Convert EPUB to text
Pull the words out of an ebook for reading, searching, note-taking or text-to-speech, without sending the book anywhere.
Drop files here
or click to choose from your deviceAccepted: EPUB
Up to 3 files per runUp to 20 MB per file5 runs per dayRemove limits with Pro✓ Works offline
Your files stay on your device
This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored, and you can even turn off your internet connection before you start.
Example
Example: Pride and Prejudice from a DRM-free EPUB, as text to search and quote
For an English Literature essay, a student wants every passage that mentions Pemberley. The novel is in the public domain and free as a DRM-free EPUB, for instance from Project Gutenberg: pride-and-prejudice.epub, with a title page, the 61 chapters and a licence at the end in its spine.
- The EPUB is unzipped in the browser; the package file gives the book’s title and the spine, the reading order.
- With Plain text (.txt), the title comes first, then each file in the spine: paragraphs separated by a blank line, one spine file from the next by two.
- With Markdown (.md), the file starts with “# Pride and Prejudice”; headings keep their level, italics and bold their asterisks, block quotes get “> ” and spine files are divided by a --- line.
- Pictures are dropped and a contents list marked as navigation is skipped; the title and licence pages come along, because they are in the spine.
| In the EPUB | In the .txt | In the .md |
|---|---|---|
| Book title in the metadata | First line | # Pride and Prejudice |
| Chapter heading at level 2 | A line of its own | ## and the heading |
| Italic word | Plain | *word* |
| A block quote | Ordinary paragraphs | Each line starting “> ” |
| Numbered list | One item per line | 1., 2., 3. … |
| Next spine file | Two blank lines | A --- line |
| Picture | Dropped | Dropped |
pride-and-prejudice.txt holds the whole novel in reading order, so a search for “Pemberley” in any editor lands on every mention. Delete the title and licence pages before counting words. Several EPUBs at once give one file each.
How it works
- Drop .epub files onto the box, or choose them from your device.
- Pick the output format. Plain text gives paragraphs separated by blank lines; Markdown keeps headings, emphasis and lists so the structure survives.
- Press Extract text. The EPUB is unzipped in your browser, the spine is read from the package file, and each chapter's XHTML is converted in reading order.
- Download the .txt or .md file, one per book.
Frequently asked questions
- Is the ebook uploaded?
- No. An EPUB is a ZIP archive of XHTML files; it is unzipped and parsed entirely in your browser. The book never leaves your device, and the tool works offline.
- Does it work with DRM-protected books?
- No. Books bought from stores that apply DRM, such as Adobe ADEPT or Kindle, have encrypted chapter files that cannot be read. Only DRM-free EPUBs, such as those from Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks or your own publishing tools, can be converted.
- In what order are chapters output?
- In spine order, the reading order the publisher defined in the OPF package file. This matches how an ereader would page through the book, including front matter and appendices.
- What about images, footnotes and formatting?
- Images are dropped; alt text is not included. Footnote text is kept where it appears in the source files. Plain text discards formatting; Markdown keeps headings with their level, bold, italic and list items, numbers the items of a numbered list, and marks block quotes with >.
- Are EPUB 2 and EPUB 3 both supported?
- Yes. Both use the same container structure and OPF package, so they are handled identically. Fixed-layout and comic EPUBs contain little text and produce short output.
- Why are the title page and the licence in my text?
- Because the publisher put them in the spine, and every spine file is converted in reading order. The first line is the title from the book’s metadata (in Markdown, a # heading). A table of contents marked as navigation is skipped; one written as an ordinary page comes through as text, and is easy to delete.
- What are the free limits?
- The free plan allows 3 files per run, 20 MB per file and 5 runs per day. Pro removes these limits.