Tried-and-True Solution: How to Convert Word to PDF (Free)

April 7, 20231.1K views

Microsoft Word documents are essential to formal and informal documentation. They are however difficult to transfer. The easier way is to convert Word to PDF. We recommend you use free WPS Office Tools.

Part 1:Pros of Converting Word to PDF

1. Secure File Transfer: Password-protect your PDF file and limit access for editing when sharing.

2. Undisturbed Format of Document: Your format will remain intact when transferring PDFs to other users.

3. No Compatibility Concerns: PDF can be opened on phones (Android and iOS) and desktops without compatibility concerns.

4. Referencing Remains Intact: When you convert the file to PDF, the pictures, table of contents, figures, etc. hold their positions.

5. Minimize Space: Compress large Word documents to PDFs, freeing up storage.

Free You from Busy WorkFree Download

Part 2:How to Convert Word to PDF on Laptop - 2 Ways

Method 1. Converting Word Docs to PDF with WPS Office

Step 1:Another software you can use to convert Word files to pdf on your laptop is WPS Office. Open the word file you want to convert and click “file”. From the menu on the left click “Export to WPS PDF”.

step to convert Word to PDF on Laptop

Step 2:A smaller window will pop us showing the file being converted to pdf.

step to convert Word to PDF on Laptop

Step 3:Your file will automatically open in the WPS PDF viewer. From here you can save your file as a WPS PDF document.

step to convert Word to PDF on Laptop

Step 4:Go to “Menu” and click on “Save as”. You can save the file as a pdf. Select the name and location of the file before you click “Save”.

Method 2. Converting Word Docs to PDF with Adobe

You can use different applications to convert word docs to pdf using your laptop. The most common one is Adobe Reader. You can install this software on the laptop and use it for file viewing and conversion.

Step 1:Open your Adobe reader and go to file and click open to choose the word file you wish to open. You will see a tab in the top left corner that says “Convert to pdf”.

step to convert Word to PDF on Laptop

Step 2:Click on this to convert the file to pdf and save it with the desired name.

step to convert Word to PDF on Laptop

Part 3:How to Convert Word to PDF for Windows (PC)

Step 1:You can directly use Microsoft Office Word to save your files as PDFs instead of word documents. Select the file you want to convert into a pdf or if you’re working on a new file on Microsoft Word, make sure you finalize the document. Go to “File” to convert the word document to pdf.

step to convert Word to PDF for PC

Step 2:Click “Save as”. Click the formatting bar “Word Document (*.docs) “ and a dropdown menu will open up.

step to convert Word to PDF for PC

Step 3:Click on “PDF (*.pdf)” in the dropdown menu to save the format of your new file as pdf instead of Word.

step to convert Word to PDF for PC

Step 4:Choose a Name and location for your file and save it on your PC.

step to convert Word to PDF for PC

Step 5:You can choose the file location by clicking “This PC”.

step to convert Word to PDF for PC

Step 6:A new window will open where you can select the folder in which to save this file.

step to convert Word to PDF for PC

Step 7:Click “Save” to save the file on your PC as a pdf.

This will save the file as a new PDF and you can access it using any PDF viewer such as Adobe, or WPS Office. This file can be easily transferred with the formatting and content intact. This works for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. For all versions of Microsoft Word, the method of conversion remains the same essentially.

Part 4:How to Convert Word to PDF for MAC - 2 Ways

Method 1. Converting Word to PDF in Microsoft Word

To convert any Microsoft Word document to PDF using MAC, go to the file and open it. Go to the option of “File” in the top left corner and click on it.

Step 1:Select “File” and a dropdown menu will appear. Click “print” to open a new menu. You will see the option of “PDF” on the menu, you can click on it to open another dropdown menu.

step to convert Word to PDF for MAC

Step 2:You can easily click “Save as PDF” to convert your word file to pdf. Similar steps will follow where you choose the name and file location in your MacBook to save the file.

Method 2. Converting Word Docs to PDF With PDFelement

Another method to convert Word doc to pdf using MAC is to use PDFelement. This application is available for MacBook and can help you in converting word documents to pdf files. All you need to do is go to the PDFelement app and open it.

Step 1:Go to “File” to open the file you want to convert to pdf.

step to convert Word to PDF for MAC

Step 2:Choose the Microsoft Word file you wish to convert to open it in PDFelement. Go to “Save” to save it in a different format and choose the pdf.

Part 5:How to Convert Word to PDF on Your iPhone

There are many options available when it comes to converting files on Android or iOS devices. This is the simplest way to convert any Microsoft Word file to pdf using your iPhone. You do not need to download an app on your mobile for this. 

Step 1:Simply unlock your iPhone and go to “Files” on your home screen.

step to convert Word to PDF on iPhone

Step 2:Look for the Word file you want to convert and click on it.

step to convert Word to PDF on iPhone

Step 3:After opening the document, click the “share” icon in the lower left corner.

step to convert Word to PDF on iPhone

Step 4:You will see the option of sharing this file. Go to “Print”.

step to convert Word to PDF on iPhone

Step 5:This will open another window to show printing options. You will see a share icon at the top right corner. Click on the share icon.

step to convert Word to PDF on iPhone

Step 6:This will take you to a new menu to share the file. You’ll see that the file is already converted to pdf to make it easier to print.

step to convert Word to PDF on iPhone

Step 7:You can directly click “Save to Files” to save this as a pdf document on your iPhone.

