Sometimes you simply need a clean PDF from plain text: a letter to attach, notes to share, a script to print, a list to send to someone who does not use your word processor. This free text to PDF converter turns whatever you type or paste into a neat, paginated PDF in seconds. Choose the page size, font, font size and margins, and download — there is no account, no watermark and nothing is uploaded.
How to convert text to PDF — step by step
- Add your text. Type in the box, paste from anywhere, or press Upload .txt to load a plain-text file. If you upload a file, its name becomes the title (you can change it).
- Give it a title (optional). The title is printed at the top of the first page in a larger bold font. Leave it blank for no heading. The title also becomes the file name.
- Choose the page size. Use A4 for most of the world, Letter for the US and Canada, Legal for long legal-style pages, and A5 for small booklets.
- Pick a font and size. Sans for modern documents, Serif for letters and essays, Mono for code and tables. Sizes from 8 to 32 pt are supported; 11–12 pt is a safe default for reading on paper.
- Set the margins. 20 mm is a comfortable default. Use smaller margins to fit more on a page, larger margins for binding or notes.
- Press Download PDF. Long text flows onto as many pages as needed, and each page is numbered “1 / 5”, “2 / 5” and so on.
Text to PDF in any language
PDF files normally store the fonts they use. The built-in fonts of the quick PDF generator cover English and most Western European languages, including accents such as é, ü and ñ. For scripts such as Hindi (Devanagari), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Bengali or Russian, those fonts do not contain the letters, and a PDF made from them would show boxes or wrong characters.
When the tool detects such characters, it tells you and offers Print / Save as PDF. This uses your browser’s own print system, which has access to all the fonts on your device. In the print window, choose “Save as PDF” as the destination and pick your paper size. The tool pre-sets the page size and margin for you. This route works in every language your device can display.
Choosing the right page size and margins
Page size is mostly a matter of geography and purpose. A4 (210 × 297 mm) is the standard in most countries, including India, the UK and across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) is standard in the United States and Canada, so choose it if your reader will print in North America. Legal is longer and used for some contracts, and A5 is half of A4 — handy for booklets, prayers, recipes and anything that should be read like a small book.
Margins affect both appearance and cost. A 20 mm margin gives text room to breathe and leaves space for a hole punch. Reducing it to 10 mm fits more words per page, which can save paper if you print a long document, but very tight margins can be cut off by some home printers. If you plan to bind the pages on the left, add a few extra millimetres to the margin. As a rule of thumb, a line of text is easiest to read at 50–75 characters, so on a small page, a larger font with normal margins often reads better than a small font with tight margins.
What formatting is supported?
This is a plain-text converter, and it is deliberately simple. Your text keeps its line breaks and paragraph spacing, long lines wrap to fit the page width, and the same font is used throughout. It does not include images, tables, bold or italic inside the body, or clickable links. A few typographic characters are converted to their plain equivalents so the PDF fonts can display them: curly quotes become straight quotes, long dashes become “--”, ellipses become “...” and bullets become asterisks.
If you need rich formatting — images, columns, headings — a word processor or the TextAgo notepad’s export options are a better fit. If you need a simple, readable, shareable document, this tool is faster.
Practical uses for a text to PDF tool
Letters, statements and applications
Write the text, add a title such as “Cover letter — Your Name”, choose Letter or A4, and download a PDF that looks the same on every device. A PDF is more reliable to email than a pasted message.
Meeting notes and minutes
Combine your notes with the Word Counter to keep them concise, then export to PDF so everyone sees the same layout. Numbered pages make it easy to refer to “page 2”.
Scripts, lyrics and speeches
Choose a larger font size (16–20 pt) and wider margins for text you will read aloud from paper or a tablet.
Code snippets and logs
Switch to the monospaced font to keep columns aligned. This is helpful for sharing a configuration file or console output with a colleague.
Reading material for e-readers and tablets
Convert long plain-text articles to PDF in A5 with a comfortable font size so they read well on a small screen.
Tips for a better-looking PDF
- Use blank lines between paragraphs. They are preserved, so your text keeps its rhythm.
- Keep lines of normal length. If your source has hard line breaks at 60–80 characters (as in some emails), remove them first, or the lines may wrap awkwardly.
- Check the page count before printing. Reduce the font size by a point or two or tighten the margins if you only just spill onto an extra page.
- Preview in your PDF reader. Open the downloaded file once to confirm the layout before sending it.
- Use the title field for the file name. “Rent-agreement-draft” is easier to find later than “document (3)”.
Text to PDF compared with other methods
| Method | Good for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| This tool | Fast, clean PDFs from plain text; no software | Plain text only |
| Word processor “Save as PDF” | Rich formatting, images, tables | Needs an installed or logged-in app |
| Browser “Print to PDF” | Any language and full font support | More clicks; layout depends on the browser |
| Online converters that upload files | Convenience | Your text is sent to a third-party server |
Privacy: your text stays on your device
The PDF is built inside your browser. Your text is not sent to TextAgo and no copy is kept. To generate the file, your browser downloads an open-source PDF library from a public content-delivery network; that request does not contain your text. If you use Print / Save as PDF, your operating system’s print dialog creates the file locally. Read the Privacy Policy for more.
Troubleshooting
My PDF shows boxes or strange letters
That means the text has characters the built-in fonts do not include. Use Print / Save as PDF instead.
The download did not start
Check that your browser has not blocked downloads from the page, and that there is text in the box. Try again, or allow pop-ups and downloads for this site.
Lines wrap in odd places
Remove hard line breaks inside paragraphs, reduce the font size or the margins, or choose a wider page size.
The print dialog shows extra headers and footers
In the browser’s print window, switch off “Headers and footers” under More settings, and keep the scale at 100%.
Frequently asked questions about converting text to PDF
How do I convert a .txt file to PDF?
Press Upload .txt, choose the file, adjust the options and press Download PDF. The file name becomes the title.
Is there a size limit?
TextAgo sets no limit. Very long texts take longer because your device builds the PDF.
Can I add images or change a single word to bold?
Not in this tool; it creates simple text PDFs. Use a word processor for rich layouts.
Will the PDF work on every device?
Yes. PDF is a standard format that opens on phones, tablets and computers without special software.
Do you keep a copy of my document?
No. The document is created in your browser and is not uploaded or stored by TextAgo.
Can I convert Hindi, Arabic or Japanese text to PDF?
Yes — use Print / Save as PDF, which uses your device’s fonts so every character is displayed correctly.