Free Word to PDF Converter
Convert Word DOCX files to PDF in your browser. Keeps headings, lists, tables and images, with A4 or Letter pages and custom margins. No upload.
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How to convert a Word document to PDF in your browser
This converter reads the content of a Word .docx file and lays it out on fresh PDF pages. It is the reverse of PDF to Word: the goal is a clean, shareable PDF of your text, not a pixel copy of Word's layout.
- Choose or drop a .docx file up to 30 MB. Old .doc files (Word 97–2003) must be saved as .docx first.
- Pick a page size (A4, Letter, Legal or A3), portrait or landscape, and set the margins in millimetres or inches.
- Choose the body text size and whether to add page numbers.
- Select Convert to PDF, then read any notes about skipped images or characters.
- Download the PDF or open it in a new tab and check tables and pictures before sharing.
When converting Word to PDF here makes sense
A PDF looks the same on every phone, laptop and printer, which is why application forms, reports, CVs and invoices are usually requested as PDFs. If you have the document as a .docx but no copy of Word on the device in front of you, or you are on a shared computer where you would rather not install anything, this converter produces a clean PDF directly in the browser.
It suits text-led documents: letters, essays, policies, meeting notes, manuals and simple reports with tables and photos. The output has real, selectable and searchable text rather than page pictures, so recipients can copy a reference number or search for a word.
It is not the right tool when the exact look matters more than the content, for example a brochure built from text boxes, a two-column newsletter or a document with letterhead in the header. Word's own File > Save as PDF, LibreOffice or Google Docs' download as PDF will reproduce those designs more faithfully.
Worked example: one report, two paper sizes
We converted a 1,500-word report with three section headings, fifteen paragraphs and a ten-row table at 11 pt body text with page numbers on. On A4 with 20 mm margins the printable area is 481.9 × 722.5 pt (about 170 × 255 mm). A line of body text holds about 88 characters and a page holds 48 lines at the 1.35 line spacing used, so the report came out at 3 pages.
The same file on US Letter with 1-inch margins has a printable area of 468 × 642 pt. Lines are slightly shorter and each page holds 43 lines instead of 48, so the report needed 4 pages. Margins have a bigger effect than the paper size itself: one inch is 25.4 mm, noticeably more than 20 mm.
If a document must stay within a page limit, try 10 pt text or narrower margins before editing the content. Check the result with Open in a new tab before downloading.
How the conversion works
A .docx file is a ZIP package of XML files. The open-source mammoth library reads it and turns the document's structure into simple HTML: headings, paragraphs, runs of bold or italic text, lists, tables, links and images. Word styles such as Heading 1 become heading levels, and embedded pictures are extracted.
The tool then lays this structure out with its own engine. It measures every word with the real font metrics, wraps lines to your margins, keeps a heading together with the first lines that follow it, indents nested lists and sizes table columns so the longest word in each column fits. Table rows that cross a page break continue on the next page with the header row repeated.
The PDF is written with jsPDF using Liberation Sans, an open-licence font metrically compatible with Arial. Only the characters actually used are embedded, which keeps files small. PNG and JPEG pictures are embedded directly; GIF, BMP and WebP pictures are converted to PNG first. EMF and WMF drawings cannot be drawn by browsers and are skipped with a note.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Uploading a .doc file. The old binary format is a different file type altogether. Save it as .docx first; renaming the extension does not convert it.
Expecting Word's layout. Page breaks fall where the text runs out on the page you chose, not where they were in Word, and headers, footers, footnote positions, comments and tracked changes are not carried over. Accept or reject tracked changes in Word before converting so the right text appears.
Using unsupported scripts. Text in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi or Thai is not in the embedded font. The tool warns you and those characters may appear blank, so use your word processor's PDF export for those documents.
Useful tips and limitations
- Text boxes, columns, headers, footers and wrapped images are simplified. For an exact copy of a complex design, use Word's own Save as PDF.
- Latin, Greek and Cyrillic text is embedded with a Unicode font. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and Thai are not supported yet.
- Use real heading styles in Word (Heading 1, Heading 2) rather than large bold text, so headings convert as headings and stay with their paragraphs.
- For forms that must look identical to the original, export from Word itself, then use Sign & Fill PDF to add signatures.
Common questions
Does this Word to PDF converter keep my formatting?
It keeps headings, paragraphs, bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, links, bulleted and numbered lists, tables and embedded pictures. Word's fonts, page setup, headers, footers, text boxes and columns are not reproduced; the PDF uses your chosen page settings and a clean sans-serif font.
Can I convert an old .doc file?
No. Old binary .doc files use a different format. Open the file in Word, LibreOffice or Google Docs, save it as .docx, then convert it here.
Is my document uploaded?
No. The .docx is unpacked and the PDF is built in your browser. The file never reaches ToolWorld Online's servers.
Why is my PDF a different number of pages from Word?
The PDF uses your chosen paper size, margins and text size with its own font, so line and page breaks fall in different places. Adjust the text size or margins to change the page count.
Are links clickable in the PDF?
Yes. Web and email links from the document become clickable areas in the PDF, shown in blue and underlined.
Does it keep images inside tables?
Pictures that sit inside table cells are placed directly after the table rather than inside the cell. Pictures in normal paragraphs stay in their place in the text.
Your files are processed in this browser and are not uploaded to ToolWorld Online. Nothing is kept after you close the tab, so save the finished download first.