PDF to Excel

PDF to Excel reads the selectable text on the pages you choose and places it into rows and columns in an .xlsx workbook. It works best with simple text-based tables such as bank statements, price lists, invoices and reports, and the conversion happens entirely in your browser. Because the layout is rebuilt from the position of each piece of text, a complicated design may need a little tidying in Excel afterwards.

How to convert a PDF to Excel

1. Drop your PDF onto the tool or click Choose file.
2. Leave the page box unchanged to convert every page, or type a range such as 1-3, 5.
3. Choose One sheet per page to keep each PDF page separate, or All pages on one sheet to stack the pages on one worksheet.
4. Click Convert to Excel. The tool reads the text page by page and shows its progress.
5. Download the .xlsx file. The workbook is named after your PDF.

How rows and columns are inferred

A PDF does not store tables as rows and columns. It stores text as fragments, each with a position on the page. This tool reads those positions with PDF.js and rebuilds a grid from them.

Fragments whose baselines sit within about 3 points of each other are treated as one row. Rows are sorted from top to bottom, and fragments within a row from left to right. A new cell begins where the horizontal gap between fragments is wider than about 12 points, roughly 4 mm. Smaller gaps are merged, with a space where one is needed. Trailing empty cells are removed, and each row is padded to the longest row on that worksheet.

This is a geometric approximation, not table recognition. The tool does not see borders, shading or merged cells; it only sees where text sits. A row is a line of text, not necessarily a database record.

One sheet per page or one sheet

With One sheet per page, each selected PDF page becomes a separate worksheet named Page 1, Page 2 and so on, using the original page numbers. This default suits multi-page statements, invoices and reports where each page has the same structure. Column widths are set for each page separately, so a wide table on page 4 does not stretch the other sheets.

All pages on one sheet stacks the rows on one worksheet with a blank row between pages. It is convenient for sorting, filtering or combining a long list, but every page shares one set of column widths, and one unusually wide page can make them all wide. Pages with no selectable text are left out in either mode, and the result tells you how many were skipped.

What works well

• Simple tables with a clear grid, such as a price list, timetable or inventory.
• Bank and credit card statements where each transaction is one line and amounts sit in a consistent column.
• Lists and reports with one item per line, including contents pages, indexes and contact lists.
• Forms with label and value pairs, where the label and answer become adjacent cells.
• Text exported from another program, such as Word, Excel or an accounting package, because positions are recorded accurately.

Limitations

• Merged cells and nested tables are not detected. A heading that spans several columns becomes one cell, and the row is padded.
• Multi-line cells become several rows. A wrapped address is read as three rows, not one cell with line breaks.
• Blank cells can shift later columns. Cells come from gaps, not a fixed grid, so a missing value may pull later values left.
• Multi-column pages can merge into wide rows. Two columns of body text on the same baseline become one row.
• Images, charts and scanned text are ignored. There is no OCR built in, so a scanned PDF needs OCR first.
• Formulas are not recreated. The tool copies displayed text, not hidden formulas, calculated totals or number formats. Treat values as raw text until you have checked them.
• Formatting is lost. Fonts, colours, bold text, cell borders, hyperlinks and comments are not carried over.
• Encrypted PDFs must be unlocked first, and damaged PDFs may not open at all.
• Very large documents need patience and memory. Hundreds of pages can take a while.

When to use it

Use this tool when a PDF is the only copy of information you need in a spreadsheet and you want a head start rather than retyping it. It suits a one-off statement, a supplier's price list, a long list of names or a report whose figures you want to filter. Check the result against the original before relying on it, especially where money, dates or identifiers are involved.

If you need editable prose rather than cells, a word processor or Markdown may be the better destination. For a very large PDF, extracting the pages you need first can make the job quicker.

Privacy

Files never leave your browser. The PDF is opened, read and converted on your device using JavaScript; there is no upload step, server-side processing or account. The workbook is built in memory and saved through your browser's normal download process. Closing the tab clears the document from memory.

Related PDF tools

• To edit the words rather than the cells, use PDF to Word.
• To turn pages into clean text for notes or a website, use PDF to Markdown.
• To keep only the pages you need, use Extract PDF Pages.
• To break a long PDF into smaller files, use Split PDF.

PDF to Excel FAQ

Does PDF to Excel work with every PDF?

No. It needs selectable text arranged in roughly horizontal lines. Simple tables, statements and lists convert well. Magazines, brochures and forms with complex layouts are likely to need manual tidying, and image-only scans cannot be read without OCR.

Why is my spreadsheet empty?

The usual reason is that the PDF is a scan or contains page images, so there is no selectable text to read. Check the page range as well. If the pages are scans, run them through an OCR tool first and then convert the searchable PDF.

Are formulas and totals preserved?

No. The tool extracts the text that appears on the page, not the formulas behind it. A total may come through as a number, but it will not recalculate if you change another cell. Rebuild any formulas you need in Excel after checking the values.

Are numbers stored as numbers or as text?

Everything is written as text to preserve the wording, so amounts may need converting before you can add them up. Excel often shows a green triangle for numbers stored as text. Use VALUE or Text to Columns to convert them, and take care with leading zeros in account numbers and postcodes.

Can I convert only part of a PDF?

Yes. Type a range such as 1-3, 5, 9- in the page box. Pages are converted in their original order, and the default is every page. For a very large document, converting a few pages at a time is easier on memory.

Why are the columns not lined up?

Cell boundaries come from gaps between text, not from the lines you can see. Merged cells, wrapped text and multi-column layouts can all move a value into the wrong column. Adjust the columns in Excel afterwards, or use a PDF with a simpler table layout.

Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?

No. The file is opened and converted by your browser, and the workbook is created on your device. Nothing is sent to a server, which suits private statements and business documents.