Quick answer: if you have Microsoft Word, use File → Save As and choose PDF as the file type. It’s built in, free and the most faithful to your layout.
No Word? Open the file in Google Docs and use File → Download → PDF Document (.pdf), or drop the .docx into Altto’s Word to PDF, which converts it in your browser without uploading it.
Turning a Word document into a PDF is the last step before a lot of things: sending a CV, submitting an assignment, emailing an invoice or a signed letter. A PDF looks the same on every device and can’t be accidentally edited, which is exactly why people ask for one. Which method is best depends mostly on whether you have Word to hand. (Not sure which format a document should be in? See PDF vs. Word.)
Method 1: Save as PDF in Microsoft Word (Windows)
- Open the document in Word and choose File → Save As (on some versions, Save a Copy).
- Pick where to save it, then change Save as type to PDF.
- Next to Optimize for, choose Standard for a full-quality PDF you might print, or Minimum size if it’s going by email and has lots of pictures.
- Click Save.
The Options button in the same dialog is worth a look. It lets you save just a range of pages, create PDF bookmarks from your headings (handy for long reports), include accessibility tags for screen readers, and choose whether tracked changes and comments appear. You’ll also find the same export under File → Export → Create PDF/XPS.
Because Word uses its own layout engine to make the PDF, what you see on screen is what you get: fonts, spacing, headers and footers, text boxes and columns all come out as they look in Word.
Method 2: Word on a Mac
- Choose File → Save As.
- Set File Format to PDF.
- Choose Best for printing, then click Export.
You’ll also see an option called Best for electronic distribution and accessibility. It produces a more accessible PDF, but as its label says, it uses a Microsoft online service — your document is sent to Microsoft to be converted. Microsoft says it doesn’t keep the file, but if the document is sensitive and you’d rather it stayed on your Mac, choose Best for printing.
Method 3: Google Docs (free, no Word needed)
- Upload the .docx to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs.
- Choose File → Download → PDF Document (.pdf).
It’s free with a Google account and handles everyday documents well. The catches: the file is uploaded to Google, and because Docs re-lays out the document with its own engine, fonts it doesn’t have are swapped for similar ones and complex layouts can shift. Check page breaks before you send it. Google Docs can also open the older .doc format.
Method 4: On your phone
With the Microsoft Word app: on iPhone or iPad, open the document, tap the File menu and choose Export → PDF. On Android, open the document, tap the three-dot menu, choose Print, and pick Save as PDF as the printer.
With the Google Docs app: open the document, tap the three-dot menu, then Share & export. On Android choose Save as and pick PDF; on iPhone choose Send a copy, pick PDF, and save it to Files.
With no app at all: Word to PDF runs in Safari or Chrome on your phone. Tap to choose the .docx from your Files app or downloads, convert, and save.
Method 5: Altto, in your browser
- Open Word to PDF on any device.
- Drop in your .docx file.
- Convert, then save the PDF.
This is the one to use when you don’t have Word, you’re on a borrowed or work computer, or the document is private enough that you’d rather not upload it to anyone. The conversion happens inside your browser tab, so the file never leaves your device, and there’s no account or watermark.
To be straight about its limits: Altto rebuilds the document with web technology rather than Word’s own layout engine. Headings, bold and italic, lists and ordinary paragraphs carry over well, but very complex layouts — multi-column text, text boxes, tracked changes — may not look identical, and spacing can shift slightly on unusually formatted documents. It reads the modern .docx format only, not the older .doc, and it can’t open a password-protected document. For a heavily designed brochure, Word’s own export will give a closer match.
Which method should you use?
| Method | Cost | Uploads your file? | Layout accuracy | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Word (Windows) | Needs Word | No | Exact | Anything, especially complex layouts |
| Word for Mac | Needs Word | Only with the “electronic distribution” option | Exact | Anything; choose Best for printing to stay local |
| Google Docs | Free | Yes, to Google | Good; fonts may be substituted | Everyday documents, no Word |
| Word app on a phone | Free app | No | Good | Converting on the go |
| Altto (browser) | Free | No | Good for text, headings and lists | No Word installed, private documents |
Before you convert: a quick checklist
- Tracked changes and comments. If they’re showing in Word, they can end up in the PDF. Accept or reject changes and delete comments first, or choose to publish the document without markup in Word’s PDF options.
- Tables of contents and fields. Right-click a table of contents and update it, so the page numbers in the PDF are right.
- Page breaks. Scroll through once. A heading stranded at the bottom of a page looks much worse in a PDF, where no one can fix it.
- File name. “Jane-Smith-CV.pdf” beats “Document1 (final) (2).pdf” when it lands in someone’s inbox.
- File size. If the PDF is too big to attach, see how to compress a PDF.
Need to go the other way later? Our guide on turning a PDF into a Word document covers that.
Common questions
How do I convert a Word document to PDF for free?
How do I convert Word to PDF without Microsoft Word?
How do I turn a Word document into a PDF on my phone?
Will my formatting be kept when I convert Word to PDF?
Can I convert an old .doc file to PDF?
Is it safe to convert a Word document to PDF online?
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