PDF Converter
Turn a PDF back into a file you can edit: a Word document, an Excel workbook, PowerPoint slides, plain text or one of seven other formats. Scanned pages are read with text recognition first, so photographed and printed documents convert too.
PDF Converter
or drop PDF files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
Scanned PDFs are pictures of pages. Auto runs OCR only on pages without a text layer; On forces it for every page.
The language printed in the scan. Picking the right one noticeably improves accuracy for accents and non-Latin scripts.
Flowing text reflows into normal paragraphs that are easy to edit. Exact layout places every block where it was, which looks identical but is harder to edit.
Where detected tables go in the workbook.
Page numbers or ranges separated by commas, e.g. 1-3, 5, 8-10.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the PDF
Add up to 20 PDFs of up to 95 MB each. Digital exports and scans can go in the same batch.
- 2
Choose the output format
Pick a format in Convert to. For scans, check Document language under Advanced settings so text recognition reads the right alphabet.
- 3
Convert and open
Press Convert to and the format name, then download each file or a ZIP and open it in Word, Excel, Google Docs or any editor.
A PDF records where each character sits on the page; an editable document records paragraphs, tables and styles. This converter rebuilds that structure from the positions, and with OCR it reads scans the same way.
- Output formats
- 11
- OCR languages
- 34
- PDFs per batch
- 20
- Per file
- 95 MB
How a PDF to editable file converter works
PDF was designed in 1993 to print the same everywhere, and since 2008 it has been the international standard ISO 32000-1. Inside, a page is a list of drawing instructions: put these glyphs at these coordinates in this font, draw this line, place this image. There is no notion of a paragraph that wraps, a table cell that grows, or a heading style. Converting to Word or Excel means reconstructing those things.
The converter groups glyphs into lines, lines into paragraphs and columns, and aligned text with ruling lines into tables. It then writes the result in the target format: DOCX follows Office Open XML (ECMA-376, later ISO/IEC 29500), ODT follows OpenDocument (ISO/IEC 26300), and CSV follows the common comma-separated layout described in RFC 4180. Pages without a text layer, such as scans and photos, are first passed through optical character recognition.
Microsoft Word has opened PDFs itself since Word 2013, using a similar reflow process. The advantages here are batch conversion, formats Word does not produce, such as Excel tables, Markdown and JSON, and OCR language selection for scans. If Word is all you need, PDF to Word opens with DOCX already selected, and the guide on how to convert PDF to Word compares both routes.
Some content does not survive any conversion cleanly. Handwriting is not reliably recognized, mathematical formulas usually arrive as images or plain characters rather than editable equations, and text set along a curve or inside a logo stays part of a picture. Footnotes, headers and page numbers are recreated as ordinary text unless the PDF was tagged when it was exported, in which case the structure tags help the converter place them. Expect to spend a few minutes tidying a long document; that is still far quicker than retyping it, and the original PDF is never altered.
What each output format keeps
| from ↓ · to → | DOCX | XLSX | PPTX | TXT | RTF | ODT | HTML | EPUB | MD | CSV | JSON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running text | Running text to DOCX: yes | Running text to XLSX: yes | Running text to PPTX: yes | Running text to TXT: yes | Running text to RTF: yes | Running text to ODT: yes | Running text to HTML: yes | Running text to EPUB: yes | Running text to MD: yes | – Running text to CSV: no | – Running text to JSON: no |
| Tables | Tables to DOCX: yes | Tables to XLSX: yes | Tables to PPTX: yes | – Tables to TXT: no | Tables to RTF: yes | Tables to ODT: yes | Tables to HTML: yes | Tables to EPUB: yes | Tables to MD: yes | Tables to CSV: yes | Tables to JSON: yes |
| Images | Images to DOCX: yes | – Images to XLSX: no | Images to PPTX: yes | – Images to TXT: no | Images to RTF: yes | Images to ODT: yes | Images to HTML: yes | Images to EPUB: yes | Images to MD: yes | – Images to CSV: no | – Images to JSON: no |
| Exact layout | Exact layout to DOCX: yes | – Exact layout to XLSX: no | Exact layout to PPTX: yes | – Exact layout to TXT: no | Exact layout to RTF: yes | Exact layout to ODT: yes | – Exact layout to HTML: no | – Exact layout to EPUB: no | – Exact layout to MD: no | – Exact layout to CSV: no | – Exact layout to JSON: no |
Converter settings in plain words
Scanned pages
- Text recognition (OCR): Auto reads only pages without text, Always reads every page, Off skips OCR
- Document language: 34 choices, from English and Hindi to Arabic, Japanese and Hungarian
- The right language matters most for accents and non-Latin scripts
Layout
- Layout: Flowing text reflows into normal paragraphs; Exact layout pins each block where it was
- Keep images: off gives a lighter, text-only file
- Sheets for XLSX: one per table, one per page, or everything on one sheet
- Tables only for XLSX, CSV and JSON skips running text
Pages
- Pages to convert: all pages, or Selected pages
- Page range accepts numbers and ranges such as 1-3, 5, 8-10
- Converting only the pages you need is faster and gives a cleaner result
TipPick Flowing text when you will rewrite the document and Exact layout when you only need to change a few words on a form or flyer without moving anything.
