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the FB2 files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PDF files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose FB2 files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PDF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose FB2 files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PDF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for FB2 to PDF
There are no settings: the book is laid out on A4 pages with margins of about 1.9 cm, which prints well and reads comfortably on a tablet or laptop.
DRM-protected books cannot be converted. Books from Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, public libraries' free collections and most independent authors are DRM-free.
FB2 vs PDF: the differences
| FB2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | FictionBook e-book | Portable Document Format |
| Type | e-book | document |
| Created by | Russian open-source developers | Adobe |
| First released | 2004 | 1993 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | n/a | No |
| Animation | n/a | No |
| Vector or raster | n/a | Vector |
| Colour | n/a | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| What it holds | a book's text, structure and metadata as a single XML file | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| In a browser | opens in FBReader, Calibre and many Android reading apps | opens in every browser's built-in viewer |
| Common uses | e-books from Russian and Eastern European libraries | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files |
| MIME type | application/x-fictionbook+xml | application/pdf |
About FB2 and PDF files
What is an FB2 file?
FictionBook stores a whole book as one XML file describing its structure rather than its look, so every reader lays it out its own way.
What is a PDF file?
A PDF fixes the layout of every page so it looks the same on any device. Converting a PDF to an image renders each page to pixels; converting an image to PDF wraps it as a page.
FB2 to PDF not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images in the document, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex documents can exceed the time limit. Split the document and convert the parts.
- The e-book will not convert. Books with DRM, usually those bought from Amazon or other stores, are encrypted and cannot be converted.
Convert FB2 to PDF from the command line
This page uses Calibre. Installed on your computer, its ebook-convert command does the same conversion:
ebook-convert input.fb2 output.pdfConverting 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.
FB2 to PDF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting FB2 to PDF?
The text, images, headings and table of contents are kept. A PDF has fixed pages, so the book is laid out on A4 pages and no longer reflows to fit a small screen.
Why is the PDF a different size from the FB2?
A PDF embeds the fonts and images it uses, so it may be larger or smaller than the FB2 depending on its pictures. Text-only documents usually make small PDFs.
Are my FB2 files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful FB2 to PDF 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 PDF as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several FB2 files to PDF 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 PDF file?
PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer. PDF is common for documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files.
Is this FB2 to PDF 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 FB2 to PDF 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 PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.