Convert PDF to Word for free

There are now many applications that allow you to edit PDF files by adding writings and highlights to them. In some cases, however, to make editing operations more convenient, it may be necessary to transform them into Word documents first.

How? Fortunately, even this need can be covered by excellent zero-cost solutions available on the Net, and I am not referring only to classic programs to download and install on the PC, but also to special online services that work directly from the browser and some smartphone apps. and tablet.

How do you say? The question seems to be interesting and would you like to receive more details on how to convert PDF to Word for free without wasting time? So do this: take a few free minutes just for you, position yourself comfortably and immediately begin to concentrate on reading my guide dedicated to the subject. I am sure that, in the end, you will be able to tell yourself happy and satisfied with what you have learned.

Index

• Preliminary information
• Convert PDF to Word for free offline
  • Microsoft Word (Windows / macOS)
  • Doxillion Document Converter (Windows / macOS)
  • NAPS2
• Convert PDF to Word for free online
  • iLovePDF
  • CloudConvert
  • Free Online OCR
• App to convert PDF to Word
  • PDF to Word Converter (Android / iOS / iPadOS)
  • Able2Doc PDF to Word Converter (Android / iOS / iPadOS)

Preliminary information

Before getting to the heart of the tutorial by explaining how to convert PDF to Word for free, there is some preliminary information, in this regard, which is my duty to provide you.

You should know, in fact, that not all PDFs can be freely edited once transformed into Word files. More precisely, those consisting of images only  (therefore scanned as photos and not as text documents) can be edited only and exclusively by adding new elements, without modifying the text present in them, even after conversion.

To obtain a Word file with editable text starting from a PDF scanned as an image, it is necessary to contact programs and services for OCR (acronym for “optical character recognition”), that is tools capable of carrying out optical character recognition and, therefore, capable of transforming images and scans into texts that can be modified at will. During the tutorial I will offer you several.

Convert PDF to Word for free offline

Having made the necessary clarifications above, let’s get to the real heart of the matter and let’s find out, together, how to convert PDF to Word for free offline, using special computer programs.

Microsoft Word (Windows / macOS)

The first tool that I invite you to consider is Word, the famous word processor part of Microsoft’s Office package, available on both Windows and macOS. Starting from the 2013 version of the famous office suite, in fact, Word officially has support for files in PDF format. Therefore, these documents can be opened, modified and, of course, also converted without the slightest problem.

However, it should be noted that Word is a paid solution. It can be used together with the purchase of the Office package or, only if Windows 10 is used, by purchasing the standalone version of the program. However, I have chosen to tell you about it in this guide of mine focused on free solutions as Office 365, which is the subscription version of the suite also includes online storage space on OneDrive and minutes of conversation on Skype, can be tried for free for 30 days, without no renewal obligation. To find out how to proceed, you can consult my specific guide on how to download Word for free.

Having said that, after you have downloaded and installed the Microsoft word processor program on your computer, to succeed in your intent, proceed as follows: if you are using Windows, start Word and, once the main program window is displayed, open the PDF in relation to which you are interested go to act, by clicking on the File menu at the top left, selecting the Open item from the latter and then the document of your interest, accepting that the import procedure is carried out.

After viewing the PDF in the Word window, save the document as a DOC or DOCX file, by going back to the File menu, selecting the Save As option from the latter and choosing the output format you prefer, the name you want to assign to the converted document and the location where you want to save it. An OCR conversion is performed, but not as advanced as that offered by other solutions.

Doxillion Document Converter (Windows / macOS)

To convert PDF to Word you can also turn to Doxillion Document Converter. It is a program, available for both Windows and macOS, which allows you to perform conversion operations on various types of files, including PDF and Word. It’s free, but for personal use only. If the software is used for commercial purposes, in fact, the appropriate license must be purchased (at a cost of $ 19.99).

To download the program to your computer, visit its website and click the Download Now button (if you are using Windows) or the Download Mac button (if you are using macOS).

When the download is complete, if you are using Windows, open the .exe file obtained and, in the window that appears on the desktop, click on the Yes button. Then select the item I accept the license terms and click on the Next button.

If you are using macOS, on the other hand, extract the ZIP archive obtained in a folder of your choice, open the .dmg package contained within it, click on the Agree button in the window that appears on the desktop and drag the program icon into the Applications folder of the Mac. Then, right-click on it and select the Open item twice in a row, in order to start the program, however, going around the limitations imposed by Apple on non-certified developers (operation that must be performed only at the first start) .

Now that, regardless of the operating system used, you see the software window on the screen, click on the Add file (s) button located at the top left and select the PDF to convert to Word from your computer, then choose the location in which to save the output file, by clicking on the Browse button next to the Output folder item at the bottom.

Subsequently, select the .doc or .docx format from the Output format drop-down menu, make any adjustments to the final document by clicking on the adjacent Document Settings button and start the conversion procedure by clicking on the Convert button located at the bottom right.

NAPS2

If you are interested in converting PDF to Word for free with OCR, you can rely on the NAPS2 program. It is compatible only with  Windows, it is free and it is also available in a no-install version (the one I recommend you use). It can be used to digitize documents and photos and to recognize the writing characters of PDFs that are fed to it, using OCR technology.

To download the portable version of the program on your computer, visit its website, click on the More files button and then on the zip link next to the first word Portable archive. Once the download is complete, extract the ZIP archive obtained in a folder of your choice on your computer and start the .exe file contained within it, to run the program.

In the window that you now see on the screen, click on the Import button located on the toolbar, at the top, and select the PDF of your interest. If in doing so you are told that to import the PDF you need to download an add-on, please agree to this.