Common PDF conversion problems
The Word file contains only pictures of pages
The PDF is a scan and OCR was off. Set Text recognition (OCR) to Auto or Always and convert again.
Recognized text is full of wrong letters
Choose the language printed in the scan under Document language. For low-resolution scans, rescan at 300 DPI if you can.
Table columns are merged in Excel
Tables without ruling lines are detected from spacing. Try One sheet per page, or convert to CSV and split the column in your spreadsheet.
The upload is rejected as protected
Encrypted PDFs need their password removed first. Use unlock PDF with the password you have, then convert.
Text runs in the wrong order across columns
Switch Layout to Exact layout, which keeps each text block in its own position instead of joining columns into one flow.
PDF converter questions
Which format should I convert a PDF to for editing?
DOCX for letters, contracts and reports, because Word, Google Docs, Pages and LibreOffice all open it. XLSX for tables and statements you want to calculate with, PPTX for slide decks, and TXT or Markdown when you only need the words.
How does the converter handle a PDF that is partly scanned?
With Text recognition (OCR) on Auto, each page is checked for a text layer. Pages that already have real text are converted directly, and only the pages that are pictures go through OCR, which keeps accuracy high on mixed documents.
Can I convert a bank statement PDF to Excel?
Yes. Choose XLSX, leave Tables only on so headers and disclaimers are skipped, and pick One sheet per page if every statement page has the same table. The dedicated PDF to Excel page starts with those settings.
Why are the fonts different in my converted document?
PDFs often embed fonts that are not installed on your computer, and an editor substitutes the closest font it has. Spacing and line breaks can shift slightly as a result. Install the original font, or pick Exact layout if appearance matters more than editing.
Does the PDF converter keep hyperlinks and images?
Images are kept when Keep images is on, which is the default for DOCX, PPTX, RTF, ODT, HTML, EPUB and Markdown. Web links in the text usually survive into DOCX and HTML; links that were drawn as plain blue text without a link annotation stay plain text.
Can I edit a PDF without converting it?
Only with a PDF editor, and editing inside a PDF is limited to small corrections because the format stores positioned text, not paragraphs. For anything longer than a typo, converting to DOCX, editing and saving back to PDF is faster.
What is the JSON output for?
JSON exports the detected tables as structured data, one array of rows per table, which a script or spreadsheet import can read without parsing a document. It is meant for developers and data pipelines rather than for reading.
All PDF Converter tools
Pick the exact target you were asked for. Every page below is the same tool with different defaults.
- PDF to Google Docs ConverterTurn a PDF into a file Google Docs opens with headings, tables and images intact, even scans and PDFs over 2 MB that Drive's own conversion skips.
- PDF to DOCX ConverterConvert PDF to a DOCX file that opens in Word 2007 and later, LibreOffice and Google Docs. Exact layout by default, OCR for scans, no account needed.
- PDF to EPUB ConverterConvert a PDF into a reflowable EPUB that adjusts to Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books and phone screens. Font size becomes adjustable, images stay in.
- PDF to Excel ConverterConvert PDF tables, invoices and bank statements to an Excel spreadsheet. Each table lands on its own sheet with numbers in real cells. Free, no sign-up.
- PDF to Markdown ConverterConvert PDF to a Markdown .md file with headings, lists, links and pipe tables rebuilt from the text. OCR for scans. For Obsidian, Notion and LLM pipelines.
- PDF to PPT ConverterConvert a PDF to an editable PowerPoint deck. Every page becomes a slide with real text boxes and images you can move, restyle and present.
- PDF to Text ConverterExtract the words from any PDF as a clean UTF-8 text file. Scans are read with OCR, page ranges are optional, and nothing but the text is kept.
- PDF to TXT ConverterConvert PDF to TXT online for free. Digital pages keep their exact characters, scanned pages go through OCR, and the result is one UTF-8 .txt file per PDF.
- PDF to Word ConverterConvert PDF to Word you can actually edit. Text reflows into normal paragraphs, scanned pages go through OCR in 34 languages, up to 20 files at a time.