Word to PDF
Convert Word documents (.docx) to PDF files online free
100% Private: All processing happens in your browser. Your files never leave your device.
This tool turns a .docx file into a PDF entirely on your device: nothing is uploaded to a server. It reads your Word document with the mammoth library, turns the text into HTML, renders that HTML to a canvas, and slices the result into A4-sized pages to build the PDF. That approach works best for text-heavy documents — letters, college assignments, CVs and cover letters, annexures — where the goal is a PDF someone can open and read, not a pixel-perfect reproduction of your original layout.
Because the conversion redraws your document as an image rather than re-typesetting real PDF text, it has real limits: fonts, table borders and column widths are not kept, and the text in the finished PDF cannot be selected, searched or copied. If you need a PDF with selectable text, exact fonts, or a complex layout with images and tables that has to look identical to the Word file, use Word's own File → Save As → PDF (or Google Docs' “Download as PDF”) instead — they typeset real text. Reach for this converter instead when you're on a phone or a shared computer without Word installed, or when you'd rather not upload a document containing personal details to a random online converter.
How it works
1. Drop or browse your .docx
Drag your file onto the upload area or click it to browse. Anything over 20 MB is turned away right here; the uploader itself doesn't check for .docx specifically, so a .doc file is still accepted at this step.
2. Check the file, then convert
The tool shows the file name and size with a Change link if you picked the wrong one. Press “Convert to PDF” to start — this is the point an old .doc file gets rejected, with a message telling you to re-save it as .docx first; there are no page-size or style options to set.
3. Let it process on-device
You'll see it work through four stages — Loading document…, Converting Word to HTML…, Rendering to PDF…, Creating PDF… — all running in your browser tab. A very long document can take a few seconds longer, since each page is rendered as an image.
4. Download the PDF
Once it says “Conversion Complete!”, press “Download PDF”. The file keeps your original name with the extension swapped to .pdf.
When you'd use it
A college assignment portal
Many submission portals only take PDF uploads. If your assignment is a finished .docx and you just need it in PDF form to submit, this avoids installing anything.
A CV for a job portal
Job sites and applicant-tracking forms commonly ask for a PDF résumé specifically so formatting can't shift between viewers. A short, mostly-text CV converts cleanly here.
A government form annexure
Annexures and cover letters attached to official forms are frequently required to be PDF. You can convert the typed annexure right before attaching it, without leaving the form.
Sending a document from a phone
If you drafted something in a Word app on a phone with no desktop Office installed, this converts it to PDF for sharing or emailing without needing a desktop at all.
What converts well and what doesn't
Headings, paragraphs, bullet and numbered lists, bold, italic, underline, and inline images generally come through, because mammoth reads the semantic structure of the .docx (what Word marks as “Heading 1”, a list item, and so on) and turns it into ordinary HTML that then gets rendered.
What doesn't survive: your original fonts, font sizes and colours are discarded during the HTML step and the page is instead rendered in a fixed Arial-style typeface, and table borders and column widths are dropped, so a table keeps its cell text and row order but can lose its visual alignment. Most importantly, each finished page is captured as a JPEG image and placed into the PDF as a picture — the text is not selectable, searchable, or copy-pasteable in the download, even though it looks like normal text on screen.
.doc vs .docx
This tool only converts the modern .docx format. A .doc file will upload without complaint, but pressing Convert then rejects it with a message telling you to re-save it. If you have a legacy .doc, open it in Word (or the free LibreOffice Writer, or upload it to Google Docs) and use Save As / Download As to produce a .docx copy first, then upload that copy here.
Keeping the PDF small for upload limits
Because every page becomes a rendered image rather than lightweight text, the resulting PDF can be noticeably larger than a native export from Word, especially for longer documents or ones with embedded images. If a portal you're uploading to enforces a small file-size cap, run the downloaded PDF through /pdf/compress afterwards to shrink it before you submit.
Frequently asked questions
Will my tables stay aligned?
The text inside table cells and the row order are preserved, but borders and column widths are not — mammoth ignores the table's own formatting by design. Simple tables usually still read fine; tables that rely on precise column widths to make sense may look flattened.
Can I convert an old .doc file?
No. The uploader will accept a .doc file, but conversion itself is blocked as soon as you press Convert, with an on-screen message telling you to re-save it. Re-save it as .docx in Word, LibreOffice, or Google Docs first, then upload the .docx.
Why does my PDF use a different font?
The converter discards your document's original fonts, sizes and colours when it builds the HTML preview, then renders everything in a fixed Arial-style typeface at a set size. This is a known trade-off of the on-device approach, not a bug.
Can I select or search text in the converted PDF?
No. Each page is captured as a JPEG image and embedded in the PDF as a picture, so the text you see cannot be selected, searched, or copied. If you need selectable text, convert using Word's own Save As PDF instead.
Is there a file size or page limit?
Uploads are capped at 20 MB and files that aren't .docx are rejected before conversion starts. There's no fixed page-count limit — the number of PDF pages is worked out automatically from how tall the rendered document is.
Does my document get uploaded anywhere?
No. Reading the .docx, converting it to HTML, rendering it, and assembling the PDF all happen in your browser tab using JavaScript libraries loaded into the page; the file itself is never sent to a server.