PDF vs DOCX: Key Differences & When to Use Which

PDF vs DOCX: Key Differences & When to Use Which

W e have all been there: You spend hours perfecting a resume or a report in Microsoft Word, ensuring every margin and image is perfectly aligned. You email it to a colleague, and when they open it, the fonts are wrong, the images have jumped to the next page, and your hard work looks unprofessional. Conversely, you try to fix a simple typo in a PDF, but the text is locked down tight, refusing to budge. This frustration stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the battle between PDF vs DOCX . While most users treat these extensions as interchangeable ways to save files, they represent two completely opposing design philosophies. One is designed to be a "living" document, capable of endless modification, while the other is "digital paper," designed to never change. In this guide, we will move beyond the basics and explore the structural and functional differences between these two dominant formats, helping you decide exactly which one to use for your specific needs. Ta…