Tutorials · 13 min read
How to Convert PDF to Word for Free: Word, Google Docs and Online Tools
Four free ways to turn a PDF into an editable Word document, plus what to do with scanned PDFs and broken formatting.
By AIToolBase Editorial Team · Published
Short answer: If you already have Microsoft Word on your computer, open the PDF with File > Open and click OK when Word offers to convert it, then save it as a .docx. If you don't have Word, upload the PDF to Google Drive, choose Open with > Google Docs, then File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx). Both are free if you already have access. Online converters such as Adobe Acrobat online, iLovePDF and Smallpdf also work, but they have daily or file-size limits and you upload your file to their servers.
Which one to pick depends mostly on what kind of PDF you have:
- Text-based PDF (exported from Word, a website or an app, where you can select the text): Microsoft Word gives the most usable result, and Google Docs is a good free fallback.
- Scanned PDF (a photo or scan of paper): you need OCR (optical character recognition). Google Docs does OCR for files up to 2 MB, Word desktop can also convert scans, and the online converters offer OCR on some plans.
This guide is for students, office workers and anyone who needs to edit a PDF without buying software. It covers the four free methods step by step, Mac and iPhone options, privacy, and a table of fixes for when the formatting breaks.
Which free method should you use?
| Method | Best for | Handles scanned PDFs? | File leaves your computer? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Word (desktop) | Text-heavy PDFs, if you already have Word | Yes, per Microsoft's scan guide | No |
| Google Docs / Drive | Anyone with a Google account, short files | Yes (OCR), file should be 2 MB or smaller | Yes, it is stored in your Drive |
| Online converters (Adobe, iLovePDF, Smallpdf) | Quick one-off conversions, phones | OCR limited or paid on free tiers (see below) | Yes, uploaded to the vendor |
| LibreOffice Draw | Small fixes to a PDF offline | No OCR | No |
Our recommendation: use Word if you have it, Google Docs if you don't, and an online converter only for files you would be comfortable emailing to a stranger.
Method 1: Convert a PDF with Microsoft Word
Word has been able to open PDFs since Word 2013 (Microsoft calls this feature PDF Reflow). Microsoft's current help pages list Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016.
- Open Word and go to File > Open.
- Find the PDF and open it. You may need to select Browse and pick the folder.
- Word shows a message that it will make a copy of the PDF and convert it into an editable Word document. Click OK. Your original PDF is not changed.
- Edit the document, then save it. Microsoft's steps say to choose the document type from the Save as dropdown, so pick the Word document (.docx) type rather than PDF.
Kevin Stratvert's short video shows this kind of quick PDF-to-Word conversion from start to finish.
What converts well and what doesn't
According to Microsoft, conversion "works best with files that are mostly text", such as business, legal or scientific documents. PDFs of book chapters or pages that look like photocopies are not formatted well. If a page is mostly charts or graphics, Word may turn the whole page into a single image, and you cannot edit its text.
Microsoft lists these elements as known problems:
- Tables with cell spacing
- Page colours and page borders
- Tracked changes and frames
- Footnotes that span more than one page, and endnotes
- Audio, video and other active PDF elements
- PDF bookmarks, tags and comments
- Font effects such as Glow or Shadow (these become graphics)
Microsoft also explains why: a PDF stores where text and images sit on a page, but usually not which lines form a paragraph, a table or a column. Word guesses that structure, so lines and pages may break in different places from the original, and a footnote may end up as ordinary body text.
Word for the web and Word on Mac
Word for the web is free with a Microsoft account. Microsoft's help says that when you open a PDF in Word for the web, it is converted to a Word document and may not look exactly like the original. Another Microsoft page notes that the PDF viewer in OneDrive cannot edit PDFs and points you to desktop Word for conversion, so if the web route does not offer to convert your file, use the desktop app or Method 2.
For Word on Mac, the Microsoft support pages we checked do not document a separate Mac procedure, so we can't confirm the exact steps for your version. Google Docs (Method 2) works in any browser on a Mac.
Method 2: Convert a PDF with Google Docs (free)
Google Drive can open a PDF as a Google Doc, running OCR so that scanned pages become editable text. Then you download it as a Word file.
- On your computer, go to drive.google.com and upload the PDF.
- Right-click the file and choose Open with > Google Docs.
- Drive creates a new Google Doc with the converted text.
- In the new document, click File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx).
The Techie Trickle video below walks through the same steps; it is from 2020, so the Drive menus may look slightly different now.
Google's help page sets clear expectations:
- File size: the file should be 2 MB or smaller.
- Kept: bold, italics, font size, font type and line breaks are likely to be retained.
- Lost: lists, tables, columns, footnotes and endnotes are not likely to be detected.
