Convert RTF to PDF
We turn RTF into PDF right in your browser — the file never goes to a server.
What you will lose
Nothing important: the target format does everything the source does.
How they differ
| RTF | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lossless | yes | yes |
| Lossy | no | yes |
| Released | 1987 | 1993 |
| Author | Microsoft | Adobe |
RTF
Good at
- Formatted text that every editor can read
- Plain text inside — the file opens in Notepad
- Carries no macros
Awkward about
- Several times heavier than the same text as DOCX
- Complex layout survives only approximately
- Embedded images bloat the file badly
Use it when
- Exchange between different editors and systems
- An export from a program that cannot write DOCX
- You need formatting without macros
Good at
- Looks the same everywhere: fonts, margins and line breaks are fixed
- The one format any office will accept without argument
- Holds text, vectors and photographs in a single file
Awkward about
- Hard to edit: it is a format for reading, not for changing
- Weight depends on what is inside — a scanned page can weigh as much as a book
- Text inside a scan stays a picture until something recognises it
Use it when
- The document is being sent, printed or filed somewhere official
- The layout must not shift on someone else’s device
- Loose pages need to become one file
Common questions
- Does the file get uploaded to a server?
- Yes, this pair needs the server: browsers cannot encode that format. The file and the result are deleted within a couple of hours and never shared.
- Can I get the original quality back afterwards?
- Yes, PDF supports lossless compression, so you can go back to the original.
- How many files, and how large?
- Up to 5 files at a time, 50 MB each. No sign-up, no watermarks.