What happens when you convert DOCX to TXT
- The Word document is read by mammoth.js, which keeps headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, links and bold or italic text.
- Page layout, fonts, colours, headers and footers are not carried over, because TXT has no place for them.
How to convert DOCX to TXT online
- Press "Choose DOCX files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to TXT". A small document library loads the first time; documents then convert in a second or two.
- Save each TXT with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert DOCX to TXT?
DOCX files usually come from letters, reports, CVs and most documents shared at work. People convert them to TXT because plain text opens everywhere and is easy to search, copy, edit and paste into other tools.
In short, DOCX is good at what it was made for, and TXT is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. DOCX opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice Writer, while TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone.
How to convert DOCX to TXT on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your DOCX files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each TXT is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the DOCX files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TXT files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose DOCX files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted TXT appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose DOCX files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The TXT is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for DOCX to TXT
There are no settings: the DOCX is read and written as UTF-8 plain text.
The output is UTF-8, so accented letters and other alphabets are kept exactly.
DOCX vs TXT: the differences
| DOCX | TXT | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Word document | Plain text |
| Type | document | document |
| Created by | Microsoft | no single author |
| First released | 2007 | 1963 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossless |
| What it holds | formatted text, images, tables and styles in a ZIP of XML files | characters only, with no formatting |
| In a browser | opens in Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice Writer | opens in every browser, text editor and phone |
| Common uses | letters, reports, CVs and most documents shared at work | notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere |
| MIME type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document | text/plain |
About DOCX and TXT files
What is a DOCX file?
DOCX has been Word's default format since 2007. Like XLSX it is a ZIP archive of XML files, which is how its text can be read without Word.
What is a TXT file?
A TXT file holds nothing but characters: no fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually UTF-8, which covers every language.
DOCX to TXT not working? Common problems
- The result is empty. For PDFs, this means the pages are images without a text layer; use OCR through JPG to TXT instead.
- Some formatting is missing. Plain text and simple HTML have no place for page layout, fonts or colours; only structure and words are kept.
- Characters show as boxes in the PDF. The embedded font does not cover that script, such as Chinese or Hindi.
Convert DOCX to TXT from the command line
Pandoc converts between document formats on the command line:
pandoc input.docx -o output.txtThe converter on this page does the same job in your browser, without installing anything.
DOCX to TXT converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting DOCX to TXT?
The words are kept; formatting, images and layout are not, because plain text has none.
Why is the TXT a different size from the DOCX?
Plain text and simple HTML contain only words and tags, so the result is usually much smaller than the original.
Are my DOCX files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using open-source document libraries (mammoth.js, PDF.js and pdf-lib), so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page and converter engine have loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several DOCX files to TXT at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a TXT file?
TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone. TXT is common for notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere.
Is this DOCX to TXT converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert DOCX to TXT on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.