Step 1: Transfer your PDF files using the button above or by slide and deposit.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Retrieve your converted XLSX files.
PDF to XLSX Conversion FAQ
What does the PDF to XLSX converter actually do?
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It pulls the tables out of your PDF and writes them out as XLSX. This is a table extractor, not a document converter: headings, paragraphs and images in the PDF are left behind, because running prose has no meaningful form as spreadsheet cells.
Why did my PDF to XLSX conversion return an error?
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The most common reason is that the PDF contains no tables. Because this conversion works by extracting tables, a file with none has nothing to put in the XLSX. Rather than return an empty spreadsheet, the converter refuses and tells you to use a file with at least one table.
Can I get the whole PDF, text included, into the XLSX?
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Not through this tool, and not through any tool honestly: a spreadsheet is a grid of cells, so continuous prose has nowhere to go. Use a document target (DOCX, ODT, TXT) when you want the whole PDF; use XLSX when you want its tables.
Are tables detected reliably?
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In a DOCX or DOC, yes - the table is a genuine object in the file and is read as-is. In a PDF there is no table object to read, so detection works from ruled borders and consistent column alignment across each page, which is accurate for ordinary reports and weaker on unusual layouts.
Can it handle PDF files with many tables?
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Yes. Each table found anywhere in the PDF is collected into the XLSX. There is no limit on the number of tables, only on the size of the resulting spreadsheet.
Will this work on a scanned PDF?
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Only if the PDF has a real text layer. Table extraction reads text and its position on the page; a scan is a picture of a page, so there is nothing to read. Run OCR on it first, then convert the searchable result to XLSX.
Do merged cells and formatting survive PDF to XLSX?
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Cell values and the row-and-column grid are what carry across. Visual styling - fonts, fills, borders - is not reproduced, and a merged cell is flattened into the grid, because the output is data rather than a picture of the original table.
My tables are huge - which target should I pick?
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XLSX, unless you specifically need the legacy format. A .xls file cannot hold more than 256 columns or 65,536 rows, and you will get an explicit message when a table is too wide or too tall for it. XLSX carries roughly a million rows, and CSV has no structural limit at all.
When should I use PDF to XLSX rather than another conversion?
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Use it when the numbers in the PDF are what you need - a price list, a results table, a financial statement - and you want to sort or calculate on them. If you want the document itself, convert it to DOCX, ODT or TXT.
What does PDF to XLSX cost?
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Nothing for ordinary use - upload the PDF, get the XLSX back, no sign-up. Paid plans exist for larger files and heavier batches rather than for the conversion itself.
Can I extract tables from several PDF files at once?
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Several files in one job need a paid plan. Free use is one file per conversion, one conversion an hour. On a paid plan you can add several files to one job, then download each result on its own or all of them in one ZIP.
Is the data in my tables kept anywhere?
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Only for a short time. The uploaded PDF and the XLSX spreadsheet are deleted from our servers automatically about 24 hours after the conversion, which leaves time to download the result. Nobody reads what is in your tables, and nothing is shared. See /privacy/.
