Convert Pages to PDF on Mac, iPhone and iCloud

Quick Answer

Apple Pages has a PDF export built in, on a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad and in a browser. Apple's Mac guide says to open the document, then choose File > Export To > the file format you want. Your original file is not changed.

We did not check what Pages itself costs, so those two rows say so. The only price in US dollars is Loop's, for one person, paid once. This page is about the Apple Pages word processor and its .pages files, not web pages.

Mac

Apple's Convert to Word, PDF, or another file format in Pages on Mac page gives these steps.

1. Open the document in Pages.
2. Choose File > Export To > PDF, from the File menu at the top of your screen.
3. Click the Image Quality pop-up menu and choose an option. Apple says the higher the image quality, the larger the file size.
4. To include smart annotations or comments, tick the matching checkbox. To include accessibility tags for large tables, click Advanced Options, then choose On.
5. Click Save, then type a name. Leave off the .pdf ending, because Apple says it is added for you.
6. Click the Where pop-up menu to choose a location, then click Export.

If the PDF comes out too big to email, our PDF compression guide covers shrinking it, and the PDF email guide covers sending it.

Apple also says that if the original file has a password, the password applies to copies exported as PDF, and you can change it for the copy. For a lock on the PDF itself, see our password protect a PDF guide.

Print Dialog

Apple presents this as a way to save any document as a PDF, and Pages is a Mac app. Apple's Save a document as a PDF on Mac page gives these steps.

1. Choose File > Print.
2. Click the PDF button, or open the PDF pop-up menu, and choose Save as PDF.
3. Enter a name and choose a location for the PDF file.

The same pop-up menu has Send in Mail and Save to iCloud Drive. To protect the document with a password, Apple says to click Security Options, where you can require a password for opening, copying and printing. Apple's page does not name Pages, so we have not seen this route run from Pages.

iPhone and iPad

Apple's iPhone page gives these steps, and the iPad page uses the same words.

1. Open the document you want to save in another format.
2. Tap the More button in the toolbar. On an iPad, Apple's page calls it the Actions Menu button.
3. Tap Export, then tap PDF.
4. Tap one of the options for sending, saving or posting the document.

We read the button names from the alt text in Apple's pages, not from a screenshot of the app.

Windows

On a Windows PC, the route Apple documents is Pages for iCloud. Apple's Pages for iCloud page says it is a web app for creating and editing documents on a Mac or a Windows device, using a supported browser. Apple's page does not list which browsers count, so we cannot tell you. You sign in at iCloud.com with an Apple Account.

1. Go to Pages for iCloud and sign in with your Apple Account, if asked. See Apple's page on uploading a document.
2. Drag the .pages file from your computer into the document manager, or click the Upload button, pick the file and click Choose or Open.
3. With the document open, click the More button in the toolbar and choose Download a Copy. In the document manager, select the document first. Both routes are on Apple's download page.
4. Select PDF. The file goes to your browser's download location.

Apple's iCloud page for Pages says you need to be on a computer to use Pages on iCloud.com, and that on a tablet you can only view your files. We could not confirm any cost or storage limit for the Apple Account.

Word

Apple's pages for iPhone and iPad list Word as an export format, saved as a .docx file that Microsoft Word can open and edit. Pages for iCloud lists Pages, PDF, Microsoft Word and EPUB as download formats. The steps are the same as above, with Word in place of PDF.

Apple's Mac page names Word in its title but does not list it among the formats it describes, and we did not open Pages to read the menu. Check the Export To menu in Pages on your Mac. Apple adds that smart annotations do not appear in an exported Word, EPUB, plain text or Pages '09 file, while a PDF can include them.

Online Converters

These sites take your file by upload and hand back a PDF. Each says you can start free, and each copies your file to its own servers, so they are a poor fit for a private document.

• Smallpdf says you can convert Pages files to PDF for free without creating an account, and that files are deleted automatically after one hour unless you choose to save them. Smallpdf Pro is the paid plan. The page does not state a daily limit.
• CloudConvert says you can start free with 10 conversions per day, no credit card required. Its paid pricing is in credits, and the page we read did not show US dollars.
• FreeConvert lists a maximum file size of 1 GB, with files deleted automatically after 8 hours.

We did not read any paid price in US dollars for these three, so this page gives their free limits only. Paid plans exist. See each site.

Share Without Converting

If you only want someone to read the document, you may not need a PDF first. Loop, our Mac app, turns a Pages file into pages a reader opens in a browser. The pages are made on your Mac by macOS Quick Look, the same engine that previews files in the Finder, and nothing is uploaded for that step.

• Download gives back your Pages file. The link keeps your original .pages file beside the pages. If Allow Downloads is on, a reader who presses Download gets the .pages file, which Windows cannot open. Turning Allow Downloads off hides the Download button; readers can still see the pages.
• You still track it. Opens, time per page and the furthest page reached are recorded, as for any Loop link.
• A reader can sign it. Turn on Require Signature and the signer types their full name on the page. A signature produces a signed PDF copy. That is a simple electronic signature, and Loop does not check the signer's email or identity. For other routes, see our guide to signing a PDF on a Mac.

Loop does not hand you a PDF file. We found no button that saves the converted pages as a PDF for you, and readers see pages, not a file. If the person needs a PDF file to attach, upload or print, Loop is the wrong tool: use Export To in Pages as above, and then, if you want a link, see how to create a link for a PDF.

Open your own link once before you send it, and look at every page.

Limits

• Loop gives you no PDF to attach. We found no button that saves the converted pages as a PDF for you. Download returns your Pages file. A reader who has drawn on the pages can choose With Drawings for a PDF of the pages with the markings, and a signature produces a signed PDF copy.
• Loop may not match Pages. Its pages come from macOS Quick Look and are sized to A4. We did not compare them with Pages' own PDF on a real document, so for a layout that must be exact, export the PDF from Pages and share that.
• We have not checked a long Pages file. We did not run a multi-page document through Loop, and we did not read how it handles fonts, tracked changes or comments. Check the pages yourself.
• Loop shows no warning in the app if a Pages file ends up download-only, so a Windows reader could be handed a .pages file they cannot open. Your own test of the link catches that.
• Loop is Mac only on your side. A reader needs a browser with JavaScript on, on a Mac, a PC or a phone.
• Pages for iCloud needs an Apple Account and a computer, and we did not test it on a PC.
• Layouts can differ between tools. An online converter and Pages may draw the same document differently, so look over the PDF before you send it.

Cost

Pages' own steps above are Apple's. We did not read a price for Pages, so we have no figure for it. The Print dialog is built into your Mac. Loop is $49 once for one person.

If you share a Pages document through Loop, it sits in your own Cloudflare account. The first 10 GB is free, and Cloudflare's pricing page, updated 30 October 2026, lists $0.015 per GB-month beyond that, with nothing charged for downloads. Cloudflare may ask for a card when you switch storage on.

To see whether skipping the conversion suits you, run the 14-day trial, which starts the first time you open Loop and needs no payment. Your clients will see a small "Shared with Loop" badge on the shared page until you add a licence.