EPUB to Audiobook, Chapter by Chapter

Free to start. No card needed.

Upload a DRM-free EPUB. FullCastBook follows its table of contents so every chapter keeps its title, gives each character a voice, and exports an M4B with chapter markers or MP3.

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Reading your file…

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — The Cheshire Cat
NarratorNaomiAliceAbbyCheshire CatSnik How it works
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland cover

Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice asks the grinning Cheshire Cat for directions — and gets none.

NarratorNaomiStoryteller

The Cat only grinned when it saw Alice. It looked good-natured, she thought; still it had very long claws and a great many teeth, so she felt it ought to be treated with respect.

AliceAbbyCurious

Cheshire Puss, would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

Cheshire CatSnikSly

That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

AliceAbbyCurious

I don't much care where—

Cheshire CatSnikSly

Then it doesn't matter which way you go.

AliceAbbyCurious

—so long as I get somewhere.

Cheshire CatSnikSly

Oh, you're sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.

~1 min · 3 voices · ready to play7
Free preview, no signup to listen. Your own chapters & export need a free account.I'm ready →
AI voices to cast
137
70 standard · 67 premium
file types in
5
EPUB · PDF · DOCX · TXT · MD
ways out
3
M4B with chapters · MP3 · ZIP
voice models
4
Gemini · ElevenLabs

Step-by-step guide

How to convert EPUB to audiobook

Free to start: no card, nothing to install.

  1. Find a DRM-free EPUB

    One you exported from Vellum, Atticus, Sigil, Calibre or Google Docs, or a public-domain edition. Store purchases are usually locked.

  2. Upload the EPUB

    The table of contents names each chapter, in reading order. Cover, copyright and contents pages are suggested to leave out.

  3. Check the cast

    Dialogue is attributed to characters, each with a suggested voice. Swap voices, fix speakers and add direction in brackets.

  4. Export M4B or MP3

    EPUB to M4B with a marker per chapter, one MP3 for the whole book, or a ZIP with one file per chapter.

EPUB to Audiobook

Features & capabilities

What you get, from manuscript to finished audiobook.

  • Chapters from the contents

    Titles come from the EPUB's own table of contents (EPUB 3 navigation or EPUB 2 NCX), in the book's reading order.

  • Split chapters rejoined

    When one chapter is spread over several files, the parts without their own contents entry or heading are joined back into it.

  • Front matter set aside

    Cover, title page, copyright, contents, dedication and "also by" pages are suggested to leave out, so chapter one starts the book.

  • A full cast for fiction

    Every speaking character is detected and gets a distinct voice next to the narrator; change any of them whenever you like.

  • EPUB to M4B

    One audiobook file with a chapter marker at the start of every chapter, for players that show a chapter list.

  • EPUB to MP3

    One MP3 for the whole book, or a ZIP with one file per chapter for players and stores that want separate tracks.

Use cases

Where DRM-free EPUBs come from

FullCastBook opens EPUBs you made or are free to use.

  • Your own book

    The EPUB you exported from Vellum, Atticus, Sigil or Calibre, or the file you uploaded to a store when you published.

  • Public-domain classics

    DRM-free editions of books whose copyright has expired, such as those from Project Gutenberg or Standard Ebooks.

  • Licensed for audio

    A book whose author or publisher has given you permission to make an audio edition.

Hear example character voices

Demo performances. In the studio you cast from standard and premium voice lists.

More examples
On this page
  1. 1Everything you need to know about EPUB to audiobook conversion
  2. 2How the EPUB to audiobook converter reads your file
  3. 3Chapters from the EPUB table of contents
  4. 4EPUB to M4B: one file with chapter markers
  5. 5EPUB to MP3: one file or one per chapter
  6. 6Full-cast narration for fiction EPUBs
  7. 7DRM-free EPUBs only, and where yours come from

In depth

Everything you need to know about EPUB to audiobook conversion

An EPUB is the easiest format to turn into audio, because it already knows its own structure. Inside the file are a table of contents, a reading order and clean paragraphs, with no page numbers or running headers in the way. A good EPUB to audiobook converter should use all of that instead of guessing.

FullCastBook does. It reads the chapters from the table of contents, keeps them in reading order, gives every speaking character a voice, and exports an M4B with chapter markers or MP3 files. Hear a full-cast chapter on the home page before you upload.

