PDF vs. Word: Which File Format Do ATS Scanners Prefer?

The Format Debate

You've finished your resume. "Save As..." prompts you. Do you choose PDF to lock in your design, or Word (.docx) for editability? For ATS purposes, the answer has evolved.

The Case for Word (.docx)

Historically, .docx was the king. It is a text-based format that is incredibly easy for parsers to read properly.
Pros: Highest parsing accuracy.
Cons: Formatting can shift if the recruiter has a different version of Word or different fonts installed.

The Case for PDF

PDFs are preferred by human readers because they look exactly how you designed them.
Pros: Design integrity, professional look.
Cons: Older ATS systems struggled to parse text from PDFs, especially if they were simplified as images.

The Modern Verdict

Use PDF (mostly).
Modern ATS systems handle text-based PDFs perfectly fine. It gives you the best of both worlds: safety for the design and readability for the bot.
EXCEPTION: If the job application explicitly says "Please upload a Word Doc," OBEY IT. It means they likely use an older system.

Conclusion

Default to PDF for the professional finish, but always keep a .docx version handy just in case the portal insists on it.