PDF vs Word: which to send, and how to convert between them
Short answer: Send a PDF when the document is finished and must look identical for everyone — CVs, contracts, invoices, applications. Send a Word document when someone needs to edit it. Word to PDF converts faithfully; PDF to Word is a reconstruction, which works well for simple documents and needs tidying for complex layouts.
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The fundamental difference
A Word document describes structure: this is a heading, this is a paragraph, this is a table with three columns. How it looks is worked out when it is opened, from the fonts, page size and settings of whoever opens it — which is why the same document can reflow, lose its page breaks or change font on another computer.
A PDF describes appearance: this letter, in this font, at exactly this position on the page. It looks identical on every device, but it does not know that a line of text is a heading or that a block is a table. That is what makes PDFs reliable to send and awkward to edit.
| Word (.docx) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Looks the same everywhere | Yes | Not always |
| Easy to edit | No | Yes |
| Needs specific software | No — every device has a reader | Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice |
| Best for | Final versions, forms, printing | Drafts, collaboration, reuse |
Which one to send
- CVs and cover letters: PDF, unless the employer asks otherwise. Your layout survives, and nobody can accidentally edit it.
- Contracts, invoices, quotes and statements: PDF. The document is final and should look the same to both parties.
- Anything to be printed: PDF, which prints exactly as it appears.
- Drafts for comments, shared templates, anything someone must fill in or rewrite: Word.
When in doubt, a PDF is the safer default for anything final — everyone can open it, and it will look as you intended.
Word to PDF: straightforward
Word to PDF accepts .docx, .doc, .odt and .rtf files, and headings, tables, images, page breaks and numbering carry over faithfully. Tracked changes are rendered in their accepted state and comments are left out, which matches how Word exports a PDF by default — so accept or reject changes first if the final text matters.
The one thing to watch is unusual fonts. If a font is not available, a close substitute is used; for a document that must match exactly, stick to common fonts or export the PDF from Word itself.
PDF to Word: a reconstruction, not a reversal
Because a PDF records where marks sit rather than the structure behind them, turning it back into Word means inferring that structure: which lines form a paragraph, which larger lines are headings, which aligned blocks are a table. PDF to Word does this and produces flowing paragraphs you can retype, with headings and tables rebuilt where they can be recognised.
- Single-column letters, reports and articles convert very cleanly.
- Multi-column layouts, sidebars and heavily designed pages usually need tidying.
- Fonts may be substituted, so spacing and line breaks can shift a little.
- A scanned PDF is a picture of text. Turn on OCR (text recognition) and choose the document's language, or there is no text to extract.
If you only need to change a few words, you may not need Word at all. Edit the PDF directly: replace text in place, add notes or sign it, and keep the layout exactly as it was.