BestPDFInTheWorld
Convert · Premium

PDF to Excel

PDF to Excel groups a PDF's text by position, as if it were a table, and returns a .csv file that opens in any spreadsheet. A PDF has no real tables, only text drawn at coordinates; this tool is the best approximation possible from that, not a faithful reconstruction of the original document. All processing runs in your browser.

How it works

Two steps, nothing to install.

The whole job happens on your computer, start to finish.

1

Choose the file

Drag the PDF with the table into the tool window, or click to pick it.

2

Download the .csv

Get a .csv file, ready to open in Excel, LibreOffice or Google Sheets.

Why does it give a .csv and not a real .xlsx?

Because the content is already an approximation: grouping text fragments by position is not the same as reading a structured table. Promising a .xlsx would suggest more precision than actually exists. A .csv is honest about what it is: a plain text grid, no formulas and no formatting, that opens in any spreadsheet.

Does it work well with any table?

It works well on simple, well-aligned, computer-generated tables. It fails visibly (extra columns, merged cells, wrong order) on tables with cells spanning several lines, text wrapping inside a cell, or columns whose alignment is not constant down the page.

What about a scanned PDF?

It gives nothing. Without a text layer behind the image, there are no positions to group. Run it through the OCR tool first, which gives back a searchable PDF, and bring that PDF here.

Can I choose only some pages?

Yes, with ranges (1-3) and single numbers (5), separated by comma. Leave it empty to process all of them.

Your files never leave the browser. No PDF is sent to a server to have its tables extracted.
Errors and limits

The tool says the PDF has no text.

It is the sign of a scanned document, with no text layer behind the page image. There is nothing to position until the text exists: use the OCR tool first.

The columns come out swapped or merged.

It is the approximate nature of the tool: without knowing exactly where the table starts and ends, the criterion is the horizontal distance between text fragments. Tables with irregular alignment or cells spanning several lines confuse that criterion.

A cell that should be empty shows text from another column.

It happens when two columns in the original document are closer together than a normal word space; the tool has no way to tell the difference without seeing the real table grid, which the PDF does not store.

I picked pages and the tool refuses before even trying.

It is the same safety limit as the other tools: a page number that does not exist in the document is refused with a clear message instead of silently processing fewer pages than requested.

Questions

Questions about converting PDF to Excel.

Do I need an account to convert PDF to Excel?

Yes. The account (magic link, no password) is needed for the subscription. This tool is part of the Premium subscription, EUR 1.99 a month, which removes the limits on every tool and adds OCR. Sign PDF opens on the free plan, with one signature a day.

Does the result have formulas?

No. It is a plain text grid, with no formulas and no formatting.

Does this replace typing the table by hand?

For simple, well-aligned tables, it saves most of the work. For complex tables, it is a starting point to fix, not a final result.

Are my files kept on your servers?

No. Since nothing is sent, nothing is kept outside your browser.

Got a table
stuck inside a PDF?

Open the tool and try it. Nothing to install, nothing sent anywhere.

Open PDF to Excel