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Calibre Review: Price, Features and Score

Calibre at a glance: Free, on Windows, Mac and Linux. Below are its plans, what its own site says it does for an author, its score and the products to compare it with. We did not test it ourselves; the data was checked on October 7, 2026.

Prices and data checked October 7, 2026 · Author Score computed by a published formula, not paid for

Calibre on the BookBird Author Score

Author Score · book formatting · #9 of 12 ·

Best for: Authors converting a DOCX or EPUB between ebook formats for free

BookBird Author Score6.4/10 #9 of 12 book formatting. Worked out from Calibre’s own pages, its price and US searches for its name, not typed in. Author jobs50 pts18.8/50Each of the 8 author jobs on the book formatting list is worth an equal share of 50 points, and counts only when Calibre’s own pages confirm it. 3 of 8 confirmed = 18.8 points. A job the vendor does not mention earns nothing.Cost25 pts25/25A free plan, or a platform that takes no upfront fee, earns all 25 points.Adoption25 pts20.5/25Searches, 20 points: 3,600 a month for “calibre ebook”, against Adobe InDesign, the most searched in this category (22,200), on a log scale = 16.4. Trend, 5 points: up 33% (last three months against the first three of the year) = 4.2; a fall of half or more earns 0, no change 2.5, a rise of half or more 5. 64.3 of 100 points= 6.4 out of 10 The full method, with every product’s points →

Author jobs, from Calibre’s own pages

  • Yes: EPUB for ebook stores
  • Not stated: Print-ready PDF in KDP trim sizes (not stated)
  • Not stated: Ready-made book designs (not stated)
  • Not stated: Device and print preview (not stated)
  • Yes: Imports a Word file
  • Yes: Front and back matter
  • Not stated: Full-bleed images (not stated)
  • Not stated: Several editions from one file (not stated)

Calibre pricing

Free. There is a free plan. The plans as Calibre’s own site listed them on October 7, 2026, in US dollars:

  • Calibre: Free (donations accepted)

Free and open source.

What Calibre offers

From Calibre’s own pages, checked on October 7, 2026:

  • Converts dozens of formats, DOCX in, EPUB and AZW3 out
  • Built-in editor for EPUB and Kindle files
  • Generates a table of contents during conversion
  • PDF output at standard or custom page sizes, with headers and footers
  • E-book viewer for all major formats
  • Library manager with metadata download and editing
  • Content server to read or share books in a browser
  • Plugin explorer with hundreds of plugins

Runs on: Windows, Mac and Linux. Exports: AZW3, EPUB, DOCX, FB2, HTMLZ, KEPUB, MOBI, PDF, RTF, TXT and ZIP. Launched: 2006.

Who Calibre suits, and what its pages do not say

Best for: Authors converting a DOCX or EPUB between ebook formats for free.

Not confirmed on Calibre’s pages when we checked: print-ready PDF in KDP trim sizes, ready-made book designs, device and print preview, full-bleed images and several editions from one file. That is what the vendor states, not a test; a feature can exist without being described, and the score only credits what is.

About 3,600 people a month search Google in the US for “calibre ebook”, up 33% over the past year (Google Ads data via DataForSEO).

Calibre alternatives

SoftwareScorePrice fromBest for
Draft2Digital Formatter9.0Free planAuthors wanting free EPUB and paperback PDF, publishing wide or not
Atticus8.9$147 one-timeSelf-publishers who write and format in one app, any OS
Kindle Create8.6FreeKDP authors wanting free, simple formatting for text-heavy books
Vellum8.6$199.99 one-timeMac-based authors formatting many books for a one-time price
Bookow7.4$80 one-timeAuthors wanting a typeset KDP-ready interior per book, no software

Compare: All book formatting · All software for authors

Calibre questions

How much does Calibre cost?

Free.

What does Calibre run on?

Windows, Mac and Linux, according to its own site.

What file formats can Calibre export?

AZW3, EPUB, DOCX, FB2, HTMLZ, KEPUB, MOBI, PDF, RTF, TXT and ZIP, according to its own site.

How the score is computed: the formula, step by step. Prices and features were read from Calibre’s own site on October 7, 2026; nobody pays to be listed.