How to send a PDF to your Kindle (every method)
Short answer: go to amazon.com/sendtokindle, drag the PDF onto the page and click Send. It arrives in your Kindle library under Documents. You can also email it to your @kindle.com address, share it from the Kindle phone app, or send the PDF you have open in Chrome in one click with Leafpost.
First decide: keep the layout or make the text adjustable
A PDF is a fixed page. On a 6- or 7-inch Kindle, a letter-size page shrinks until the text is hard to read. Amazon can handle it in two ways:
- Keep the original layout: the PDF looks exactly like on your computer. Best for papers with formulas, sheet music, comics and documents you will annotate on a Kindle Scribe.
- Convert to Kindle format (adjustable text): Amazon extracts the text so you can change the font size. Best for text-heavy PDFs such as reports or novels. Complex layouts, tables and multiple columns can come out jumbled.
The web uploader and the Send to Kindle apps let you pick when you send. Leafpost has the same choice in its settings ("PDF documents").
From your computer: Amazon's web uploader
- Sign in to Amazon and open amazon.com/sendtokindle. Outside the US, use your store, e.g. amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle.
- Drag the PDF onto the page, or click Select files. Files up to 200 MB are accepted.
- Check the title and author, choose between original layout and adjustable text, and leave Add to library on so it syncs to all your devices.
- Click Send. It usually appears within a few minutes.
Amazon also offers a free Send to Kindle desktop app for Windows and Mac. It adds a "Send to Kindle" option when you right-click a file or print a document.
The PDF you have open in Chrome
If the PDF is a link you opened in the browser (a paper, a manual, an invoice), you don't need to download it first. With Leafpost installed, click its icon on the PDF tab and choose Send to Kindle: the file goes straight to your library, keeping its layout or converted, depending on your setting. Amazon's own Chrome extension can't send PDFs.
By email
- Find your Kindle address (it ends in
@kindle.com) and approve the email you'll send from. Here's how to find and set it up. - Attach the PDF and send it to that address. You can leave the subject and body empty.
- Limits: up to 25 attachments and 50 MB per email. Zip several files together if you need to; Amazon unpacks ZIP files.
Older guides tell you to write "convert" in the subject to get adjustable text. With email you have the least control over conversion, so if a PDF comes out badly, try the web uploader instead.
From an iPhone or Android phone
- Install the free Amazon Kindle app and sign in.
- Open the PDF (in Files, your email or the browser) and tap Share.
- Choose Kindle in the share sheet and confirm. If you don't see it, scroll to the end of the list and tap "More".
Emailing the file to your Kindle address from your phone works too.
With a USB cable
Connect your Kindle to a computer, open the drive that appears and copy the PDF into the documents folder. It's fast and works without Wi-Fi, but the file stays on that one device only. It isn't added to your cloud library and won't sync to your other devices or apps. On a Mac, recent Kindle models may not appear as a regular drive and need an extra file-transfer app.
Paperwhite vs. Scribe vs. Colorsoft
| Device | Best PDF mode | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Kindle / Paperwhite | Adjustable text for text-heavy files | A 6–7" screen makes fixed pages tiny. Use original layout only for diagrams and formulas. |
| Kindle Scribe | Original layout | The large screen shows full pages, and you can write on PDFs sent with layout kept. |
| Kindle Colorsoft | Original layout for charts and comics | Color is preserved. Text-heavy files still read better converted. |
| Kindle app (phone/tablet) | Either | Tablets handle fixed pages well; on phones, prefer adjustable text. |
FAQ
Why didn't my PDF arrive?
Check that it's under the size limit (200 MB on the web, 50 MB per email), that you sent it from an approved address if you used email, and that you're looking under Documents in your library. Password-protected PDFs usually fail. More in documents not showing up.
Can I send a scanned PDF?
Yes, but keep the original layout. Scans are images, so converting to adjustable text doesn't work well without OCR.
Can I send web pages as PDFs?
You can (Print → Save as PDF), but the text will be small and fixed. Sending the page as an e-book is much better on an e-reader. See how to send web articles to Kindle.