EPUB on the reMarkable: which ebooks open and how to add them

LAST CHECKED

Yes, the reMarkable reads EPUB files, but only without DRM (copy protection). reMarkable's help page says ebooks with DRM cannot be opened and Kindle books are not compatible. You add an EPUB with the desktop or mobile app, in the web app, over a USB cable or, per reMarkable's help, from a linked Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive account; the web app and USB take files up to 100 MB. On the tablet you can change text size, font, justification, line spacing and margins. According to a community guide and the files I examined, the tablet lays the book out as fixed pages, and your pen notes stay on those pages. So set the text the way you like it before you start writing in a book.

Last checked on 15 November 2026 against reMarkable's help pages and the release notes up to software 3.29.

Which EPUBs open

EPUB without DRM. reMarkable's help page on ebooks, last published on 25 June 2026, says: "reMarkable supports ebooks in the EPUB format." And: "Ebooks with Digital Rights Management (DRM) cannot be opened."

No Kindle books. The same page: "Kindle books are not compatible and cannot be read directly on reMarkable."

Other formats. The help pages list PDF and EPUB for the desktop and mobile apps, and also JPG and PNG for the web app. MOBI, AZW3 and other ebook formats are not on the list. If you have such a file without DRM, the free program Calibre can convert it to EPUB on your computer.

A book with DRM stays closed on the reMarkable. This page does not cover ways around copy protection.

Where to get EPUBs without DRM

  • Project Gutenberg lists 79,818 free ebooks as of 15 November 2026. The book pages I checked offer an EPUB3 download and mark the book as public domain in the USA.
  • Standard Ebooks publishes free, carefully formatted public-domain ebooks. Its own page says the texts are believed to be in the U.S. public domain, so check the rules where you live.
  • Books you buy: check before you pay whether the shop sells the EPUB without DRM. The tablet cannot open a protected file.

How to put an EPUB on the reMarkable

All official ways, as reMarkable's help pages describe them (About Importing and exporting files, Integrations and Read on reMarkable, each last published 12 November 2026). Per the import page, the file can then sync to your other devices when cloud sync is available and the tablet is on Wi-Fi.

Way How Limit
Desktop app Click Import in the top menu, or drag the file into the app window No limit named; this is reMarkable's way for files over 100 MB
Mobile app iPhone: open the file, tap Share, choose Import with reMarkable. Android: tap Import in the app, or share the file to it Same as the desktop app
Web app Log in at app.remarkable.com and drag the file into the list 100 MB
USB cable On the tablet turn on Settings > General settings > Storage > USB web interface, open 10.11.99.1 in a browser and drag the file in 100 MB
Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive Link the account once at my.remarkable.com under Integrations. On the tablet open the menu, tap Integrations and the service, long-press the file, tap Import The help page lists EPUB among the file types you can import; which import formats you get depends on the file type and the service. Only Convert to Notebook, which imports documents as editable notebooks, needs Connect
Read on reMarkable (Chrome extension) For web articles, not book files: right-click the Read on reMarkable icon and choose Read on reMarkable as EPUB Per its help page, the EPUB option needs no subscription; editable notebooks need Connect

Third-party: RCU (reMarkable Connection Utility, 12 USD as of 15 November 2026) says it uploads PDFs and EPUBs over USB or Wi-Fi without the cloud. Its manual says a Paper Pro, Paper Pro Move or Paper Pure has to be in developer mode for it, and that switching developer mode on or off resets the tablet. The manual describes an experimental backup of all documents before that step.

Reading settings

Open the book, tap the Ebook settings icon in the toolbar, then Text and layout. You can change:

  • text size
  • font style
  • justification
  • line spacing
  • page margins

The help page notes: "Text settings only apply to EPUB files, not PDFs or other formats."

Page overview shows all pages of the book, and Go to page jumps to a number. The release notes list a table of contents and search for ebooks since software 1.5 (July 2018), and Quick browse since 2.9 (2021). You can insert blank note pages between the pages of a book; only those added pages can be deleted. Every ebook also shows up under the Ebooks filter on the home screen, whichever folder it sits in.

Software 3.28 (September 2026) reworked EPUB reading. The release notes say: "We've updated the EPUB reading experience: changes include a UI uplift, improved formatting, and expanded language support." Since 3.29 (October 2026) you can select text in EPUBs and PDFs in the apps and paste it elsewhere.

If a book looks wrong, reMarkable's advice is to try other text settings first, then delete the ebook and import it again with the desktop or mobile app.

