Word and PDF are two of the most popular document formats in the digital world! Even then, you sometimes need to convert Word documents to PDF files, which are basically accepted everywhere. This is when you’d need a Word to PDF Converter.
In our previous article, we covered some of the best free and paid PDF editors out there. And today, we are talking about the best Word to PDF converters for Mac.
The thing with Mac is that you can rely on multiple ways to convert a Word file to PDF. You can use native options, free software, online platforms or dedicated converter tools. Understanding this, we have created a comprehensive list of the best Word to PDF converters for Mac. Some of them aren’t made specifically for Mac, but you can get the job done.
Mar 10, 2020 Mac PDF Converter Software: If you only need to make small tweaks to a PDF file such as additional pages, merge PDFs, etc., the built-in Preview app in macOS should be enough to handle that. You can tweak around PDF files using Preview easily on Mac. PDF Converter for Mac. PDF Converter for Mac is easy to use software for Apple Mac OS users to convert PDF files to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, EPUB, Text and HTML. After the files conversion, you won't lose any elements of original PDF files, such as text, hyperlinks, images, layouts, tables, columns, graphics.
If you have a word file in the email attachment that you need to download as a PDF, simply open that file in Google Chrome, press Cmd + P to bring up the Print Menu. Change the destination to Save it as PDF. Not an intuative assumption, but it works.
Best Word to PDF Converter For Mac
There is only one effective way to convert Word to PDF in a Mac. The label native means that you don’t have to install or use third-party programs. Everything happens inside the Mac, as long as you have the Word file ready.
#1 Using Preview – Free Native Options
Preview is the default macOS app for opening PDF, Image and even other document files. Turns out, you can use it for converting a Word file to PDF as well. If you want to convert a Word file to PDF quickly, you can count on this method.
To use this, you have to open the Word file using Preview. You can do this by choosing Open With -> Preview from the context menu. Now, you can see the Word document on Preview. You can now go to File -> Export as PDF. Simply choose the destination and the PDF file would be saved.
Where It Fell Short
This process is quite simple but comes with a few downsides.
Preview does not let you convert Word files to PDF in bulk. You have to load all the files one by one and do the conversion. It should also be noted that Preview doesn’t offer the best view of Word file before converting. You can count on this method if you need the quickest and simplest Word to PDF conversion on Mac.
There is a few free Mac software to convert Word to PDF, you know. Some of these are in-built while you can download others. We have, however, chosen the best macOS software to do this job.
#2 Microsoft Word for Mac – Free macOS Software
This assumes that you already have Microsoft Word installed on your Mac. So, if you have created one Word document using MS Word, you can convert the file to PDF using the same software. Compared to Preview, it offers a more seamless workflow, you know.
In order to do this, you have to open the Word file using MS Word on your Mac. Now, go to File > Save As. From the next dialogue box, you can select PDF from the available options. You can also select the desired quality of PDF document. Hit the Save button and the Word file will be converted to PDF.
Where It Fell Short
Once again, you cannot convert Word documents in bulk. This method isn’t also possible if you don’t have MS Word installed. For instance, if you just downloaded a Word document from the Web, you can’t use this option much.
Alternative to MS Word on macOS
Well, there are some other options to do this too. You can use the following methods if you want the easy Word to PDF conversion.
You can use Pages app that is already preinstalled on Mac — to open the Word document and Export it to PDF. It’s a great option if you don’t have Word installed on the device.
TextEdit on Mac is also a great option. You can open the Word file using TextEdit and choose Export as PDF from the File menu. This option may not, however, render formatting and fonts correctly.
These methods are great when you need a more seamless workflow. The best part about MS Word and Pages is that you can edit the document before actually converting it.
#3 Smallpdf.com – Free Online Word To PDF converter
Smallpdf.com is one of the most effective ways to convert a Word file to PDF and do many other things. It’s actually a complete PDF editing suite that you can access online and doesn’t require your email, unlike many similar services.
Using Smallpdf is simple enough. You can open the website on a Mac browser and drag-and-drop the Word file you want to convert. In seconds, Smallpdf.com will upload the file, convert and provide you a link for download. It even lets you save the PDF file to Google Drive or Dropbox.
Where It Fell Short
Online Word to PDF converters is great. But, not everyone wants to upload confidential files to another server. This is one reason why you may not like this option. Also, this method needs a constant internet connection.
Alternatives
Of course, Smallpdf.com is not the only way to convert a Word document to PDF online. You can use Google Drive for the purpose too. You can upload the file to Google Drive, open it, and select ‘Download as PDF’ from the File option. Once again, this would want you to upload to files to a bigger fish.
So, you can count on the online methods if you are converting something not-so-confidential. On the bright side, you don’t have to install/download anything.
#4 Wondershare PDF Element – Paid Word to PDF Converters
This is the best option when you need more control over Word to PDF conversion. The only point is that you must be ready to pay for these features. Out of the hundreds of PDF suites out there, we have chosen the best few.
