How to Convert PDF to Word on Mac? (Step by Step Guide)

When working with PDF documents, you might often need to change a PDF into a Word document. This can be a bit harder on a Mac.

There are many reasons to convert a PDF to Word on your Mac. You may have a PDF you need to edit, work on with others, or reformat for easier reading. Or you found a useful template or resource in PDF form that you want to use in Word.

Whatever the reason, converting PDFs to Word on a Mac is easy!

This guide will show you different ways how to convert PDF to Word on Mac, with the pros and cons of each method.

By the end, you'll be great at converting PDFs to Word on your Mac. Let’s get started!

How to Change PDF to Word on Mac Without Adobe Offline? (2 Ways)

If you want to convert a PDF to Word on Mac, there are several ways to do so. However, if you’re looking for a simple and straightforward way, we recommend using a third-party PDF editor, like UPDF for the conversion. Alternatively, you can also use the “Preview” method.

In this section, we will discuss both ways so you can decide which one is easier for you.

Way 1: How to Turn PDF to Word on Mac With UPDF? (Keeping Formatting)

The first method on how to turn PDF to Word on Mac is via UPDF. We recommend using this tool because it lets you convert your PDFs to Word in a user-friendly and hassle-free way. And it offers free trial version for you to test, you can click the below button to check its all features.

Moreover, UPDF offers 4 simple ways to convert PDF to Word Mac. You can choose the method that best suits your needs. Unlike some other conversion methods, UPDF preserves the original layout and formatting of your PDF when converting to Word. This helps save you time and effort of reformatting after the conversion.

UPDF is not just about simple conversion; it has many advanced features as well. It's a full-fledged PDF editor that allows you to:

• Edit text and images within PDFs
• Add annotations
• Organize pages
• Perform OCR on scanned PDFs to make them editable
• Use AI to ask for PDF and ask any questions.

To learn more about UPDF and how it can help you convert PDF to Word, check out this video:

With that sorted, let’s look at the 4 ways how to change PDF to Word on Mac.

1. Convert a PDF to a Word on Mac

Here are the steps to convert a PDF to Word on Mac while retaining the formatting:

Step 1: Launch UPDF on your Mac, open the PDF that you want to convert to Word, and click on “Export PDF” at the top.

Step 2: Next, select “Word” from the list of formats.

Step 3: When the “Output Format” option appears, click on the settings icon at the top, which is indicated by a small gear.

Step 4: Now select “Retain Page Layout” from the settings and click “Export.” Then, select the place where you want to save the converted Word on your Mac.

This will transform PDF to Word Mac without ruining the formatting.

2. Batch Convert PDF to Word on Mac

If you want to convert multiple PDFs to Word on Mac, you can use the “Batch” option on UPDF. Here’s how:

Step 1: Launch UPDF and click on “Batch” right next to the “Open File” option.

Step 2: Click on “Convert.” Set “Word” as the output format, select “Retain Page Layout” from the Layout Settings, and click on “Add Files” to add multiple PDFs to convert to Word.

Step 3: Lastly, click on “Apply” to batch-convert PDFs to Word on Mac.

3. Convert Scanned PDF to Editable Word on Mac

Do you have scanned PDFs that you want to convert to Word on Mac? To do this, you’ll need to use UPDF's OCR feature.

Here are the steps for it:

Step 1: Launch UPDF and open the scanned PDF.

Step 2: Now click “Recognize Text Using OCR” from the options on the right.

Step 3: Select “Searchable PDF” from the Document Type, set the layout, language, resolution, page range, and other settings, and click “Perform OCR.”

Step 4: Once the OCR process is complete, your scanned PDF has become editable and it will open automatically on UPDF, go to “Export > Word > Retain Page Layout” and click “Export.”

In just a few easy steps, you can convert your scanned PDF into Word.

4. Convert Password Protected PDF to Word on Mac

There may be instances where you need to convert a password-protected PDF to Word. The process is pretty easy; however, you must have the password.

Step 1: Open the password-protected PDF using UPDF and enter the password to access it if it has an open password.

Step 2: Now follow the steps discussed earlier to export the PDF as Word. Click on “Export”. You will get a pop up Window for you to enter the permission password if it has one. Once it is unlocked, You can repeat the same steps as before, just select Word > Retain Page Layout > Export.”

Pros and Cons

You can click the below button to test the software. If it is what you need, you can upgrade to UPDF pro with 17% of Adobe Acrobat cost. Check out the UPDF pricing plans and get the best one for yourself!

Way 2: How to Convert PDF to Word on Mac using Preview

 The second method to convert PDF to Word Mac is by using Preview. Here are the steps for it:

Step 1: Open the folder where your PDF file is saved. Right-click on it, and select “Open With > Preview.”

Step 2: Select the text you want to copy by clicking “Cmd + C” and paste it on a blank Word document using the “Cmd + V” prompt.

Step 3: Save the document as a .doc or .docx file to convert PDF to Word on Mac successfully.

Pros and Cons

Which Method is Better to Convert PDF to Word on Mac?

If you’re looking for a free way to convert PDF to Word on Mac, you can go for Preview. However, if you don’t want to waste time reformatting your document, UPDF is the way forward! The best way to choose the correct software is to test them on your own. So we recommend you to use Preview on your Mac and click the below button to download UPDF to your Mac, then,  try to convert PDF to Word with them.

Also Read: Preview VS UPDF: Which One is Better for Processing PDF Files?

How to Transform PDF to Word on Mac Without Adobe Online (2 Ways)

There are several other ways how to convert PDF to Word on Mac, including using Google Docs and online PDF tools. In this section, we will discuss both these methods.

Way 1: How to Convert PDF to Word on Mac Using Google Docs?

Using Google Docs is one of the easiest ways to convert PDF to Word on Mac. Let’s see how to go about this method:

Step 1: Go to Google Drive via your browser, click on “New > File Upload,” and select the PDF document that you want to convert to Word.

Step 2: Now, click on the “Three Dots” > “Open With” > “Google Docs” to open the PDF in Google Docs and click “File > Download > Microsoft Word.”

This will download the PDF file in Word format.

Pros and Cons

Way 2: How to Convert PDF to Word on Mac Using iLovePDF

If you want to bypass the hassle of downloading tools and using other tools to convert PDFs to Word on Mac, you can also use an online tool like iLovePDF.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Go to iLovePDF PDF to Word Converter using your browser.

Step 2: Click “Select PDF File” to upload the file you want to convert to Word.

Step 3: Once the PDF is uploaded, click on “Convert to Word.”

Step 4: iLovePDF will convert your PDF into Word in just a few seconds, after which you can click “Download Word” to download the converted document to your Mac.

And that’s how to convert PDF to Word on Mac using an online PDF tool. iLovePDF.

Pros and Cons

Which Method is Better to Convert PDF to Word on Mac?

While iLovePDF is a quick and time-effective method to convert PDF to Word on Mac, we recommend going for Google Docs, as it is free, fast, and reliable.

Final Words

So, there you have it! In this detailed step-by-step guide, we have discussed 4 different ways of how to convert PDF to Word on Mac. While all the other methods are also quick and easy, we recommend using UPDF, as it converts your PDF without disturbing the formatting. Moreover, it supports batch conversion and also converts scanned and password-protected PDFs into Word.

So, make your life easier, and use UPDF for PDF conversion! Download it now!