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Convert Excel to Word Online

by Hung Nguyen

You can also read this article in German, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese and Vietnamese.

With Smallpdf, you can instantly transform Microsoft Excel spreadsheets into Word files. Convert Excel to Word for free with help from this guide.

The productivity programs included in the Microsoft 365 suite are ubiquitous in the modern workplace, and that’s especially true when it comes to Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, this software’s popularity doesn’t always equate to ease of use—especially when you want to open files created with the former program in the latter.

If you’ve ever tried to export Excel to Word format, you know that this process isn’t nearly as intuitive as it sounds. After trying and failing to complete this task for long enough, you may find yourself asking, “can you convert Excel to Word at all?”

The good news is that Smallpdf can help you convert Excel to Word document format with zero stress. Our free online tools are just what you need to turn Office documents into PDFs and PDFs into Office documents. When you combine these functions, you’ll get exactly what you were looking for in the first place: the ability to turn Excel into Word online.

How to Convert Excel to Word for Free

  1. Go to our converter.

  2. Upload your Excel file to convert it to PDF format.

  3. Hit “Export As” and choose “Word.”

  4. If prompted, choose “Convert selectable text.”

  5. And that’s it—you now have a Word file!

2023-04-05 - Convert Excel to Word Online

How to convert an Excel file to Word using Smallpdf!

Converting Excel to Word: How It Works

Smallpdf doesn’t have a dedicated Excel to Word converter, so you may be wondering how to convert Excel to Word with our PDF-focused software. Here’s how our conversion process works: instead of turning spreadsheets into Word documents directly, we take your Excel file, turn it into a PDF, and then turn that into a Word document.

Our tools can convert any Excel file type, including XLS and XLSX files. Meanwhile, your final Word file will be in DOCX format. And since Smallpdf uses the best conversion software in the industry, your Word document will retain the original spreadsheet’s text formatting, tables, and figures—right down to the last decimal point.

For maximum accuracy, we encourage Smallpdf users to “embed” the fonts in their Microsoft 365 and PDF files before they change Excel document into Word document format. If your file uses an uncommon font, there’s a slight chance we won’t have that font on our servers. But by embedding your document’s fonts, you’ll be safe no matter what happens.

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Convert to Word offline in just a few clicks!

Keep Working on Your Spreadsheet

Before you fully convert your Excel spreadsheet to a Word document, you can continue to work on this file by choosing another free tool from your first result page. We call this a “connected workflow,” and it can help you further enhance your document before you download the final file.

After you’ve converted your Excel file to PDF format, you’ll see a list titled “Continue in” on your results page. This list gives you easy access to tools like:

  • Compress PDF. If you’re concerned about the size of your PDF, our PDF compressor can help you reduce your file size by up to 99%.
  • Merge PDF. With the help of Smallpdf, you can easily merge multiple PDF files into one document.
  • Annotate PDF. Use our free PDF annotator to highlight, write, and draw on your files.
  • eSign PDF. Thanks to eSign, businesses and freelancers can send secure, simple contracts to their clients.
  • Protect PDF. If you want to prevent other people from opening a PDF document, we can encrypt and password-protect it for you.
  • Translate PDF. Smallpdf’s AI PDF Translator can translate summaries of your documents into dozens of languages.

Transfer Excel to Word in Smallpdf’s Apps

With our online PDF Converter, Smallpdf users can safely convert files in their web browsers at no cost. Along with that, you can convert Excel files to Word documents with our desktop and mobile apps. Here’s how you can change spreadsheets to Word documents in the:

Smallpdf Desktop App

Before you can convert Excel file to Word format in the Smallpdf Desktop App, you’ll need to plan ahead. Our desktop app only supports conversions from PDF at the moment, so you won’t be able to convert from Excel to Word like you would on our website.

Instead, you’ll need a working internet connection to handle the first half of this conversion process (that is, Excel to PDF) with Smallpdf on a desktop computer. Otherwise, you could simply save your Excel document as a PDF in Microsoft Excel.

Once your spreadsheet is in PDF format, you’ll be ready to start converting Excel to Word document format by:

  1. Opening your PDF file in the Smallpdf Desktop App.
  2. Clicking “PDF to Office” in the tools list.
  3. Choosing “Word” and changing the file location if needed.
  4. Finding the converted file in the selected folder!

Smallpdf iOS/Android App

On the other hand, you’ll follow this process while using the Smallpdf Mobile App on iOS or Android:

  1. Choose “Convert to PDF” in the tools list.
  2. Add and select the Excel file you would like to convert.
  3. Go back to the tools list once your file has been successfully converted.
  4. Choose “Convert from PDF” and find the PDF version of your spreadsheet.
  5. Pick “Convert to Word (.docx).”
  6. Find your converted file in the “Files” menu.

Convert Spreadsheets to Word Documents Today

Have you had difficulties trying to export Excel to Word in the past? If you have, you’re not alone—and Smallpdf is here for you. By using our PDF converter for this task, you can convert Excel to PDF and PDF to Word in a matter of seconds.

That’s not all Smallpdf can do, either. With our impressive lineup of tools, you’ll be able to work on PDF files in any way you can think of. You can even get more information about the contents of these documents thanks to AI-powered tools like Chat with PDF and AI PDF Summarizer!

Hung Nguyen
Hung Nguyen
Senior Growth Marketing Manager @Smallpdf