You have written the ebook, designed the checklist or finished the planner. Now comes a quieter decision that affects every buyer: which file format should you deliver? The right choice depends on how people will use the product.
PDF: best for fixed layouts and printables
PDF was created by Adobe and became an open ISO standard (ISO 32000) in 2008. Its main strength is that a document looks the same regardless of the software, hardware or operating system used to open it.
That makes PDF the natural choice for printables, worksheets, planners, checklists and designed workbooks, anything where the layout matters. PDFs can also include fillable form fields, which is handy for worksheets buyers complete on screen.
The trade-off: fixed pages can be awkward to read on a small phone screen.
EPUB: best for reading on any screen
EPUB is an open standard maintained by the W3C. Most EPUB books are reflowable, meaning the text adapts to the screen size and the reader’s font settings. EPUB also supports fixed layouts for things like children’s books and comics.
Under the hood, an EPUB is a single ZIP-based file containing HTML-style content and CSS. If your product is mostly text, such as a guide or short read, offering an EPUB alongside the PDF makes it much more comfortable to read on e-readers and phones.
Formats for Amazon KDP
If you plan to publish on Kindle, KDP’s help pages list Word (DOC/DOCX), Kindle Create’s KPF files and EPUB as its main ebook formats, with PDF, HTML, RTF and plain text also supported. KDP notes that it stopped accepting MOBI files for fixed-layout ebooks in March 2025.
Editable source files: best for templates and PLR
If buyers are meant to customize the product, as with templates or PLR packages, include the editable source: a DOCX or Google Docs version for text, and a design file or template link for graphics. Always add a ready-to-use PDF too, so buyers can see the finished version.
A simple packaging checklist
- Name files clearly (for example, budget-planner-printable.pdf).
- Bundle multiple files in one ZIP with a short “start here” PDF.
- Open every file on a phone and a computer before launch.
- Spell out what the buyer may do with editable files in your license or terms.
Sources
Featured image: Photo: Rawpixel (CC0)