To convert a PDF to Excel, open the PDF to Excel converter, add your file and click convert. You get an XLSX workbook with one worksheet for each PDF page, and the text split into columns wherever the PDF has wide gaps.
It reads the real text in the PDF in your browser. Scanned PDFs, which hold pictures only, have no text to read.
On this page
Key takeaways
- Each PDF page becomes one worksheet named Page 1, Page 2 and so on.
- Text is placed in columns by its position on the page, so table-like layouts come out as grids.
- Plain numbers become real numbers; amounts with currency symbols or thousands separators stay as text.
- Scanned PDFs are not supported because they contain no text.
How to convert a PDF to Excel in three steps
- 1
Add your PDF. Open PDF to Excel and drag the file in.
- 2
Convert. The tool reads each page, finds the text lines and splits them into cells.
- 3
Download. The workbook has the same name as your PDF with an .xlsx extension. Open it and check each sheet.
How the grid is built
A PDF does not store tables as tables. It stores text fragments at positions. The converter groups fragments into lines, starts a new cell wherever the gap between fragments is much wider than a normal word space, and lines up cells into shared columns by their horizontal position. Table-like pages therefore turn into rows and columns.
| In the PDF | In Excel |
|---|---|
| A page | A worksheet called Page N |
| A line of text | A row |
| Words separated by a wide gap | Separate cells |
| Plain numbers like 125 or 42.5 | Numeric cells |
| Values like $1,250.00 or 12/05/2025 | Text cells |
| Images and drawings | Not included |
Numbers, currency and dates
Only plain numbers without separators or symbols are turned into numeric cells. Amounts with currency signs, thousands separators and dates stay as text. In Excel you can convert them with Text to Columns, or by using Find and Replace to remove the symbols and commas. The article on converting a bank statement or invoice PDF shows the steps.
Scanned PDFs
If the tool reports that no text was found, the PDF is a scan. Use Image to Text to read it, then paste the result into a sheet. The same applies to PDF to Word.
Tidying up the result
Check column alignment first. If rows are shifted, see PDF to Excel columns misaligned. To keep the data in another format, Excel to CSV exports each sheet as a CSV file.
A quick check of the result
- Open the first sheet and compare a few rows with the PDF.
- Look for numbers that are left-aligned, which means they were kept as text.
- Check that the header row sits above the right columns.
- Scroll to the last sheet to make sure no page is missing.
PDF to Excel: FAQ
How do I convert a PDF to Excel?
Add the PDF to the PDF to Excel tool, click convert and download the XLSX.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser.
Does each page get its own sheet?
Yes. Sheets are named Page 1, Page 2 and so on.
Why are my amounts text instead of numbers?
Values with currency symbols or separators are kept as text. Clean them in Excel.
Can it convert scanned PDFs?
No. Scans have no text. Use Image to Text first.
Are images or charts included?
No. Only text is converted.
Why are some columns misaligned?
Columns are inferred from text positions. Irregular layouts can shift.
Can I convert several PDFs at once?
Yes. They download as a ZIP.
What format is the result?
XLSX, which opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
From PDF text to a workable sheet
Convert, review each sheet and clean the amounts and dates. For tabular PDFs, this is much faster than retyping.
