PDF to DOCX (Word) Converter (no file retention)

Convert a PDF to an editable Word document (.docx) through a privacy-first conversion API. Give the actor a direct file URL; get back a .docx in the run's key-value store plus a dataset row with the metadata, including a direct download link.

Why this converter

• Real text extraction, not a screenshot. Text-based PDFs come back as editable paragraphs, tables, and images.
• Correct right-to-left text. Hebrew and Arabic PDFs come out in true reading order, with mixed Latin/RTL lines intact - the scrambling most PDF converters produce on RTL documents is specifically repaired.
• No file retention. The input is deleted the moment the conversion finishes. The output is kept for about an hour so you can download it, then deleted. Nothing is stored, mined, or reused.
• Honest failures. Scanned (image-only) PDFs are rejected with an explicit error; no OCR is performed and no charge is made for a failed run.

How do I convert a PDF to Word on Apify?

1. Press Start with the prefilled sample, or paste your own direct PDF URL.
2. Wait for the run to finish; a typical document takes 10 to 20 seconds.
3. Download the .docx from the run's Storage tab (the OUTPUT record), or follow the outputUrl in the dataset row.

Input

{
  "fileUrl": "https://example.com/contract.pdf"
}

• fileUrl (required): direct http(s) URL of the PDF, up to 50 MB.
• fileName (optional): base name for the output file.
• maxWaitSeconds (optional): how long to wait before failing, default 300.

Output

• The converted .docx is stored as the OUTPUT record of the run's key-value store (the dataset row carries its direct outputUrl).
• One dataset row per successful conversion: pair, fileName, outputFileName, inputBytes, outputBytes, durationSeconds, outputUrl.

How much does it cost?

$0.15 per successful conversion, platform usage included - the price you see is the whole price. A failed run (including the explicit scanned-PDF rejection) produces no dataset item and no charge. A free Apify account is enough to use it; conversions bill against your Apify usage balance.

Run it from code

JavaScript (apify-client):

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('hushvert/pdf-to-docx').call({
  fileUrl: 'https://example.com/contract.pdf',
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items[0].outputUrl); // direct .docx download link, valid ~1 hour

Python (apify-client):

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient('YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN')
run = client.actor('hushvert/pdf-to-docx').call(
    run_input={'fileUrl': 'https://example.com/contract.pdf'})
items = client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).list_items().items
print(items[0]['outputUrl'])

Plain HTTP (one call, returns the dataset row):

curl -X POST \
  'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/hushvert~pdf-to-docx/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"fileUrl": "https://example.com/contract.pdf"}'

Can I use it from n8n, Make, Zapier, or LangChain?

Yes. Like any Apify actor, it plugs into n8n, Make, Zapier, and LangChain through Apify's official integrations; select the actor by name, hushvert/pdf-to-docx. AI agents can also call it as a tool through Apify's MCP server.

Is it private?

• The conversion runs on hushvert's server lane (pdf2docx under the hood, with a bidirectional-text repair pass), not inside this actor. Retention: inputs deleted at conversion end, outputs auto-deleted after about an hour.
• Your documents are never stored beyond that window, never mined, and never used to train anything.

FAQ

Does it OCR scanned PDFs?

No, and it says so instead of guessing: scanned or image-only PDFs fail loudly with a clear error and are never charged. There is no OCR step, so what comes back is the PDF's real text, not a recognition guess.

Does it handle Hebrew, Arabic, or mixed-direction documents?

Yes. RTL and mixed Latin/RTL text is repaired into true reading order in the output .docx. This is a failure mode most PDF-to-Word converters get wrong.

What is the file size limit?

50 MB per file.

Will tables survive?

Text-based tables come back as editable Word tables. Heavily nested or graphical layouts can simplify; spot-check the first conversion if layout is critical.

What happens when a conversion fails?

The run fails with the converter's real error message, produces no dataset item, and charges nothing.

More private converters from hushvert

• DOCX to PDF: the reverse direction, Word to PDF.
• Office to PDF: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument, RTF, HTML in; PDF out. One actor, eleven formats.
• PDF to Markdown: clean Markdown for LLM context windows and RAG ingestion.
• Document to Markdown: eight document formats to Markdown, inline in the dataset.
• HTML to PDF: real Chromium render, paste HTML inline for invoices and reports.
• Video to MP4: MOV, MKV, WEBM, AVI, GIF to universal MP4, files up to 500 MB.

Who is behind this actor?

Built by the hushvert founder. The browser-side conversion engine is MIT open source (@hushvert/engine on npm); formats a browser can convert (images, HEIC, audio, archives, PDF page ops) are free and client-side at https://hushvert.com and are deliberately not sold here. Developer API docs: https://hushvert.com/for-developers