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PDF to Excel

To get tables out of a PDF, add it, choose the pages and check the detected grid, then download an .xlsx workbook with one sheet per page or copy the data as CSV. Columns are worked out from how the text lines up, which suits bank statements and exported reports. Scanned PDFs and formulas cannot be recovered.

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Updated

How to use PDF to Excel

  1. 1Add a PDF that contains tabular data.
  2. 2Choose which pages to read, or leave it on all pages.
  3. 3Review the detected grid — each page becomes its own sheet.
  4. 4Download the .xlsx file, or copy the data as CSV.

How it works

PDFs have no concept of a table. What they store is text fragments with x and y coordinates, and a table is simply text that happens to line up. The tool reconstructs the grid from that geometry: fragments are grouped into rows by their vertical position, then the horizontal gaps across all rows are analysed to find the column boundaries that most rows agree on.

This works well on the kind of table that produces a PDF from a spreadsheet or a reporting tool — bank statements, invoices, price lists, exported reports. It works less well on tables with merged cells, wrapped multi-line cells or heavy visual styling, where the geometry is ambiguous. The preview is there so you can see what was detected before you commit.

Pages with no detectable columns are still exported, with each line of text in a single column, so nothing is silently dropped.

The file is read into your browser's memory, changed there, and handed straight back to you. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no queue and no copy sitting on a server afterwards.

Tips and common mistakes

  • It works best on PDFs that were exported from software — bank statements, invoices, price lists and reports. Hand-designed tables with merged cells are harder.
  • Check the detected grid in the preview before you download. It shows exactly where the columns were placed.
  • Choose only the pages that contain tables, so headings and paragraphs on other pages do not end up in the workbook.
  • If one table runs across many pages and you want it as a single sheet, use the PDF Table Extractor instead.

Frequently asked questions

Why are some columns merged together?
Columns are found by looking for consistent horizontal gaps. When two columns sit very close together, or one column's values are wide enough to close the gap, they can be read as one. Widening the source table before exporting the PDF usually fixes it.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
No. A scan has no text layer, only an image. Run the page through the Image to Text tool first to recognise the words, though the table structure will not survive that route.
What file do I get?
A standard .xlsx workbook with one sheet per page, which opens in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc and Numbers. You can also copy the data as CSV.
Are formulas preserved?
No. A PDF only ever contains the results of formulas, never the formulas themselves, so what you get is values.
Why is one row of the table split into two?
When a cell's text wraps onto a second line in the PDF, that line can be read as a row of its own. Merge the two rows in your spreadsheet, or widen the column in the source document before exporting the PDF.
Is my bank statement uploaded?
No. The table is read and the workbook built in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
What happens to headers repeated on every page?
Each page becomes its own sheet here, so each keeps its header. The PDF Table Extractor can stack the pages into one sheet and drop the repeats.
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Guide

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