How do DOCX and TXTcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
Office Open XML Document
DOCX is the default format for Microsoft Word documents. It's an XML-based format that replaced the older .doc format, offering better compression, easier recovery, and broader compatibility.
Plain Text File
TXT is the simplest document format — pure text with no formatting. It's universally compatible, lightweight, and readable by every operating system and text editor in existence.
| Specification | DOCX | TXT |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Office Open XML Document | Plain Text File |
| Extension | .docx | .txt |
| MIME type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document | text/plain |
| Category | Document | Document |
| Developer | Microsoft | N/A (universal standard) |
| Year introduced | 2007 | 1960s |
DOCX and TXT serve different purposes. DOCX is ideal for business reports and memos, while TXT excels at configuration files and logs.
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