Convert RTF to Word (DOCX or DOC)
The lowest common denominator, promoted to a real document.
or drop your RTF anywhere on this page
RTF → DOCX
Why move from RTF to Word
To convert RTF to DOCX, press Select RTF file or drop the .rtf anywhere on this page, keep DOCX under Word version, then press Convert to DOCX and download the document. Our server opens it and saves it in Word's format in a single step, so the route is graded Exact: nothing is interpreted on the way. The name stays, so report.rtf comes back as report.docx.
Rich Text Format is formatted text that almost any word processor can open, which is why programs use it to hand documents to each other. A .docx is what most people, offices and upload forms expect to receive. Moving the file across makes sense when someone asks for Word, when a form will not take .rtf, or when the document is going to be edited in Word from now on.
Need to go back the other way, for a program that cannot open .docx? Convert Word to RTF. This rich text to Word route has neighbours for other starting points too: convert text to Word for a plain .txt with no formatting, or convert HTML to Word for a saved web page. If you need only the words of your RTF, convert RTF to text instead.
How to convert RTF to DOCX
- 1Select or drop your RTF
Nothing uploads until you press convert.
- 2Choose your options
We show the route and its fidelity grade up front.
- 3Download your Word file
Then it is deleted after 24 hours, automatically.
Formatted text that almost anything can open. The lowest common denominator with bold.
Modern Word. The default way the working world writes things down.
One step, one tool. Nothing is interpreted on the way.
Picking .docx or .doc
This page makes both. Under Word version, DOCX (Word) is selected for you and DOC (Word 97) sits beside it; the page suggests DOC only for software from before 2007. Pick it and the button changes to Convert to DOC. Converting RTF to DOC is the same single step, also graded Exact.
In our test the two held the same document: headings, lists, the table, both pictures, the comment and the tracked change all appeared in each. Choose .docx unless you need .doc for Word 2003 or a system that only accepts .doc, since Word has saved .docx by default since 2007. Our test file was also smaller as a .docx, at 122 KB against 136 KB for the .doc.
What came through in our RTF tests
We wrote an RTF the way Word writes one, with heading styles, lists, a table and two pictures, ran it through this RTF to Word converter and took the .docx apart. Everything below arrived as real Word features, not as look-alike text:
| In the RTF | In the .docx |
|---|---|
| Headings set with heading styles | Word's Heading 1 and Heading 2 styles |
| Bold, italic, underline, colour, highlighting, Georgia at 12 pt, a centred line | All kept, with each font named as before |
| A bulleted list and a numbered list | Word lists, not typed bullets and numbers |
| A table with borders, a shaded top row and a merged cell | A Word table with all three |
| A PNG picture and a JPEG photo | Both byte for byte, at the same size on the page |
| A page break, and a later section turned to landscape | Both kept |
| A header, and a footer with the page number | Both kept, the page number still a field that counts |
| A footnote, a web link and a link to a bookmark | All three, the links still clickable |
| A comment and a tracked deletion and insertion | All kept, with the reviewer's name |
| Accents, £ and €, Greek, Cyrillic and Chinese | All as real text |
| A4 pages with 2 cm margins, a title and an author | The same page size, margins and document properties |
An RTF from TextEdit
We also converted an RTF written the way TextEdit on a Mac writes one. Its lists, table and link came through the same way, with two differences worth knowing. TextEdit has no heading styles, so a heading is just large bold text, and it arrives as large bold text in Word's Normal style: apply a Heading style in Word if you want it in the navigation pane or a table of contents. The file also named no page size, and an RTF without one comes out on US Letter pages with 1 inch margins. If you print on A4, change the size under Layout in Word.
Fonts and file size
The .docx names the same fonts as the RTF, and Word draws them with the fonts on your computer, so nothing is swapped inside the file. A font your computer does not have is shown with a substitute until you install it or pick another.
Size depends on what is inside. RTF writes pictures out as text, two characters for every byte, so a file with pictures shrinks: our 237 KB test RTF became a 122 KB .docx. A short note with no pictures went the other way, from 4 KB to 7 KB, because a .docx is a zip archive of several XML files even when the text is short.
When the RTF is not the file you have
If all you have is a PDF of the document, the route is different. A PDF is a frozen page, so turning it into Word rebuilds the document rather than copying it, and tables are where that shows most. Our guide on how to convert PDF to Word with tables intact explains what tends to break and how to fix it. And when the document is finished and should look the same for everyone, convert RTF to PDF instead of sending a file people can edit.
Questions people ask
How do I convert RTF to Word?
Press Select RTF file, or drop the .rtf anywhere on this page. Keep DOCX (Word) under Word version, or pick DOC (Word 97) for software from before 2007, then press Convert to DOCX or Convert to DOC and download the file. The free plan converts three files a day, up to 25 MB each, one at a time, with no account.
Is .docx or .doc the better choice for an RTF?
.docx, unless you need .doc for Word 2003 or a system that only accepts .doc. Word has used .docx since 2007. In our test both held the same headings, table, pictures, comment and tracked change, and the .docx was the smaller file.
Do tables, pictures and page breaks survive the conversion?
Yes, in our tests. A table kept its borders, shaded top row and merged cell; a PNG and a JPEG came out byte for byte the same, at the same size; and a page break and a landscape section stayed where they were. The pair is graded Exact: one step, with nothing interpreted on the way.
What is the difference between RTF and DOCX?
RTF (Rich Text Format) is formatted text written out as plain characters, which almost any word processor can open. DOCX has been Word's own format since 2007: a zip archive of XML files, with pictures stored as they are. Both can hold fonts, tables, pictures, comments and tracked changes, but DOCX is the one most people and forms expect.
Do comments and tracked changes come across?
Yes. In our test a reviewer's comment and a tracked deletion and insertion all arrived in the .docx with the reviewer's name, so you can read the comment and accept or reject the changes in Word as usual.
Is converting RTF to Word free?
Yes. Up to 25 MB and three conversions a day are free, with no account. Pro and Business lift the file limit to 100 MB and remove the daily cap.
What happens to my files?
Both your RTF and the Word we produce are deleted 24 hours after each conversion, automatically. Try again and Continue to another tool start a new conversion, with its own 24 hours. Nothing is used for training and no human looks at your documents.
Will the Word look exactly like the RTF?
This pair grades as “Exact”. We show the exact route and that grade before you convert, so there are no surprises about what survives the trip.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Nothing to install. Pick or drop a file here, it's converted on our servers, and you download the result.
How large can my file be?
25 MB on the free plan, and 100 MB on Pro and Business.
Can I convert several files at once?
On Pro and Business, yes: add up to 100 files before converting. The free plan converts one file at a time.
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