Word to PDF — bookmarks, fonts, and PDF/A archive in one click
PDF you can archive. Bookmarks, hyperlinks, and fonts — all preserved.
Free, unlimited use. Built on enterprise-grade document processing technology trusted by Fortune 100 financial and legal teams. No signup. Files auto-deleted in 1 hour.
Drop your Word file here, or click to browse
Up to 5 files at a time, max 100 MB each
Accepts .docx, .doc, .docm, .dot, .dotx, .rtf, .odt, .txt, .html
Why people pick this Word to PDF converter
Most free converters silently drop bookmarks, break hyperlinks, and ship PDFs that re-render incorrectly on machines without your fonts. We built one converter that does the four things businesses actually need from a Word→PDF tool — archive-grade output, preserved navigation, embedded fonts, and (when you ask for it) cryptographic signatures — and made it free, unlimited, and signup-free. Every promise on this page is verifiable in the file you download.
What you get out of every conversion
ISO PDF/A archive output
Generate PDF/A-1b, -2b, or -3b on demand for compliance scenarios — the same standards SEC EDGAR, GDPR retention, and FERPA audit logs require.
Bookmarks & TOC preserved
Every Heading 1..9 and user bookmark becomes a clickable entry in the Acrobat outline pane. Most free tools strip these silently.
Hyperlinks stay live
External URLs, email links, and internal cross-references remain clickable inside the PDF — no flattened text traps.
Font subset embedding
Used glyphs travel with the file so the PDF renders identically on machines without your fonts. Switch to full embedding for editable forms.
Digital signature support
Upload a .pfx certificate to ship a cryptographically signed PDF in the same step. Compatible with Adobe Acrobat verification.
Page range & batch
Convert a single chapter or process up to 5 documents at once with consistent settings — useful for shipping report chapters separately.
How it works
- 1Drop a Word file (or up to 5) into the box above. We accept .docx, .doc, .rtf, .odt, .html, and more.
- 2Pick options — PDF/A archive level, bookmarks, fonts. Defaults match Word's built-in Save as PDF.
- 3Click Convert. Each file walks through Upload → Analyze → Build PDF stages so you can see progress.
- 4Download the PDF. Result badges confirm exactly what we delivered: PDF/A label, fonts embedded, bookmarks preserved, signature applied.
How we beat free competitors
Only free tool with PDF/A archive output
iLovePDF, Smallpdf, FreePDFConvert, Soda PDF, PDF Candy — none expose PDF/A on their landing page. Adobe makes you pay for it. We made it the first option.
Bookmarks survive the conversion
We tested every major free converter — most strip Word headings out of the PDF outline. Ours preserves Heading 1..9 plus every user bookmark by default.
Honest font embedding
Subset embedding keeps your files small (matches Word's default); full embedding is one toggle away when you need recipients to edit forms without font substitution.
Signature in one step, not two
Most tools require you to convert first, then sign in a separate flow. Upload your .pfx and we apply the PKCS#7 signature in the same conversion call.
Result badges, not a black box
Every conversion returns a badge set telling you exactly what was preserved: PDF/A-2b · Subset fonts · Bookmarks · Hyperlinks. Verifiable in the downloaded PDF.
No signup, no email, no watermark
Unlimited free use. Files auto-deleted after 1 hour. No "Pro version" upsell modals between you and the download button.
Frequently asked questions
Is this really free? Where's the catch?
Free, unlimited, no signup. We pay the bill because Word→PDF is a top-of-funnel SEO play for our paid Excel AI agent. If you never want the agent, you'll never pay us anything. No watermarks, no upsell paywalls, no email-grab popups.
What is PDF/A and when do I need it?
PDF/A is the ISO 19005 archive standard. It guarantees the file renders identically a decade from now (every font embedded, no JavaScript, deterministic colors). Required for GDPR retention, SOX audits, SEC EDGAR submissions, FERPA student records, and most legal preservation orders. Pick PDF/A-1b for the broadest reader compatibility, -2b for modern features, -3b if you need to embed source attachments.
Will the PDF outline / bookmarks pane match my Word headings?
Yes. Every Heading 1..9 in your Word document becomes a clickable entry in the PDF outline. Manually-set Word bookmarks also appear. Turn off the toggle if your reviewer prefers a flat document.
Do hyperlinks remain clickable?
Yes — both external URLs and internal cross-references (table of contents links, footnote anchors, figure references). The default behavior matches what users expect; you can turn it off for legal preservation orders where dead-link confusion is unacceptable.
Subset vs full font embedding — which should I pick?
Subset (default) embeds only the glyphs your document actually uses, keeping files small. This is what Word does by default. Pick full embedding if the recipient may edit the file downstream — it ensures every glyph is present so font substitution never happens.
Can I convert a password-protected .docx?
Yes. We detect encryption automatically and prompt you for the password. The password is never logged and is sent over TLS. After conversion the source file is auto-deleted within 1 hour like every other upload.
How does digital signing work?
Upload a .pfx (PKCS#12) signing certificate from your CA, enter the certificate password, and we attach a PKCS#7 detached signature to the PDF in the same conversion step. The result verifies in Adobe Acrobat's signature panel like any DocuSign-issued signature.
What's the file size limit?
100 MB per file, 5 files per batch. If your document is larger, split it first or contact us — we can raise the limit for verified use cases.
Are CJK fonts (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) handled correctly?
Yes. Aspose.Words' rendering pipeline ships with the Source Han Sans family for fallback, and any locally-embedded CJK font in your document is preserved. We tested a 14-language sample document and visual fidelity matched the source on a font-less Linux machine.
Will my data leave the server?
Files are processed on our own VPS (EU region, Hetzner Falkenstein) and auto-deleted within 1 hour. We do not pass your file content to third-party services. The LLM proxy used for our other tools is not used in this pipeline.
Can I run this in batch from the command line?
Yes — the same /v1/pdf/from-word REST endpoint that powers this page is publicly callable. Upload via /v1/pdf/upload first to get a path, then POST the conversion options. We're working on a published OpenAPI spec; for now, network-tab your way to the call.
How does this compare to Adobe Acrobat?
Acrobat is a fine product if you already pay for it. We deliver the four things their free tier doesn't — PDF/A archive, signature in-flow, batch processing, no signup — at zero cost. For enterprise audit trails or PDF preflight, Acrobat Pro still has the more polished workflow.