- For scans: text should be at least 10 pixels high, the page must be upright, images should be sharp with even lighting, and common fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman work best. Drive detects the language automatically and supports a long list of languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi.
Google's help also says this conversion is done at drive.google.com on a computer, not in the Drive app on a phone.
If your PDF is larger than 2 MB, split it into smaller parts first, compress it, or use Word or an online converter for that file.
Method 3: Free online PDF to Word converters
Online converters work in any browser, including on a phone. The free tiers below are as of November 2026, taken from each vendor's own pages; they change often, so check before you rely on them.
| Converter | Free limits (official page) | OCR for scanned PDFs | How long files are kept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat online | No sign-up needed; "daily conversion limits apply"; repeat use may ask you to sign in | Page says OCR can detect text in scanned PDFs | "Deleted unless you sign in to save it" (no time stated) |
| iLovePDF | Free Basic plan: PDF to Word up to 15 MB, one file per task | The pricing table lists the OCR version of PDF to Word under paid plans | "A maximum of 2 hours" |
| Smallpdf | No account needed to try; free plan has a daily download limit | OCR is a Pro feature (7-day free trial offered) | "Deleted after one hour of processing" unless saved to your account |
The steps are the same everywhere: open the PDF to Word page, upload or drag in your file, wait for the conversion, and download the .docx.
Every online converter uploads your file to someone else's server. For contracts, ID cards, bank statements, medical records or anything covered by a work confidentiality policy, use an offline method instead: Word desktop, LibreOffice, or the open-source Docling tool described below. If you do use a website, read its privacy policy and delete the file from your account afterwards.
Google Drive is not a converter service, but the same thinking applies: the PDF and the new Google Doc both stay in your Drive until you delete them (and empty the trash).
Mac, iPhone and iPad
Mac. Preview can't export to Word. Apple's Preview guide lists the export formats as HEIC, JPEG, JPEG-2000, OpenEXR, PDF, PNG and TIFF. Preview can select and copy text from a PDF, which is fine for a paragraph or two. For a full document, use Google Docs in Safari or Chrome, Word if you have it, or an online converter.
iPhone and iPad. Microsoft's compatibility table says Word for iPhone and iPad cannot open PDF files, and Google's help says the Docs conversion is done on a computer. The practical free option on a phone is an online converter in your browser: Adobe says its online tool works in any web browser, including on iOS and Android. Keep the privacy warning above in mind, or wait until you are at a computer for sensitive files.
LibreOffice: good for small edits, not a true converter
LibreOffice is free and works offline, but it does not open PDFs in Writer, its word processor. The official LibreOffice Getting Started Guide lists PDF among the formats Draw opens, and Writer's list of readable formats does not include PDF. The guide notes that Draw can edit a PDF's contents, but Draw is a drawing program, not a word processor. In our view, it is good for fixing a typo or a date offline, not for rewriting paragraphs; for real conversion to .docx, use Word or Google Docs.
LibreOffice also has a useful export option for the future: a "hybrid" PDF that behaves like a normal PDF in viewers but stays fully editable when you reopen it in LibreOffice.
Scanned PDFs and OCR
A quick test: open the PDF and try to select a word. If you can't, it is an image and needs OCR before any converter can give you editable text.
- Google Docs runs OCR automatically, within the 2 MB limit and the image-quality tips above.
- Word desktop can convert a scanned PDF too; Microsoft's "Scan and edit a document" guide uses the same File > Open steps and says it works best with documents that are mostly text.
- Adobe Acrobat online says it uses OCR for scanned PDFs. iLovePDF and Smallpdf put OCR conversions behind paid plans or trials.
OCR is never perfect. Always proofread names, numbers and dates against the original, especially in invoices and forms.
Convert PDF to Word without losing formatting: fixes
No free tool guarantees an exact copy, because a PDF doesn't store a document's structure. These fixes cover the most common problems.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Text can't be selected or edited | Scanned or image-only PDF, or a graphics-heavy page | Use OCR: Google Docs (2 MB or smaller), Word desktop, or Adobe online |
| Tables come out as loose lines or tabs | Google Docs does not detect tables; Word struggles with tables that have cell spacing | Convert with Word instead of Google Docs; rebuild small tables with Insert > Table |
| Two columns merged into one | Google Docs does not detect columns | Try Word desktop; otherwise reapply columns manually |
| Footnotes appear inside the body text | Word may not recognise a footnote, especially one spanning pages | Cut the text and reinsert it as a real footnote |
| Lines and pages break in odd places | Word reflows the text, it does not copy the page | Expected; check page breaks before printing |
| Google Docs conversion fails or is garbled | File over 2 MB, sideways pages, small or unusual fonts | Split the PDF, rotate pages upright, use a sharper scan |
| PDF comments or bookmarks disappear | Word does not convert PDF comments, bookmarks or tags | Keep the original PDF open to read them |
| Glow or shadow text turns into pictures | Word converts font effects to graphics | Delete the graphic and retype the text |
In our view, if you only need to change a few words and send it back as a PDF, editing in LibreOffice Draw or asking the sender for the original Word file is often faster than converting and cleaning up.