Part 6:Converting Word to PDF Online - 5 Free PDF Converter

Apart from using software and apps to convert files from Microsoft Word docs to pdf, there are websites to help you. We will list the top 5 free websites to convert Word files to pdf online.

#1 WPS Office PDF

(https://pdf.wps.com/convert-word-to-pdf/)

One of the easiest ways to convert a Word doc to a pdf is by using WPS PDF tools online for free. 

Step 1:Click on the link to get started.

step to convert Word to PDF using WPS PDF Tools

Step 2:“Select Word Files” from your PC to upload.

step to convert Word to PDF using WPS PDF Tools

Step 3:It’ll take a few seconds to convert the Word file to pdf for free. Simply download the file after it's done.

step to convert Word to PDF using WPS PDF Tools

#2 ilovepdf

(https://www.ilovepdf.com/word_to_pdf)

Simply open the website link and see the option “Convert PDF”. 

Step 1:Click on this to get a dropdown menu and go to “Word to PDF”.

step to convert Word to PDF using ilovepdf

Step 2:You will see the option of “select WORD files”.

step to convert Word to PDF using ilovepdf

Step 3:Choose the Microsoft Word file you want to convert to pdf.

step to convert Word to PDF using ilovepdf

Step 4:After you click on your file, you will be redirected back to the website. Click on “convert to PDF” in the right corner.

step to convert Word to PDF using ilovepdf

Step 5:This will take less than 5 seconds and your file will be ready for download.

step to convert Word to PDF using ilovepdf

Step 6:Download your converted file to your chosen folder.

Pros

Cons

Can easily convert files in simple steps

Can only convert one file at a time

Take less than a minute for each conversion


#3 Smallpdf

(https://smallpdf.com/word-to-pdf)

Step 1:Go to the website link given and click “Tools”.

step to convert Word to PDF using smallpdf

Step 2:Click “Word to PDF” to access the converter.

step to convert Word to PDF using smallpdf

Step 3:Go to the “Choose files” tab to select the file you want to convert and click on it.

step to convert Word to PDF using smallpdf

Step 4:In a few seconds, your file will be ready for download. You can save the file where you want.

step to convert Word to PDF using smallpdf

Pros

Cons

The conversion process is simple and easy to use

It takes a minute or two per conversion of a single file

You can directly share the file to social media as well by clicking the share icon

Adding passwords and compressing the file requires a pro subscription

#4 Sodapdf

(https://www.sodapdf.com/?mkey1=sodapdf.com%2Fword-to-pdf%2F)

This is another website to help you convert your word documents to pdf for free. 

Step 1:Click the link to continue. Go to “More Tools” in the upper tab and select “Word to pdf”.

step to convert Word to PDF using Sodapdf

Step 2:The new window shows the option to choose your Microsoft Word file and start converting.

step to convert Word to PDF using Sodapdf

Step 3:After selecting the file, the conversion will begin.

step to convert Word to PDF using Sodapdf

Step 4:When the file is uploaded successfully, it’ll be available for download.

step to convert Word to PDF using Sodapdf

Pros

Cons

This is the easiest one to use

Cannot convert bulk files

Each file only takes a minute


You can perform extra functions such as split, merge pdf etc.


#5 PDF2Go

(https://www.pdf2go.com/)

This website lets you easily convert and download word files into pdf format. 

Step 1:Click the link and go to “Tools” and scroll down to get the option “Word to pdf”.

step to convert Word to PDF using PDF2Go

Step 2:Select the word document you want to convert to pdf.

step to convert Word to PDF using PDF2Go

Step 3:Click start and begin converting the file. When the file is ready, it will automatically download to your PC.

step to convert Word to PDF using PDF2Go

Step 4:You can manually download it as well.

Pros

Cons

The website is simple to use

No bulk conversions

You can select files from dropbox and Drive as well

Has no option to merge or split pdf

FAQs

Q1: How do I convert a Word Document to PDF for free?

A: There are many options such as an online web converter you can use to convert one file at a time. These converters are also available in software such as WPS Office, Adobe, and even Microsoft Word. Most of these methods are available for free.

Q2: How do I convert a Word document to pdf without losing formatting?

A: You can directly save your Word file as a PDF and you will not lose any formatting. Go to “save as” in your file menu and change the file format to pdf and save it.

Q3: Why does PDF look better than Word?

A: It looks more professional and composed as compared to a word document. Hence, it is the preferred choice of format for document sharing. This file format is undisturbed with the tables and figures staying in their positions.

Final Thoughts of Converting Word Documents to PDF

We hope this article provided a solution to all your problems regarding file conversion. You can now easily convert any Word file to PDF without fail. There are many tools at your disposal whether you’re an Android or iOS user, MAC or PC (Windows), online or offline, you can convert the file to the desired format. This takes a few minutes and creates reliable, composed, and compressed files for storage and transfer. All-in-one WPS Office is a great alternative to Microsoft Office, Google Docs, Adobe and other documentation softwares, with Writer, Spreadsheet, Presentation, PDF Tools in one app and free for users to easily work.

Free You from Busy WorkFree Download


15 years of office industry experience, tech lover and copywriter. Follow me for product reviews, comparisons, and recommendations for new apps and software.