Help Topics
- Help
- Account & Taxes
-
Book Formatting
-
Format Your Paperback
- Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins
- Format Front Matter, Body Matter, and Back Matter
- Save Your Manuscript File
- Paperback and Hardcover Manuscript Templates
- Cover Creator
- Create a Paperback Cover
- Format Images in Your Book
- Paperback Fonts
- Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues
- Paperback Submission Guidelines
- Format Your Hardcover
- Format Your eBook
- Tools and Resources
-
Format Your Paperback
- KDP Publishing
- Orders & Book Copies
- Amazon Store & Detail Page
- Marketing & Distribution
- Book Updates
- Payments & Reports
- Legal & Content Guidelines
-
User Guides
-
Kindle Publishing Guidelines
- Getting Started
- General Best Practices
- Guidelines for Specific Types of eBooks
- Appendices
- KDP Jumpstart
- KDP University
-
Kindle Publishing Guidelines
Contact Us
Have feedback? Can't find your answer in our Help pages?
Contact UsComparing Formats
To determine how to prepare a book for the best Kindle experience, key elements in the source are identified and evaluated against the different conversion formats. Some formats are specifically designed for certain types of books (e.g., panel view for comics), but more complex books must be analyzed to determine the best fit for the title. Only one format can be used for each Kindle book.
This chart compares our most common Kindle book formats.
This chart compares our most common Kindle book formats.
| Conversion Format | Best Suited To | Key Features | Supported Devices | Limitations | Supports Enhanced Typesetting | Guidelines |
| Reflowable | Text-heavy titles | Adjustable
orientation Adjustable font settings Dictionary look-up Highlighting Supports screen reader and refreshable braille displays Word search X-Ray |
All Kindle devices and applications | Some complex layouts may be difficult or impossible to replicate | Yes | Creating Reflowable Books |
| Fixed Layout with Text Pop-Ups | Image-heavy books with a low volume of text, such as children's picture books or coffee table books | Fixed
layout Text popups |
Fire tablets Kindle for Android Kindle for iOS Kindle Cloud Reader Kindle E-reader (on a case by case basis) |
No text
selection,
dictionary, or
user font
settings
No screen reader support |
No | Creating Fixed-Layout Books with Text Pop-Ups |
| Fixed Layout with Image Pop-Ups (Panel View) | Comics or graphic novels of low complexity with uniform rectangular panels | Fixed
layout Image popups |
Kindle Ereader (3rd
generation
and later) Fire tablets Kindle for Android Kindle for iOS Kindle Cloud Reader |
No text
selection,
dictionary, or
user font
settings
No screen reader support |
Yes, if there is no hybrid text (see details) | Creating Fixed-Layout Books with Image Pop-Ups or Virtual Panels |
| Fixed Layout with Virtual Panels (Manga) | Highly complex comics that use irregularly sized panels or art that extends past the borders of pop-ups, such as manga | Adjustable
orientation Virtual panels Synthetic spreads (in landscape) Pinch-to-zoom |
Fire tablets
(2
nd
generation
and later) Kindle E-reader (touch screen models only) Kindle for Android Kindle for iOS Kindle Cloud Reader |
No text
selection,
dictionary, or
user font
settings
No screen reader support |
No | Creating Fixed-Layout Books with Image Pop-Ups or Virtual Panels |
| Fixed Layout without Pop-Ups | Image-heavy books with large text | Fixed
layout Dictionary look-up Highlighting Word search X-Ray |
Kindle E-reader (text
selectability
features
are not
supported) Fire tablets Kindle for Android Kindle for iOS Kindle Cloud Reader (text selectability features are not supported) |
Only for use
on books
with type
large enough
to be read on
all devices
without
magnification No user font settings No screen reader support |
No | Creating Fixed-Layout Books Without Pop-Ups |
| Kindle Edition with Audio/Video | Text-heavy titles with audio and/or video content | Adjustable
orientation Adjustable text settings Dictionary look-up Highlighting Word search X-Ray Inline audio and video |
Fire tablets
(2nd
generation
and later) Kindle for iOS |
KF8 features
are not
currently
supported in
Kindle
Edition with
Audio/Video
content (see
details)
No screen reader support |
No | Creating Kindle Edition with Audio/Video Content |
