E-Reader Formats: The eBook File Compatibility Chart

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Jason Hidalgo
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Jason Hidalgo is an award-winning technology and business journalist whose writing has also appeared in Engadget, USA Today, and the Reno Gazette-Journal.
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Jason Hidalgo
Updated September 19, 2019

With a wide range of eBook file formats out there, figuring out which device plays what can be a major hassle. Here's a list of popular e-readers through the years and what e-book and file formats they are compatible with. This list focuses primarily on eBook formats and does not include music and video file information. 

  Kindle Kindle 2 & 3 Kindle 4 Kindle 2016 Sony Readers Hanlin V3 Hanlin V5 IREX Iliads IREX 1000 Nook Alex Nook Color Kobo
ARG                          
AZW3       Y                  
AZW Y Y Y Y                  
BMP     Y*** Y*** Y Y Y Y Y Y Y   Y
CHM           Y Y            
DJVU           Y Y            
DNL                          
DOC     Y*** Y***   Y Y            
EPUB         Y Y Y     Y Y Y Y
FB2           Y Y            
GIF     Y*** Y*** Y Y Y     Y Y   Y
HTML     Y*** Y***   Y Y Y Y   Y   Y
JPG     Y*** Y*** Y Y Y Y Y Y Y   Y
LBR                          
LIT           Y Y            
LRF         Y                
MOBI Y Y Y Y   Y             Y
OPF                          
PDB                   Y      
PDF   Y*1 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
PKG                          
PNG       Y*** Y Y Y Y Y Y Y   Y
PPT           Y Y            
PRC Y Y Y Y   Y   Y Y        
PS                          
RTF         Y               Y
TIF           Y Y   Y   Y   Y
TR2                          
TR3                          
TXT Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y   Y   Y
WOLF           Y Y            
XML                          

The acronyms on the left refer to file extensions. A file called "War and Peace.txt" indicates that you have an electronic copy of the book War and Peace in "TXT" or "Plain text" format. Also, a "Y" in a box means that a device is compatible with the corresponding file format.

*The LRF extension is also sometimes known as BBeB or "Broad Band eBook."

*1-Available through Kindle firmware update 2.3.

**For Sony Reader owners: Sony's Readers indirectly support some files via conversion. Word (i.e. DOC) files are supported indirectly through Sony's eBook Library program, which will convert such files to RTF (your computer must have Microsoft Word installed).

***For Kindle owners: Unprotected versions of the following files can be sent to Amazon via your Kindle e-mail account ("name"@free.kindle.com) for conversion into the Kindle format: Microsoft Word (DOC), PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC, and MOBI.

Keep in mind that some "compatible" files won't run if they have DRM or copy protection.