Can you read Kindle books on a non-Kindle e-reader? What's possible without breaking DRM

Books from the Kindle store usually come with DRM (digital rights management), which ties them to your Amazon account and to Amazon's own apps and devices. They also use Amazon's own formats, such as AZW3 and KFX. So even if you copy the file, a Kobo, Xteink, Boox or IKAWE reader can't open it.

Removing DRM breaks Amazon's terms of use and is illegal in many countries, so this guide sticks to the legal options.

From 20 January 2026, Amazon lets publishers and authors choose to sell Kindle books without DRM, and offers those books as EPUB or PDF downloads (The Bookseller, heise). To check a book you already own:

1. Sign in to Amazon and open your digital content library (Manage Your Content and Devices).
2. Find the book and open its More actions menu.
3. If the publisher has made it DRM-free, choose Download EPUB/PDF.
4. Copy the EPUB to your reader: see how to get books onto a pocket e-reader.

Only books whose publisher or author has opted in qualify, and most haven't. Older titles need the publisher to change them. There's no way to see whether a book qualifies before you buy it, and Kindle Unlimited and borrowed books are excluded (Kindlepreneur).

Many publishers and stores sell e-books without DRM, as EPUBs that open on any reader:

• Publishers: Baen sells all its e-books DRM-free, and Tor offers most of its e-books without DRM.
• Smashwords: an independent e-book store whose books are DRM-free.
• Kobo sells some DRM-free e-books alongside protected ones; the book's page says which.
• Bundles: StoryBundle's e-book bundles are DRM-free.

Before buying anywhere, look for "DRM-free" on the book's page. More in the best free and DRM-free e-book sources.

Classics in the public domain are free and DRM-free from Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks, as EPUBs. If the Kindle book you wanted is a classic, you probably don't need the Kindle edition at all.

Android-based e-readers can install the Kindle app itself, so your Kindle library works as it is:

• Boox Palma 2 ($269.99) and Palma 3 ($339.99, coming soon): 6.13-inch Android readers.
• Xteink S4: a 4.3-inch Android reader, but sold only in China.

Pocket readers without Android, including the Xteink X3, X4 Classic and X4 Pro, the Boox Picco and IKAWE Moov, read DRM-free files only.

Library loans through Libby are DRM-protected too, so they don't open on most pocket readers. In the US, Libby can send loans to a Kindle; Kobo readers and the PocketBook Q have library borrowing built in; and Android readers can run the Libby app.