If you often purchase ebooks from Amazon Kindle, you must have come across AZW format if you ever tried to download them. AZW is the most popular format adopted. Although Amazon has recently employed a new KFX DRM, the books are still saved as AZW format when you download them from Kindle for PC/Mac. All the Kindle AZW books are DRM-protected and only supported by Kindle devices and Kindle apps. To read Kindle AZW books freely on other devices, you need a AZW Converter to help you.
Here in this post, you will get the best free AZW Converter--Calibre, to help you convert AZW to PDF/Epub/Mobi.
Why Do We Need AZW Converter?
AZW4 is an Amazon proprietary format for textbooks. It is a PDF format in a PDB wrapper, and usually with DRM. The wrapper provides the same DRM method as is used on the Kindle's Mobipocket format. Calibre: The one stop solution for all your e-book needs. Comprehensive e-book software. How to convert AZW3 to PDF with Calibre. Install Calibre and add DRM plugins into it. To make sure it can convert AZW3 to PDF successfully without the following situation, you should firstly install DeDRM Plugin to remove DRM from kindle books in Calibre (this step is essential if you have to deal with DRM protected AZW3 books). Latest version: 6.8.0, released on. Best for: Removing.
1Kindle AZW books are not supported by non-Kindle device. We need AZW converter to convert AZW to more common-used PDF, Epub, Mobi format in order to read Kindle books freely on multiple devices like Kobo, Nook, Sony eReader or any reading app.
2We need AZW Converter to back up our Kindle books so that even Amazon abandoned it one day we can still enjoy them permanently. I want my purchases 100% owned by myself.
3We need it to remove the DRM and then share the Kindle books with our friends or family members for not wasting money to purchase the same title once again.
4We hope that we could print Kindle books to paper books.
1. Calibre--A Free Kindle AZW Converter
Calibre is a free ebook manager which also serves as an ebook converter to convert the ebook formats. Besides, Calibre can decrypt ebooks with the DRM removal plugin, including Kindle AZW/KFX/AZW3. Now let's find out how Calibre works as an AZW Converter.
Key Features of Calibre:
Pros:
1. It's completely free to use.
2. It's a multi-functional tool for ebooks, including ebook management, ebook format conversion and so on.
Cons:
1. Must install Calibre DRM Removal Plugin to convert Kindle AZW books. Quite complicated time-consuming.
2. Cannot automatically detect and load Kindle books so you must add them to Calibre manually.
3. The interface is complex for the newbie.
4. As a freeware, it does not provide customer service or support.
Step 1 Download Calibre and DeDRM Plugin, and install the DeDRM Plugin to Calibre.
Intalling the DeDRM plugin to Calibre is an essential step to successfully decrypt Kindle AZW books.
Step 2Download Kindle AZW books to your computer via Kindle for PC/Mac.
Step 3 Add Kindle AZW books to Calibre by clicking on the 'Add books' button.
If you download the Kindle AZW books to the computer via Kindle for PC/Mac, you need to add the Kindle books to Calibre from My Kindle Document folder manually.
If you don't know where to find your Kindle books, follow the guide Where are Kindle Books Stored on PC/MAC/Android
Step 4 Convert Kindle AZW to PDF, Epub, or Mobi by clicking on the 'Convert books' button.
After the conversion, there will be two formats for this book.I failed to convert the Kindle AZW books downloaded from Kindle for PC/Mac or from my Kindle device. Why?
Earlier in 2019, the Kindle has released a new Kindle KFX DRM. Your Kindle eBooks will be encrypted with this new Kindle KFX DRM if you download Kindle eBooks via Kindle for PC/MAC version 1.25 or higher, or Kindle device with firmware higher than 5.10.2.
Now Calibre can not directly handle this new DRM scheme if the Kindle books are downloaded from v1.25/v1.26 Kindle desktop app and higher version.Therefore, the current solution is to use Epubor Ultimate-the best Calibre's alternative, to help you handle this issue. And the following are 2 solutions that are 100% working.
Solution 1Downgrade Kindle for PC/Mac to Older Version
Solution 2Disable KFX Support in Kindle for PC/Mac.
2. Calibre Alternative--Epubor Ultimate (A Much Easier-to-Use AZW Converter)
Epubor Ultimate, as the best eBook Converter and eBook DRM Removal, is the alternative choice for you to remove DRM from Kindle books and convert Kindle AZW books. It should be most powerful and easy-to-use AZW Converter apart from Calibre.
Key Features of Epubor Ultimate:
1. Convert Kindle AZW/AZW3/KFX to PDF/EPUB/MOBI without installing any DRM Removal Plugin.
Calibre Azw Drm
2. Remove DRM from eBooks purchased from almost all the popular retailers such as Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Google Play Books.
3. Automatically detect device and load books.
4. Much easier to use than Calibre with a user-friendly interface.
Open Azw
5. Edit metadata, including title, author, publisher, introduction and the book cover.
The Whole Step Download Kindle AZW books to your computer via Kindle for PC 1.24 or Kindle for Mac 1.23 or simply connect your Kindle e-ink device to your computer via USB. Epubor Ultimate will automatically detect them and you can see them listed at the left column.
All you need to do is to just drag and drop the Kindle AZW books from the left to the right main window, set the output format, and choose to convert AZW to PDF, ePub, Mobi or AZW3. Immediately, the Kindle AZW books will be decrypted and converted.
Converting Azw Files
Notice for Mac Catalina and Big Sur Users:
Convert Azw To Epub Calibre
Kindle for Mac 1.23 cannot run on Mac OS Catalina or Big Sur because it's 32 bits application. Meanwhile, downgrading Kindle for Mac to an older version is not a valid method to remove Kindle DRM any more on the MacOS 10.15 Catalina or higher version with Epubor Ultimate. But If you have a Kindle e-ink device, you are still able to remove Kindle DRM on macOS Catalina and Big Sur by downloading the Kindle books from Amazon website. Here is the detailed guide: Remove Kindle DRM Through 'Download & Transfer Kindle Books via USB'.
If you don't a Kindle e-ink device, you can still follow the guide Patch Kindle for Mac on Mac Catalina to convert Kindle AZW books successfully.
3. Calibre vs Epubor Ultimate
| AZW Converter | Calibre | Epubor ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| Automatically detect device and books | No | Yes |
| DRM removal function | Must install DeDRM Plugin to remove DRM | remove DRM with one click |
| Ease of use | Difficult to use | Super easy to use |
| User-friendly interface | No | Yes |
| Customer service | No | 7/24 customer support |
| Price | free | $24.99 |
From the above comparison chart, you must have a clear idea about these two best AZW Converters. Honestly speaking, Epubor Ultimate is much easier to use than Calibre to convert Kindle AZW to PDF/Epub/Mobi. Of course, if you prefer a freeware, then Calibre plus the DeDRM Plugin can be a good choice for you. But if you are seeking the most convenient way to deal with the Kindle AZW books, Epubor Ultimate should be the best option.
Michelle loves reading very much. She seeks the methods to enjoy eBooks and audiobooks more freely and wants to share everything new she has got with you.