What the tablet does with an EPUB

A community guide at remarkable.jms1.info says the tablet converts an EPUB into a PDF and shows you that PDF. The reason it gives: you should be able to write on an EPUB the way you write on a PDF.

That matches the files I examined, EPUB books from a reMarkable Paper Pro on software 3.x. Next to the EPUB, these books carried a PDF made by the reMarkable software, one page for each page of the book as the tablet laid it out. When the tablet creates it, I do not know yet. The highlights sat on the pages of that PDF.

For your notes this means:

  • Notes stay on the page, the text can move. If you change the text size later, the text flows onto other pages. The guide says the tablet warns you the first time that your annotations may no longer line up with the text. Pen notes in the margin cannot know which line they belonged to.
  • The new layout may need a reopen. The guide says the new settings only show after you close the book, open another file and open the book again. It was written before the 3.28 reading refresh.
  • Page numbers are the tablet's pages. In the files I examined, pages are counted under the current text settings, not as the pages of a printed edition. An inserted note page sits in the list of pages too, so every page after it moves up by one.

The same guide reports two books in which diagrams were missing on the tablet, and a table of preformatted text that wrapped badly at a large text size.

EPUB or PDF?

Take the EPUB if you want to change the text size on the tablet. The text settings only work for EPUB.

Take a PDF if the layout matters, for example for figures, tables or code, or if you want pages that never reflow under your notes. If you only have the EPUB, Calibre can make a PDF from it on your computer. The author of the guide above does exactly that, with his own fonts and margins and a page size of 1404 × 1872 pixels for the reMarkable 2. I have not checked which size suits other models.

Highlights in EPUB books

In the EPUB books I examined, a highlight made with the highlighter snapped to the text stored the highlighted words, the color and one rectangle per line. Highlighter strokes that did not snap were stored like pen marks, without text. I have not yet checked a whole line highlighted with snap turned off. At a line break, the stored text often lacked the space between two words.

As of software 3.29, reMarkable has no official export of highlights as text. Since 3.29 you can copy text from EPUBs in the apps, one passage at a time. The ways to get all highlights out as text, with prices and dates, are on the page about exporting reMarkable highlights.

FAQ

Does reMarkable support EPUB?

Yes, EPUB without DRM. Per reMarkable's help page from June 2026, ebooks with DRM cannot be opened and Kindle books are not compatible. The desktop and mobile apps take PDF and EPUB.

How to read books on EPUB?

On the reMarkable, import the EPUB with the desktop or mobile app, the web app, a USB cable or, per reMarkable's help, from a linked Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive account. Then open it from My files or from the Ebooks filter on the home screen. Swipe left or right to turn pages. The text settings are under Ebook settings, Text and layout.

Can the reMarkable open MOBI files?

reMarkable's help pages do not list MOBI. They name PDF and EPUB, and they say Kindle books are not compatible. A MOBI or AZW3 file without DRM can be converted to EPUB with Calibre first.

Where can I find EPUB books for the reMarkable?

Free ones at Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks, both without DRM. Both judge public domain by US law, so check the rules where you live. If you buy a book, make sure the shop sells it as an EPUB without DRM.

Do my notes move when I change the font size?

They can. The tablet lays the book out as pages. Pen strokes and margin notes stay where you wrote them on the page, while the text flows to new positions. Whether a highlight made with snap follows its text, I have not tested yet. The community guide quoted above says the tablet warns you before the change. So choose text size, font and margins before you start annotating a book.

Is the reMarkable good as an e-book reader?

For DRM-free EPUBs it gives you five text settings and a page overview, and the release notes list a table of contents and search. You can highlight and write on every page. It does not open Kindle books or other books with DRM. Software 3.28 from September 2026 reworked EPUB reading. Whether that is enough depends mostly on where your books come from.

Can I send web articles to the reMarkable as EPUB?

Yes, with reMarkable's Read on reMarkable extension for Chrome. Per its help page the EPUB option needs no subscription; sending articles as editable notebooks needs Connect. The extension only works in Chrome.

Who writes this page

I am building Marky, a service meant for every e-ink tablet, starting with the reMarkable. It should bring your highlights back from the tablet by itself, also from EPUB books, as whole sentences, without a desktop app running. On the reMarkable it works through an unofficial interface of the reMarkable cloud. Marky is not open yet, and it has no price or start date. If one of the ways above already does what you need, use it.

If you want an email when Marky opens, leave your email address on the waitlist.

This page is independent. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by reMarkable. The name reMarkable is used only to describe the device.

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