How the EPUB to audiobook converter reads your file

An EPUB is a zipped bundle of XHTML pages plus a package file that lists them in reading order, called the spine. When you convert EPUB to audiobook in FullCastBook, the spine is read from the first file to the last, the visible text is pulled out paragraph by paragraph, and scripts, styles and the small ruby annotations some languages use for pronunciation are skipped.

Images are skipped too, so a chapter title set as a picture won't be read, and neither will text inside an illustration. Superscript note numbers stay in the text, so a sentence can end with a stray "12". Delete those characters, or the endnotes chapter, in the studio if you don't want them spoken.

Chapters from the EPUB table of contents

Chapter titles come from the book's own table of contents: the navigation document in EPUB 3, or the older NCX file in EPUB 2. Each file the contents points to starts a new chapter and takes its title from there. A file with no contents entry takes its title from its first heading, and a file with neither is treated as the rest of the chapter before it. That is how a chapter split over several files comes back together.

Front matter is set aside for you. Files titled Cover, Title Page, Copyright, Contents, Dedication, Acknowledgements, Also By or About the Author, very short pages, and anything the EPUB marks as outside the main reading order are suggested to leave out. One limit: if a publisher put several chapters into a single file, they arrive as one longer chapter with one marker. Split that file in an EPUB editor such as Sigil or Calibre if you want separate markers; if Calibre runs your library, Calibre EPUB to audiobook has the full walkthrough.

EPUB to M4B: one file with chapter markers

For listening, EPUB to M4B is usually the export to choose. You get one audiobook file with a marker at the start of every chapter, so audiobook players can show the chapter list and let you jump straight to chapter nine.

The M4B audiobook maker page explains the format in more depth, including which players read the markers and when MP3 is the better pick.

EPUB to MP3: one file or one per chapter

EPUB to MP3 suits players that don't handle M4B, a podcast app or a car stereo. Choose one MP3 for the whole book, or a ZIP with one file per chapter. Per-chapter files are also the shape many stores and distributors expect, so check your store's file requirements before you export.

Either way the files are plain audio with no DRM added, and they're yours.

Full-cast narration for fiction EPUBs

Fiction is where an EPUB to audiobook conversion pays off. Speaker detection reads dialogue tags and the flow of each conversation to give every line to the narrator or to a named character, and each character gets a distinct voice. Change any voice, move any line to a different speaker, and keep the same cast for the next book in the series.

Direct the read where a scene needs it, with a note in brackets like [whisper, like sharing a secret] or a sound tag such as [sigh]. Listen in the browser and regenerate only the lines you want to change.

DRM-free EPUBs only, and where yours come from

FullCastBook opens DRM-free EPUBs only. Ebooks bought from most stores are encrypted, and removing that protection isn't something we do or help with. If an import fails or the text comes out garbled, the file is probably locked.

The EPUBs that work are the ones you make or are free to use: an export of your own book, the file you uploaded to a store, or a public-domain edition. Kindle files are a separate case, covered in Kindle to audiobook. For other formats see book to audiobook, or the AI audiobook generator for the whole workflow.

FAQ

EPUB to Audiobook: FAQ

Something not covered here? Email us at support@fullcastbook.com

Can you convert EPUB to audiobook for free?

You get free credits on sign-up, with no card, which is enough to hear a short sample chapter with your cast. A whole book needs a paid plan; see pricing.

Does it work with Kindle or DRM-protected EPUBs?

No. Only DRM-free EPUBs open, and FullCastBook doesn't remove DRM. Kindle formats such as AZW3 and KFX aren't supported either; if you wrote the book, upload the EPUB or DOCX you sent to KDP.

Will the audiobook keep my EPUB chapters?

Yes. Chapters and their titles come from the EPUB's table of contents, in reading order. Chapters a publisher merged into one file come through as one chapter.

What is the best EPUB to audiobook converter?

It depends on the book. For private listening in one voice, a free read-aloud app may be enough. For fiction with dialogue, look for a converter that keeps the table of contents, voices each character and exports M4B with chapter markers, which is what FullCastBook is built to do.

Can I convert EPUB to MP3 on an iPhone?

FullCastBook runs in the browser, so there's nothing to install: pick the EPUB from Files and download the MP3 or M4B when it's ready. Reviewing a long cast list is easier on a bigger screen.

Why are some chapters marked to leave out?

Pages titled Cover, Copyright, Contents, Dedication and the like, very short pages, and anything the EPUB marks as outside the main reading order are suggested to leave out. Keep any of them if you want them read.

More in this collection

AI audiobook generator: start hereUpload a manuscript, give every character a voice and export MP3 or M4B with chapters.

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