How do I add any PDF to Apple Books as a readable ebook?

Convert the PDF to EPUB at toolkit.bot/pdf2epub (free, no account), then open the EPUB file on your iPhone or Mac. On iPhone, tap the file in Safari Downloads and choose 'Open in Books.' On Mac, double-click the EPUB and it opens in Apple Books automatically. The book syncs across all your Apple devices via iCloud.

Why does Apple Books not read PDFs like ebooks?

Apple Books renders PDFs as fixed-size images, not reflowable text. The font size slider, line spacing, and background colour controls don't apply to PDFs. Converting to EPUB first gives you full reading controls, highlights, bookmarks, chapter navigation, and iCloud sync — the same experience as a purchased book.

Can I add a scanned PDF to Apple Books as readable text?

Yes — convert it to EPUB first using toolkit.bot. toolkit.bot runs automatic OCR on scanned image-only PDFs, producing an EPUB with real, selectable, reflowable text. Apple Books can then highlight, look up, and read aloud every word using VoiceOver.

How do I AirDrop an EPUB to Apple Books on iPhone?

On your Mac, right-click the EPUB file, choose Share → AirDrop, and select your iPhone. Accept the incoming file on your iPhone and it opens automatically in Apple Books and is added to your library.

How to Add Any PDF to Apple Books as a Readable Ebook

Apple Books reads EPUB natively — meaning text reflows to your font size, highlights work, and chapters appear in the navigation panel. The catch: PDFs aren't EPUBs, so they land in a second-class "PDFs" section with none of those features. The fix is a one-step conversion before you transfer the file.

Why Apple Books and PDFs don't get along

When you add a PDF to Apple Books, the app renders it as fixed-size images — one page per screen. On iPhone, that means constant pinching and panning to read normal text. The font size slider, background colour, and line spacing controls do nothing. Highlights and bookmarks are limited. The file doesn't appear in your Books library alongside purchased titles.

Convert the PDF to EPUB first and the experience is completely different: the text reflows to fit your screen, every reading control works, and the book syncs to all your Apple devices via iCloud automatically.

Step 1 — Convert the PDF to EPUB

Open toolkit.bot/pdf2epub in any browser — no account needed
Upload your PDF (drag and drop, or tap the file picker on iPhone)
Wait about 30 seconds for the conversion to finish
Download the .epub file

That's the only tool you need. toolkit.bot handles text PDFs, scanned image-only PDFs (via automatic OCR), two-column academic papers, and documents with tables and footnotes.

Step 2 — Add the EPUB to Apple Books

Choose the method that matches your device:

On iPhone or iPad

From Safari: tap the downloaded .epub file in the Downloads list → tap the share icon → "Open in Books." The file is imported to your library instantly.
From Files app: find the .epub in Files → long-press → Share → Books.
From Mail: open the email attachment, tap the share icon, choose Books.
AirDrop from Mac: right-click the EPUB on your Mac → Share → AirDrop → select your iPhone. Accept on the device and it opens in Books.

On Mac

Double-click the EPUB file — it opens in Apple Books automatically and is added to your library.
Drag and drop the EPUB into the Apple Books window.
File → Add to Library in the Books menu bar.

Once added on any Apple device, the book syncs to your entire Apple library via iCloud. Open it on iPhone, read on iPad, continue on Mac — your position and highlights follow you.

Scanned PDFs — do they work?

Yes. Scanned PDFs contain images of pages rather than real text, which means Apple Books can't reflow them or make them selectable even if you converted them without OCR. toolkit.bot automatically runs Tesseract OCR on image-based PDFs during conversion. The EPUB output contains real, reflowable, searchable text — you can highlight words, look them up in the dictionary, and use VoiceOver to read them aloud.

Academic papers and complex layouts

Most academic PDFs are two-column — if you read them straight across both columns you get scrambled text. toolkit.bot's layout analysis extracts columns in correct reading order. Tables in the PDF become HTML <table> elements in the EPUB. Footnotes are detected and placed as endnotes at the end of each section. The result reads like a formatted article, not like a photocopied page.

Does Apple Books support EPUB3?

Yes — Apple Books has supported EPUB3 since iOS 8 (2014) and handles the latest EPUB Accessibility 1.1 metadata. toolkit.bot produces EPUB3 output, so converted books display with proper heading structure, chapter navigation, and full accessibility support on iOS 17/18 and macOS Sonoma/Sequoia.

Free or paid?

toolkit.bot gives you 5 free conversions per month with no account required. If you convert regularly:

$9/month — unlimited conversions
$0.50/conversion — pay as you go, no subscription

Convert any PDF for Apple Books — free, no account, works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Convert PDF to EPUB →