How to convert a PDF to an editable Word document

You've been sent a PDF, but you need to change a few words, update a date, or reuse the text — and a PDF doesn't let you type into it easily. Converting it to Word (.docx) gives you a document you can edit normally. Here's how, free, with no signup.

The quick way

1. Open the free PDF to Word tool.
2. Choose your PDF.
3. Convert, and download the Word (.docx) file.
4. Open it in Word, WPS Office or Google Docs and edit it like any document.

Two kinds of PDF

A digital PDF (one made from Word, a browser or an app) already contains real text, so it converts cleanly and quickly — you get back editable paragraphs and tables.

A scanned PDF (a photo or scan of a paper document) contains only an image of the text. To make it editable, the text has to be read from the image first — this is called OCR. Our tool can do this; it is slower and works best on a clear, straight scan. Handwriting and faint scans are the hardest.

Why does the result sometimes look slightly different?

A PDF and a Word document lay text out differently, and some PDFs use fonts that aren't on your computer. The converter keeps the words and the structure, but spacing or an unusual font may shift a little. For a normal document this is minor and easy to tidy up in Word.

Related

• Need the numbers in a spreadsheet instead? Use PDF to Excel.
• Want slides? Try PDF to PowerPoint.
• Just need the plain text? Use PDF to Text.