DOC vs DOCX
Una comparativa detallada de Word Document (Legacy) y Word Document — tamaño de archivo, calidad, compatibilidad y cuál elegir según tu flujo de trabajo.
Word Document (Legacy)
Documents & TextDOC is the legacy binary format used by Microsoft Word 97-2003. While superseded by DOCX, many archived and legacy documents still use this format and require conversion for modern editing.
Sobre los archivos DOCWord Document
Documents & TextDOCX is the modern Microsoft Word format based on Open XML. It is the most widely used word processing format in business and education, supporting rich text, images, tables, and macros.
Sobre los archivos DOCXComparativa de ventajas
DOC Ventajas
- Universal compatibility — every Word version since 1997 reads it natively.
- Rich feature set: styles, tables, comments, track changes, embedded OLE objects.
- Binary format means fast loading even on slow machines.
- Well-understood after decades of reverse-engineering — dozens of parsers exist.
DOCX Ventajas
- Much smaller than the legacy .doc format thanks to ZIP compression.
- Human-readable XML inside — automated extraction and manipulation is straightforward.
- Preserves formatting, images, tables, footnotes, comments, and track changes.
- Supported natively by Word, LibreOffice, Pages, Google Docs, and most modern editors.
- ISO/IEC 29500 standardized — not locked to a single vendor.
Limitaciones
DOC Limitaciones
- Legacy format — Microsoft stopped improving it in 2007; new features require DOCX.
- Binary structure is fragile; corruption often makes files unrecoverable.
- Historic malware magnet: embedded macros have spread viruses since the 1990s.
- Not open-standard — DOCX is the ISO-standardized successor.
- Subtle formatting drifts when opened in LibreOffice or Google Docs.
DOCX Limitaciones
- Subtle formatting drifts when opened in non-Microsoft editors (fonts, line spacing, tab stops).
- Macros and embedded scripts make older .docm variants a common malware vector.
- Complex layouts with floating objects often reflow unpredictably.
- Version compatibility matters — Word 2007 cannot open some Word 2019 features cleanly.
Especificaciones técnicas
| Especificación | DOC | DOCX |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | application/msword | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Container | OLE Compound File (Word 97-2003) | ZIP archive (Office Open XML) |
| Standard | MS-DOC [MS-OOPR] (released 2008) | ISO/IEC 29500, ECMA-376 |
| Successor | .docx (2007) | — |
| Character encoding | UTF-16 LE (Word 97+) | — |
| Released in | — | Microsoft Office 2007 |
| Legacy predecessor | — | .doc (binary, OLE Compound File) |
Tamaños típicos de archivo
DOC
- Short letter 25-50 KB
- 20-page report 150-400 KB
- Book manuscript with images 2-20 MB
DOCX
- Short letter (1 page) 15–30 KB
- Academic paper (20 pages, no images) 80–200 KB
- Report with several images (30 pages) 1–5 MB
- Dissertation with figures (200 pages) 10–30 MB
¿Listo para convertir?
Convierte entre DOC y DOCX online, gratis y sin instalar nada. Subida cifrada, eliminación automática a los 60 minutos.
Preguntas frecuentes
DOC is the legacy Microsoft Word binary format used from 1983 to 2007, storing text, images, formatting, and embedded objects in the OLE Compound File container since Word 97. It was replaced as default by DOCX in Office 2007 but remains widely used in legacy archives and older government systems.
DOC files open in every Microsoft Word version from 1997 onward, Google Docs (free), LibreOffice Writer (free), Apple Pages, and most online viewers like OneDrive and Dropbox preview. On iPhone and Android, Word apps open DOC natively.
Use KaijuConverter's DOC-to-PDF converter for a single-click conversion. Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice all export to PDF natively via "Save as PDF" or the print menu — the result is identical and preserves every font, layout, and image.
Always DOCX for new documents. DOCX files are 75% smaller thanks to ZIP compression, follow the ISO/IEC 29500 standard, and support every modern Word feature. DOC is essentially a legacy compatibility format — Microsoft stopped improving it in 2007.
Older DOC files could contain VBA macros that became a common malware vector in the 2000s. Modern Office blocks macros by default. If you receive a suspicious .doc, open it in Google Docs or LibreOffice first — both strip macros automatically during import.
Yes. Open the .doc in Microsoft Word and use Save As → Word Document (.docx). LibreOffice Writer offers the same export. Formatting transfers cleanly in 99% of cases; complex features like some legacy form fields may need minor manual fixes.