LibreOffice 25.8: New features
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Best Free PDF to Word Converters 2026: 8 Options Compared
Best free PDF to Word Converters compared: PDF24 Tools, iLovePDF, Sejda, Smallpdf and 4 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•4 min read•Office, Docs & Presentations
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Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF24 Tools | Free (Online PDF tools described on the page as 100% free; no paid plan or usage limit stated) | Web browser, Windows | Quick conversions without an account | Docs only |
| iLovePDF | Free (Basic free plan: limited tools; batch limits per task such as 25 merges and 2 compressions; 100 MB merge file size; no AI credits; web only); paid from $5 per Premium, per month billed annually (US$60 per year; US$9 billed monthly) | Web browser | Single documents | Docs only |
| Sejda | Free (Free web service: 3 tasks per hour, documents up to 200 pages and 50 MB (tool pages quote 50 or 100 MB); no signup); paid from $63 per user/year (Desktop+Web annual); Web Week Pass is a one-time US$5 for 7 days | Windows, Web browser | Short documents under 50 MB | Docs only |
| Smallpdf | Free (Free plan with a daily cap on tasks; the number was not readable on the pricing page (third-party listings say 2 a day, the App Store listing says 1)) | Web browser, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | One conversion a day | Docs only |
| PDFgear | Free (Page says completely free with no sign-up; it states no usage limits, watermark or paid plan) | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web browser | Scanned PDFs and larger files | Docs only |
| Stirling PDF | Free (Free plan at $0 with no card: web, desktop and self-hosted use, 60+ PDF tools and 1,000 monthly credits); paid from $99 per month (Team, 100 users) | Web browser, Desktop app, Self-hosted (Docker) | Confidential documents | Docs only |
| LibreOffice | Free (download and use at no cost per its site) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Converting without uploading | Docs only |
| Google Docs | Free (Free for anyone with a Google Account; storage comes from the Google account quota) | Web, iOS, Android | Simple text PDFs in Google Drive | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
See the tools in action
Images from the linked documentation. Versions and features may differ from current plans.
LibreOffice Writer — official interface example
The Document Foundation · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0
Good fit if
- Your PDF is a scan (PDFgear is the pick)
- You are converting a private contract (Stirling PDF is the pick)
- You want the fastest free web option (PDF24 Tools is the pick)
- Your files already live in Google Drive (Google Docs is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
The success of a PDF to Word conversion is decided before you press the button. If the PDF was exported from Word, the text, fonts and tables convert almost intact. If it is a scan or a PDF designed in a layout program, the converter must guess at paragraphs, columns and tables, and every tool, free or paid, will leave messy edges. Run OCR first for scans; PDFgear and Stirling PDF both list OCR, and PDFgear covers 30+ languages. For most digital PDFs a free online converter is enough: PDF24 states no usage limit, iLovePDF and Sejda cap tasks per hour or batch, and Smallpdf caps free use per day. They all upload your file, so avoid them for contracts and IDs. LibreOffice Writer opens PDFs directly and Google Docs can open PDFs converted to editable text from Drive, both without a separate converter. Always scan the converted document for broken tables, missing images and swapped fonts, and keep the PDF as the reference copy. This list has eight tools with a no-cost way to turn a PDF into an editable Word document.
PDF24 Tools
Online converter stated as 100% free with no usage limit on the page, plus a desktop app. A solid first try for digital PDFs.
Price: Free (Online PDF tools described on the page as 100% free; no paid plan or usage limit stated) (PDF24 Tools pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Windows. Proprietary freeware.
Best for: Quick conversions without an account.
iLovePDF
Free Basic plan converts PDF to Word with per-task batch limits and no AI credits. Premium is $5 a month billed annually.
Price: Free (Basic free plan: limited tools; batch limits per task such as 25 merges and 2 compressions; 100 MB merge file size; no AI credits; web only); paid from $5 per Premium, per month billed annually (US$60 per year; US$9 billed monthly) (iLovePDF pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Single documents.
Sejda
Free web converter with 3 tasks per hour and files up to 50 MB or 200 pages. Handy for small jobs.
Price: Free (Free web service: 3 tasks per hour, documents up to 200 pages and 50 MB (tool pages quote 50 or 100 MB); no signup); paid from $63 per user/year (Desktop+Web annual); Web Week Pass is a one-time US$5 for 7 days (Sejda pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Short documents under 50 MB.
Smallpdf
Free plan converts PDF to Word with a daily task cap; the exact number differs between listings. Its interface keeps the steps few.
Price: Free (Free plan with a daily cap on tasks; the number was not readable on the pricing page (third-party listings say 2 a day, the App Store listing says 1)) (Smallpdf pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: One conversion a day.
PDFgear
Free desktop and web app converting PDF to Word, Excel, PPT and more, with OCR for scans in 30+ languages and no stated limits.
Price: Free (Page says completely free with no sign-up; it states no usage limits, watermark or paid plan) (PDFgear pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web browser. Proprietary freeware.
Best for: Scanned PDFs and larger files.
Stirling PDF
Open-source and self-hostable with convert and OCR tools; the Free plan includes 1,000 monthly credits. Best for private files.
Price: Free (Free plan at $0 with no card: web, desktop and self-hosted use, 60+ PDF tools and 1,000 monthly credits); paid from $99 per month (Team, 100 users) (Stirling PDF pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Desktop app, Self-hosted (Docker). MIT, with some directories under separate licenses (open source).
Project activity: 95.2k GitHub stars · latest release v3.2.2 (Oct 24, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Confidential documents.
Worth knowing: LICENSE file says MIT except app/proprietary and other directories with their own licenses. Repository README lists edit, merge, split, sign, redact, convert, OCR and compress.
LibreOffice
Writer opens PDFs for editing and saves as .docx at no cost. Layouts with many columns or tables may need cleanup.
Price: Free (download and use at no cost per its site) (LibreOffice pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. MPL-2.0 (open source).
Best for: Converting without uploading.
Worth knowing: Desktop suite of Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base and Math; it has no built-in cloud storage or email.
Google Docs
Free with a Google account; it can open a PDF from Drive as an editable document. Complex layouts and images lose formatting.
Price: Free (Free for anyone with a Google Account; storage comes from the Google account quota) (Google Docs pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Simple text PDFs in Google Drive.
Compare: Google Docs alternatives
Which one to pick
- Your PDF is a scan: PDFgear
- You are converting a private contract: Stirling PDF
- You want the fastest free web option: PDF24 Tools
- Your files already live in Google Drive: Google Docs
Limits of this review
Docs-only for PDF24 Tools, iLovePDF, Sejda, Smallpdf, PDFgear, Stirling PDF, LibreOffice, Google Docs: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: PDF24 Tools, iLovePDF, Sejda, Smallpdf, PDFgear, Stirling PDF, LibreOffice, Google Docs. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.