Using AI to extract text from a PDF
Sometimes you don't need the original layout at all, just clean text you can edit. AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude accept PDF uploads and can pull out the text, turn a messy scan into headings and bullet points, or rebuild a table you can paste into Word. Our ChatGPT vs Claude comparison covers how each handles PDFs, and our guide on how to use ChatGPT explains uploading files. Two cautions: AI can skip or reword text, so compare the output with the original, and the privacy warning above applies just as much to chatbots.
For developers, Docling is an open-source (MIT-licensed) library that converts PDFs and other documents for AI pipelines. Its GitHub README lists export formats including Markdown, HTML, WebVTT, DocLang, DocTags and lossless JSON, says it has extensive OCR support for scanned PDFs, and supports local execution for sensitive data. It does not export to .docx, so it suits feeding documents into AI search or chat tools rather than producing a Word file. Browse more tools like this in our productivity category, or start with our beginner's guide to AI.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a PDF to Word for free?
Upload the PDF to Google Drive, choose Open with > Google Docs, then File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx). If you have Word on your computer, you can instead open the PDF with File > Open and save it as a .docx.
How do I convert a PDF to Word without losing formatting?
Use Word desktop for text-based PDFs, because Google Docs does not detect tables, columns or footnotes. Expect to fix a few things by hand, as no free method copies a PDF's layout exactly.
How do I convert a PDF to Word on Google Docs?
On a computer, upload the PDF to Drive, right-click it, choose Open with > Google Docs, then use File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx). The file should be 2 MB or smaller.
How do I convert a PDF to Word on a Mac?
Preview cannot export to Word, so use Google Docs in your browser, Word if you have it, or an online converter. Preview can copy small amounts of text.
How do I convert a PDF to Word on iPhone or iPad?
Word for iPhone and iPad cannot open PDFs, and Google's conversion runs on a computer. Use an online converter in Safari, such as Adobe Acrobat online, and avoid uploading confidential files.
How do I convert a PDF to Word in Adobe Acrobat?
Adobe's free online PDF to Word tool lets you select or drag in a file and download a DOCX, with daily conversion limits. Adobe says unlimited conversions need a paid Acrobat plan, so check its current pricing.
Is there a free PDF to Word converter with no sign-up?
As of November 2026, Adobe's online tool says no sign-up is required (though repeat use may ask you to sign in), and Smallpdf says no account is needed to try it. Google Docs needs a free Google account.
Can I convert a PDF to Word free with OCR?
Yes. Google Docs runs OCR on PDFs up to 2 MB, and Word desktop can convert scanned PDFs. iLovePDF and Smallpdf list OCR conversion as a paid feature.
How do I convert a PDF to Word offline for free?
Word desktop converts PDFs without uploading them. LibreOffice (free) opens PDFs in Draw, which suits small edits rather than full conversion.
How do I convert a PDF to Word with iLovePDF?
Open iLovePDF's PDF to Word tool, upload the file and download the result. As of November 2026 the free plan allows one file per task up to 15 MB, and files are kept for a maximum of 2 hours.
How do I make a PDF editable?
Convert it to a Word document with one of the methods above, then edit and save it as Word or as a new PDF. For scanned PDFs, use a method with OCR.
Sources
- Microsoft Support: Edit a PDF
- Microsoft Support: Opening PDFs in Word
- Microsoft Support: Scan and edit a document
- Microsoft Support: Add a PDF to your Office file (PDF Reflow, Word for the web)
- Microsoft Support: View, print, and edit PDFs in a PDF reader
- Microsoft Support: Why can't I open my file in Word on a mobile device?
- Microsoft: Free Microsoft 365 for the web
- Google Drive Help: Convert PDF and photo files to text
- Google Docs Editors Help: Create, view, or download a file
- Adobe Acrobat online: PDF to Word
- iLovePDF: Pricing and FAQ
- Smallpdf: PDF to Word and Pricing
- Apple: Convert image file types using Preview on Mac
- LibreOffice Getting Started Guide 25.2: Working with File Formats
- Docling on GitHub
Reviewed on November 3, 2026. Free-tier limits, file retention periods and app menus change often; check each vendor's page before uploading important files.