Subsequently, click on the OCR button located at the top left, select the languages ​​of your interest and click on the Download button, in order to start the download of the relative dictionaries that allow the program to recognize the writing characters present in the scanned documents, then click again on the OCR button, select the language of the document, the way to use the OCR function and press the OK button.

To conclude and then to save the PDF with editable text that you can then convert into Word, click on the Save PDF button at the top, type the name you want to assign to the output file and the location in which you want to save it and that’s it. .

Convert PDF to Word for free online

You don’t want or can’t download new programs on your computer and would you like me to suggest you some tools to convert PDF to Word for free online? If this is the case, immediately test the solutions of this type that I will report to you below. I am sure that, in no time at all, you will be able to find a solution that will satisfy you.

iLovePDF

iLovePDF is a free online service that allows you to create, edit, unlock and convert PDFs. It works from any browser and operating system and requires no registration. It allows you to upload only one file at a time with a maximum size of 100 MB and protects the privacy of users by removing, within a few hours, the documents that are uploaded to its servers. It should be noted that, if necessary, it is possible to subscribe to one of the paid plans (with costs starting from 6 euros/month), which allow access to extra functions, such as increasing the maximum size for uploading files to 1 GB.

To use iLovePDF, go to the page of the service dedicated to converting PDF to Word, click on the Select PDF file button and select the PDF file you are interested in going to act. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file into the browser window. You can also upload the document of your interest from Google Drive or Dropbox, by clicking on the relevant buttons.

Once uploaded, click on the Convert to Word button located at the bottom right and wait for the conversion procedure to start. When finished, the Word file will be downloaded automatically. If this does not happen, you can force the download by clicking the Download Word button.

CloudConvert

Another online service you can turn to convert PDF to Word for free is CloudConvert. It allows you to convert PDF documents, Word files, but also videos, images, songs, eBooks and all documents created with Microsoft Office to each other. It has no annoying upload limits and allows you to work on multiple files at the same time. It’s free, but can be used for up to 10 minutes of conversions per day. To bring this limit to 25 minutes, you need to register for the service. Alternatively, it is possible to expand it to 500 minutes (or more) by subscribing to one of the subscription plans (with costs starting from 8.54 euros/month). It should also be noted that all files uploaded to the service are removed from the latter’s servers within a few hours.

To use CloudConvert, go to the home page of the service, click on the Select File button and select the PDF on your computer in relation to which you want to go to act. Alternatively, drag the document directly into the browser window. You can also download the file from the Internet, providing its URL or connecting to your cloud storage services (Google Drive, Dropbox etc.), by clicking on the arrow next to the central button and choosing the option you prefer from the menu that opens.

Once uploaded, click on the menu next to the item to at the top of the page and, from the menu that opens, select the item Document and the DOC or DOCX format.

Therefore, start the conversion procedure by clicking on the Convert button located at the bottom right, then click on the Download button next to the file name, to download the output document on your PC.

If you have uploaded multiple PDFs, you can download the returned Word documents simultaneously, in a single compressed archive, by clicking on the All Files button at the bottom right and selecting Download All from the menu that appears.

Free Online OCR

If you want to convert a non-editable PDF into an editable Word file, you can resort to using the Free Online OCR online service. It does not require registration and works from any browser. Note that it allows you to upload documents with a maximum weight of 15 MB.

To use it, go to the home page of the service, click on the Select file button and select the PDF in relation to which you are interested in intervening. Next, select the language in which the text is written using the adjacent drop-down menu, select the Microsoft Word (docx) option from the second drop-down menu and click the Convert button.

After completing the above steps, you can download the final file to your PC by clicking the Download Output File button at the bottom. Please also note that at the bottom of the page there is a preview of the text of the document, which can possibly be modified before proceeding with the download.

App to convert PDF to Word

Now I would like to show you the apps to convert PDF to Word that you can use to act directly from your smartphone or tablet, without necessarily having to use your computer. You will find listed below the ones that, in my opinion, are the best of their kind. Try them now!

PDF to Word Converter (Android / iOS / iPadOS)

The first app I recommend you to consider is PDF to Word Converter. It is a free solution, available for both Android and iOS / iPadOS, which, as can be easily deduced from the name itself, does only one thing but does it great: convert PDF documents into Word files, which can also be edited. Note that it offers in-app purchases (with prices starting from € 5.99) to unlock the ability to convert files more quickly and other extra features.

To download and install it on your device, if you are using Android, visit the relevant section of the Play Store and press the Install button. If you are using iOS / iPadOS, visit the relevant section of the App Store instead, press the Get button, then the Install button and authorize the download using Face ID, Touch ID or Apple ID password. Then, start the app, by touching the Open button that appeared on the display or by selecting the relative icon that has been added to the home screen.

Now that you see the main screen of the app, tap the (+) button and select the PDF to convert, indicating the location from which to take it. Then press the Free button, the  OK button to agree to receive a specific notification at the end of the conversion and wait for the procedure to be started and completed.

Able2Doc PDF to Word Converter (Android / iOS / iPadOS)

Another great application that you can consider using to convert PDF files to Word is Able2Doc PDF to Word Converter. It’s free, available for both Android and iOS / iPadOS, easy to use, and returns editable Word documents. It should be noted that it offers purchases (at the base cost of € 3.49) to make conversions quickly and unlock other additional features.

To download and install it on your device, if you are using Android, access the relevant section of the Play Store and press the Install button. If you are using iOS / iPadOS, on the other hand, visit the relevant section of the App Store, tap on the Get button, then on the Install button and authorize the download using Face ID, Touch ID or Apple ID password. Then, start the app, by touching the Open button that appeared on the display or by selecting the relative icon that has been added to the home screen.

Now that you see the main screen of the app, tap the (+) button located at the bottom and select the PDF you want to intervene in. Then, tap on Wait about 1 hour and wait for the upload and conversion procedure to start and complete.