RTF to PDF - Free Online Browser Tool

Convert Rich Text Format (RTF) documents into PDF documents, styling stripped.

RTF describes its formatting with control words inside nested groups, so reading it properly means knowing which groups hold prose and which hold metadata. This keeps the words, drops the markup, and does not pretend to reproduce the styling.

This rtf to pdf utility runs completely inside your web browser. Your document is opened locally and processed on your own device using JavaScript and WebAssembly, so your file is never uploaded to any server. There is no signup, no watermark and no limit on how many documents you can handle.

  • 100% client-side - files never leave your device
  • Instant processing, no upload wait
  • Works on desktop, tablet and mobile
  • Free forever, no account required

Common next steps: Word to PDF, Plain Text to PDF.

How to Use the RTF to PDF Tool

Four steps, and the whole thing runs locally on your own device.

  1. Add the RTF file

    Choose an .rtf document saved by any word processor or export tool.

  2. Set the reading size

    Choose 11 point for a normal document, or 13 point when the text will be read on a screen.

  3. Strip the format groups

    Colour tables, font tables and other metadata are removed, so their contents do not leak into the middle of sentences.

  4. Save the PDF

    The text is typeset with page numbers and saved on your own machine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are bold and italic kept?

No, only the words are carried across, so a heading that was bold in the RTF arrives as plain text in the document.

Why does the text look unlike word processor output?

It is re-typeset at a reading size, so line breaks and page breaks follow the new layout rather than the layout of the original file.

Is my document uploaded while it converts?

No. The file is read and typeset inside the tab, so a contract or a private letter never leaves your machine.

Can a very old RTF file be converted?

Yes, the control words of older specifications are handled by the same reader, so a document written decades ago still yields its text.

What if the file is not really RTF?

Its text may still come out, but control codes will appear as stray characters, which is a sign the file was mislabelled or corrupted.