Wondershare PDF Element is indeed one of the best choices for converting a Word document to PDF. It has to be noted that the tool can do even better — from editing your PDF files to encrypting them. So, be it any kind of annotation or full editing, Wondershare PDFelement would do the job.
Read our complete PDF Element review here.
Another bigger perk is that you can use Wondershare PDFelement for bulk actions. If you want to batch convert word to pdf in Mac, it’s the best option. The UI too resembles an Office Suite, so that you will not have trouble fitting in.
Where It Fell Short
There is no denying that Wondershare PDFelement is one of the best PDF tools, however, that you have to pay a hefty price for this tool. That having said, you can do all the conversions and editing locally.
Alternatives
Well, there are many other options too when you want to do the same job. For instance, we have the Adobe Acrobat, where you have to pay a hefty price as the subscription fee. On the other hand, when it comes to dedicated tools, the focus is less too. On the bright side, you get a PDF Editing Suite when you try one of these methods. If you do these things part of a professional, it would be great.
The Best Ways to Convert a Word File to PDF?
You have seen four of the most effective ways to convert documents on Word to PDF, we believe. Depending on your requirements and budget, you can pick any of them. For instance, if you just need a simple Word to PDF converter, we’d recommend using the in-built Export option in MS Word. On the other hand, if you are looking for bulk actions and more controls, we think something like PDFelement would make sense. We have not stranded out the solutions so that you have multiple choices here.
PDFs are the core of many businesses. They are much safer and more professional than other types of documents for companies and their generally smaller file size makes them a great option for long-term storage or for sharing easily with others. Unlike other formats, PDF documents can be directly modified only with PDF editors. However, some programs are fairly expensive, while others don’t have as many features as Microsoft Office software. So, it is often very useful and even necessary to turn PDF files to other formats, for example, Word. Today, we will introduce some programs to help you convert PDF file to Word on Mac.
Best Applications to Turn PDF into Word on Mac
Pdf To Pdf/a Converter Mac
Apowersoft PDF Converter
Apowersoft PDF Converter is one of the best PDF programs for batch converting files. The software has a quick and easy-to-use interface and supports many kinds of file formats, such as Word, Excel, PPT, JPG, PNG, and so on. Furthermore, it has other features, like turning other formats to PDF and combing PDF files. This is a paid tool, but it allows you to try its features – you can convert the first 5 pages of each PDF file for free. This program works very smoothly, and the output files keep their original quality.
Follow the steps below to learn how to convert PDF to Word on Mac.
Download the program and launch it.
To start converting, click the “Add file(s)” button to choose files, or select one or more files that you need, and simply drag and drop the file(s) to the software.
Choose an output format that you want. In this case, you can choose doc. or docx.
Click “Start Converting” and wait for a while and it will help you complete the conversion.
Generally, the program will set a default output folder, however, if you don’t want to store your converted documents there, you can click the three-dots button to choose another place as the output directory before starting the conversion.
PDFMate PDF Converter for Mac
PDFMate PDF Converter for Mac is a simple program which can convert PDF file to Word on Mac. Just like our program, this one can also do batch conversions, but it supports fewer file types than the former. It can only turn PDF to Word, SWF, IMAGE, TXT, HTML, and EPUB. It cannot convert other formats to PDF. The program supports macOS 10.6 or higher. And as we tested, it can also run on macOS Mojave. Moreover, it enables you to select the pages you want to convert in a PDF file before the conversion.
Let’s follow the instructions below to see how it works.
Jpg To Pdf
Go to PDFMate PDF Converter for Mac page to download, install and run the program.
Click the button “Add PDF” and select the files you want to convert.
On the panel of the output file formats, choose “Word” as the output format (In general, the program sets Word as default output format).
Click the “Convert” button to turn PDF into Word on Mac.
PDFelement
PDFelement is an excellent program available on Mac and iOS platforms. Unlike the previous programs introduced, this one is specialized in PDF editing. It has a very simple, minimalistic and user-friendly interface. But it contains many awesome tools, including comment, highlighting, cropping, OCR, etc.
Download the program on your computer. Once complete, launch the program and click on the “Convert PDF” button on the main interface.
Choose a file and then hit “Open” button.
After that you can view the PDF content, you can modify the content or directly click the “To Word” button above the file page.
When ready, click “Convert” to convert PDF to Word on Mac, and then the PDF will be converted into Word.
Pages To Pdf Converter Mac
PDFs have become the de facto standard format for a lot of business-related data and information storage, whether it’s for personal banking, school assignments, or accounting for a large corporation; we’ve all used a PDF at some point or another. Virtually, all important documents are now sent as PDFs. If your work involves using PDFs and you need to make sure you have the best way to manage and convert them, which works quickly and easily, every time. The main disadvantage of the PDFelement is that you cannot do batch conversions. It can only allow you to convert one PDF file to Word at a time. Both PDFMate and Apowersoft PDF Converter work well, but PDFMate supports fewer functions. If you are looking for a powerful business-oriented PDF-management tool for Mac, the Apowersoft PDF Converter is worth checking out.