How to Cite an eBook in Chicago
Updated October 2026
Citing an ebook in Chicago comes down to one template and a handful of rules. Below: the exact 18th edition format, a real example produced by our citation engine, and the in-text form — or paste your source into the generator on this page and copy the finished citation.
The Chicago format
Author Last, First. Title of Book. Edition ed. Publisher, Year.
Chicago (18th edition) formats a eBook reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House, 2006.
In-text(Dweck 2006)
Cite an ebook in Chicago — free
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An ISBN finds the book's details.
Citation style
The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition (2024), notes and bibliography. The 18th dropped the place of publication that the 17th required.
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Paste the eBook's ISBN into the generator (eBooks have their own ISBNs). It works out what the source is, fills every field from the source's own record, and is already set to Chicago.
- The copyright screen — eBooks reproduce the copyright page with year, publisher, and ISBN
- Store listing — publisher and date in the product details
- Edition — eBook editions can differ from print; cite the one you read
- A DOI or stable URL — academic eBooks from library platforms often have one
Chicago's formatting rules at work
- First author inverted, additional authors in natural order
- Titles use Title Case; articles in quotes, containers in italics
- Reads like prose: the year sits in parentheses before the page range for articles
- Pairs with footnotes — the same data in sentence form with commas
EBook-specific pitfalls
- Modern styles cite eBooks like print books — no [Kindle version] labels in APA 7 or MLA 9
- Avoid device-specific 'locations' as quote locators; use chapters or section names when pages don't exist
- Academic eBooks from databases add the DOI or platform URL at the end
In-text citations in Chicago
Chicago's notes-bibliography system cites with footnotes: a superscript number in the text pointing to a note with the source details and page. The bibliography entry shown here contains everything the footnote needs — un-invert the author's name and swap most periods for commas to form the note.
No author? The note and bibliography entry begin with the title; alphabetize by it (ignoring A/An/The).
Building the Bibliography
Every in-text citation pairs with a full entry on the Bibliography page, alphabetized by author. Add each citation to your bibliography as you generate it, and the Bibliography Builder assembles and exports the finished page to Word with the title, ordering, and indentation Chicago requires.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic Chicago format for an ebook?
- Author Last, First. Title of Book. Edition ed. Publisher, Year. — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- How do I cite a quote without page numbers?
- Use the chapter and paragraph: (Dweck, 2006, ch. 2, para. 14) in APA, or the chapter alone in MLA: (Dweck, ch. 2). Never use Kindle location numbers unless your instructor approves.
- How do I cite an ebook in Chicago in-text?
- With a footnote: a superscript number pointing to a note with the source details and the specific page.
- Can I get this citation in other styles too?
- Yes — every result in the generator renders APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE simultaneously. Generate once, switch styles with one click.