Convert a PDF to Word on a Mac

No Acrobat and nothing to install. Drop the PDF here in Safari or Chrome and download a Word file you can edit, with the same pages as your PDF. Free up to 16 pages, no account, deleted within 24 hours.

Choose PDF or drop it here PDF up to 25 MB and 16 pages 5 free a day

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From Essex Software, makers of PDF software since 2004. BBB A+ rated.

How to convert a PDF to Word on a Mac

  1. Choose your PDFClick Choose PDF, or drag the file from Finder onto this page. Up to 16 pages.
  2. We turn it into WordHeadings, paragraphs and lists come back as text you can edit, on the same pages.
  3. Open the Word fileIn Word for Mac, or in Pages, which opens Word files and can save them as Pages documents.

Four ways to convert a PDF to Word on a Mac

  1. In your browser, on this pageNothing to install, no account. Free for PDFs up to 16 pages and 25 MB, 5 a day; the PDF is deleted as soon as it is converted and the Word file 30 minutes later.
  2. Word for MacA current Word for Mac opens a PDF directly: File, then Open, choose the PDF, then File, Save As, Word Document (.docx). Nothing leaves your Mac. If the text will not move afterwards, the edit a PDF in Word guide shows why and how to release it.
  3. PagesPages does not open PDFs. Convert the PDF to a Word file first, on this page or in Word, then open the .docx in Pages and save it as a Pages document.
  4. PreviewPreview does not convert to Word, but it can select the text on a page, including on many scans. Copy a paragraph or an address out of it and paste into Word; it becomes tedious across a whole document.

Acrobat, the paid app, can export a PDF to Word if you already have it; none of the routes above need it.

What you get

Text you can edit
Click anywhere and type. The words move over to make room, just like in any Word document. Nothing is stuck in place.
The same pages
Page 3 of your PDF is still page 3 in Word, so page numbers and printouts still match.
Deleted soon after
Your PDF is deleted as soon as it has been converted. The Word file is deleted 30 minutes later, or right away if you press Delete it now. Our privacy page

Common questions

No. Preview exports to PDF and image formats and can select text on a page for copying, but it does not save a Word file. Convert the PDF on this page, or open it in Word for Mac, and you get a .docx.

Pages does not open PDFs. Convert the PDF to a Word file first, then open the .docx in Pages; Pages converts it and you can save it as a Pages document with File, then Save.

No. This page converts in the browser with nothing installed, Word for Mac opens PDFs itself, and Pages opens the Word file. Acrobat, the paid app, can export to Word if you already have it.

Yes. You can convert up to 5 PDFs a day, each up to 16 pages and 25 MB, with no account.

It is sent to our server to be converted. Your PDF is deleted as soon as the conversion is done, and the Word file 30 minutes later, or right away if you press Delete it now. Our privacy page has the details.

Letters, contracts, reports and minutes come back with their headings, paragraphs and lists, on the same pages as your PDF. Tables, pictures and columns come through too, but check them against your PDF before you rely on them.

Yes, on request, for PDFs up to 6 pages. A scanned PDF is a photo of each page, so the converter offers to read the words with OCR, about 20 seconds a page. You get your pages as pictures straight away and editable text when the reading finishes. Check names, numbers and dates, because OCR can mix up similar characters. The page layout is not reproduced: tables and pictures stay as pictures, and form boxes and rules are not carried over. Our guide to scanned PDFs explains more.

Split it into parts of 16 pages or fewer with the free Split PDF tool, which runs in your browser, then convert each part.

Not while the password is on. Open the PDF in a viewer, save a copy without the password, then convert that copy.

Helpful guides

Why some PDFs convert badly, and what to do about it.

Start here · 12 min

How to convert a PDF to Word

Two ways that work, why some conversions go wrong, and what to do when the text will not move, a table will not edit, or the pages shift.
9 min

How to edit a PDF in Word

Word can open a PDF on its own. What to do when the text it gives you will not let you edit it, and three ways to fix that.

 10 min

Converting a scanned PDF

A scan has no text inside it. How text recognition gets the words back, which letters it mixes up, and why numbers need the most checking.

Free tools that run in your browser

These do other PDF jobs right in your browser. Your file never leaves your computer, which helps when a document is private.

Free browser tool Compress a PDF Free browser tool Redact a PDF properly Free browser tool Split a PDF Free browser tool Strip Word metadata