For most text-led ebooks, sell a reflowable EPUB. For a workbook, printable guide or document whose page layout is essential, sell a PDF. Offer both when each format serves a real buyer need, and describe the contents before payment. Changing a filename from .pdf to .epub does not convert a book.
This guide helps authors and small publishers choose the file their customers will actually read. If the format is already decided, follow our guide to selling an EPUB ebook file. Here the decision is what to prepare and promise before creating the paid download.
EPUB versus PDF: what changes for your reader?
A reflowable EPUB allows text to adapt to the reader's screen and settings. A PDF preserves the page arrangement, which helps when a worksheet must print consistently. A buyer reading a novel on a small phone has a different job from someone printing a lesson pack and writing in its boxes.
EPUB can also be fixed-layout. Consequently, “EPUB always adjusts every page” is incomplete. The W3C EPUB specification defines both reflowable and pre-paginated presentation. Check your actual export rather than assuming the extension tells you how the book behaves.
The practical question is whether the reader needs control over the text or an exact page to view and print. A decorative chapter heading is usually less important than comfortable reading. A worksheet grid may need a predictable position. Sometimes those needs belong in different files in one offer.
Choose a format using the book's main task
Use this original decision matrix before exporting the final release. It is a planning tool, not an automatic conversion feature in PayRequest. Perform the suggested checks on the artifact you will actually deliver.
| Buyer task | Starting choice | Check before sale |
|---|---|---|
| Read a novel on a phone or e-reader | Reflowable EPUB | Enlarge text, navigate chapters and follow notes |
| Read a business handbook | EPUB, with optional PDF | Check tables and diagrams at narrow widths |
| Print a workbook | Print a sample at the advertised page size | |
| Follow an illustrated guide | Assess both layouts | Check image/text relationships on supported devices |
| Read chapters and print companion forms | EPUB plus separate PDF | Explain which file does which job |
Do not select both simply to make the product sound bigger. Each format creates another file to proofread, update and support. For a text-only novel, one carefully checked EPUB can be clearer than an archive of poorly prepared variants.
For a fictional “Field Guide to Freelance Interviews,” the reading chapters might belong in an EPUB while interview worksheets belong in a PDF. The listing should identify the PDF as a companion, rather than implying it is a second complete edition. Buyers can then understand the offer without inspecting the archive.
Export and inspect each format separately
Create the EPUB using an export workflow intended for ebooks. Renaming a PDF or putting it in a ZIP does not produce a valid EPUB. Review book metadata, contents navigation, language and image handling. Keep the source manuscript separate from the customer release.
Run the EPUB through EPUBCheck, which checks conformance to EPUB specifications. Then open it in the reading applications you advertise. A validator cannot tell you whether a chart is useful or a chapter break looks awkward. Record reading checks alongside the validation result.
For the PDF, inspect page size, font rendering, links, margins and printed output. Check whether a worksheet remains usable in black and white. A document designed for a large monitor may require constant zooming on a phone; describe that limitation when it matters to the purchase.
Do not claim accessibility from the format alone. Logical headings, reading order, meaningful image descriptions and appropriate document tagging require attention. Test the features you describe rather than using a universal accessibility label based only on successful export.
Package two formats without confusing the buyer
When you offer EPUB and PDF together, explain their relationship. Are both complete editions, or is one a companion? Do they contain the same corrections? Does the package include printable exercises? Answer those questions before checkout.
A ZIP can carry several promised files as one download. PayRequest's digital products support EPUB, PDF and ZIP uploads. A ZIP adds an extraction step, so a standalone EPUB is often the simpler handoff for a single-format book. Check the upload limit shown in your account for the chosen package.
For the fictional interview guide, a release could contain Interview-Guide-v1.epub, Interview-Worksheets-v1.pdf and Start-Here.txt. The instructions should identify the book and printable companion. Remove draft chapters, internal comments and private research before uploading the retail package.
Keep version names consistent. Correcting the EPUB while leaving an old PDF inside the ZIP gives buyers conflicting information. Record which files changed and which edition the offer now delivers. PayRequest does not automatically synchronize your manuscript formats.
Explain compatibility before payment
Put a short format description beside the offer. An EPUB needs a compatible reading app. Explain whether the PDF is intended for onscreen reading, printing or both. For a ZIP, tell buyers to extract it before importing the EPUB.
Use the reader's actual route rather than vague “works with Kindle” wording. Amazon provides Send to Kindle as a separate transfer service. Google explains uploading EPUB and PDF into Play Books. These are reader actions, not automatic consequences of a PayRequest purchase.
A direct-sale download is not a listing in Amazon's bookstore. If you distribute through several channels, review your distribution obligations separately before offering the same edition elsewhere. Claim only the compatibility paths you have reviewed for your release.
For a buyer message and troubleshooting worksheet, see our EPUB delivery guide. It handles the stage after format selection: moving a purchased file into a reader without paying again.
Price the offer you actually deliver
A second format is a convenience, not automatic proof that the product should cost twice as much. Set the price around usefulness, audience and promised contents. Explain whether updates and companion materials are included.
Check current PayRequest pricing. Free is €0 with a 2% standard fee per successful payment. Premium is €5/month and Business €20/month, with 0% standard platform fees while active. Provider fees and commission-payment exceptions remain separate; a paid subscription does not mean zero total payment costs.
For illustration, a €12 ebook on Free has a €0.24 standard percentage platform fee before provider charges or other costs. This is arithmetic for an assumed sale, not a payout forecast. Use your expected volume and provider rates when comparing plans.
Check the complete package before launch
Create the product, attach the approved file and copy its public URL. Open it while logged out and compare the name, format, amount and currency with the listing. This checks navigation; an authorized completed-purchase check additionally verifies payment confirmation and the delivered artifact.
Download the release through the buyer route and inspect it again. Extract any ZIP, open the EPUB in your supported reader and inspect the PDF in a viewer. Check filenames, edition and companion materials against the offer. Do not describe an unperformed check as completed testing.
Create your ebook offer in PayRequest once the contents are clear. The ebook product page explains the destination, while the EPUB sales workflow connects the file to checkout and launch.
Editorial note: AI assisted with this article and illustrative cover. The decision matrix and example package are original planning tools. Official format documentation was reviewed on 7 October 2026; no conversion, live purchase or reading-device test is claimed.
