Convert OpenDocument text (.odt) to PDF
This ODT to PDF converter turns OpenDocument Text files — the native .odt format of LibreOffice Writer, Apache OpenOffice and Collabora, and a download option in Google Docs and Word — into PDFs anyone can open. It uses LibreOffice itself, compiled to WebAssembly and running in your browser, so the PDF has exactly the pages, fonts, tables and pictures that Writer would print.
An .odt is often what you receive from schools, councils, NGOs and open-source projects, or what you write yourself in LibreOffice — but the people you send it to may only open PDFs. Converting here keeps the document on your computer: nothing is uploaded, which suits drafts, applications and anything confidential.
How to use the ODT to PDF Converter
- Drop one or more
.odtfiles on the box above, or click it to choose them;.otttemplates and flat.fodtfiles work as well. - Choose LibreOffice · best layout for an exact copy, or Basic · no download for a quick text-and-pictures PDF.
- Select a PDF type — PDF/A-1b, 2b or 3b if an archive or a public body requires it — and tick Tagged PDF for accessibility.
- Press Convert to PDF; the first LibreOffice conversion asks before downloading the 79 MB converter.
- Check the preview, then download each PDF or all of them as a ZIP.
ODT to PDF Converter features
Writer’s own layout
The PDF is produced by LibreOffice Writer 24.8, so pages break exactly where they do on the desktop.
PDF/A for public records
PDF/A-1b, 2b and 3b embed every font and add the archive identification that records offices and courts check for.
Tagged, accessible PDFs
Headings, lists and tables become a PDF structure tree that screen readers can navigate.
Basic mode without download
A light reader for the document’s content.xml keeps headings, lists, tables, pictures and text styles when you can’t or don’t want to download LibreOffice.
Fonts for many scripts
Liberation, Carlito, Caladea, DejaVu and Noto fonts, including Devanagari and eight more Indian scripts; Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts on request.
Batch to ZIP
Convert a set of .odt files in one run and download them together.
About the OpenDocument format
OpenDocument Format (ODF) is an open standard for office files, approved by OASIS in 2005 and published as the international standard ISO/IEC 26300. An .odt file is a ZIP package holding XML — content.xml for the text, styles.xml for the page and paragraph styles — plus any pictures. Because the format is open and vendor-neutral, several governments favour it for editable documents; the UK government, for example, adopted ODF in 2014 as its standard for sharing and collaborating on documents.
Going the other way? Turn Word files into OpenDocument with DOCX to ODT, or give a Word user an editable copy with ODT to DOCX.
Which converter suits your document?
| Document | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Letters, reports, CVs, forms | LibreOffice | Exact page breaks, headers, footers and fonts |
| Documents for archiving or official submission | LibreOffice with PDF/A | Fonts embedded and PDF/A identification |
| Long plain text, notes, minutes | Either | Basic mode is instant; LibreOffice is more faithful |
| Safari, iPhone or iPad | Basic | LibreOffice needs cross-origin isolation, which Safari lacks |
| Hindi, Tamil, Arabic or CJK text | LibreOffice | Complex scripts need proper text shaping |
Limits worth knowing
- The basic converter leaves out headers, footers, footnotes, text boxes’ positions and multi-column layouts — the text itself is kept.
- A document containing EPS pictures can make LibreOffice stop responding; the page restarts the converter after a timeout and reports that file.
- Password-protected .odt files can’t be opened; remove the password in Writer (File → Properties → Security) first.
- LibreOffice needs a recent Chrome, Edge or Firefox and about 1.5 GB of free memory. It is MPL-2.0 open-source software, loaded unmodified from jsDelivr. Combine several PDFs afterwards with Merge PDF.
ODT to PDF Converter FAQ
How do I convert ODT to PDF for free?
Drop your .odt file above and press Convert to PDF. LibreOffice (a one-time 79 MB download) gives an exact copy; the basic converter is instant. No account, watermark or page limit.
Can I make a PDF/A from an ODT file?
Yes. Choose PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b or PDF/A-3b under PDF type. LibreOffice embeds the fonts and writes the PDF/A identification into the file’s metadata.
Is my document uploaded anywhere?
No. The document is converted inside your browser. Only the converter software is downloaded, from the jsDelivr CDN.
Will it look the same as in LibreOffice Writer?
Yes, with LibreOffice selected — it is the same Writer layout engine. Fonts that aren’t included are replaced by similar ones, which can move a line break.
Can I open an ODT file without LibreOffice installed?
Converting it to PDF here is the quickest way to read or share it. Google Docs and Microsoft Word can also open .odt files, and ODT to DOCX makes an editable Word copy.
Why doesn’t the LibreOffice option work in Safari?
LibreOffice in the browser uses several threads that share memory, which requires a cross-origin-isolated page. Safari and iPhone browsers don’t support that yet, so the page switches to the basic converter.