How to Convert PDF to Excel (Tables Into Spreadsheets)
Turn PDF tables into an editable Excel spreadsheet online. Step-by-step guide to converting PDF to .xlsx so you can sort, filter and calculate — free and fast.
Short answer: Open the PDF to Excel tool, upload your PDF, and download an .xlsx file with your tables in real spreadsheet cells — ready to sort, filter and calculate.
When a PDF is really a table of numbers — an invoice, a bank statement, a data export — converting to Excel puts each value back into its own cell so you can actually work with it.
How to convert PDF to Excel
- Upload your PDF to the PDF to Excel tool.
- Let it convert the tables into
.xlsx. - Download and open the spreadsheet in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc.
What converts cleanly
| PDF table type | Result |
|---|---|
| Bordered tables with clear columns | Cell-for-cell, minimal cleanup |
| Simple lists of rows | Clean conversion |
| Borderless or merged-cell layouts | Editable but may need adjusting |
| Scanned tables (images) | Run OCR first |
Excel vs. CSV
Both give you data in cells. Pick Excel (.xlsx) when you want formatting, formulas or multiple sheets. Pick CSV when you need a lightweight, universal file to import elsewhere. See our guide on choosing a conversion format.
Scanned document? OCR first
If the table is a scan or photo, the text is an image and won't convert to editable cells. Run the OCR tool first (see making a scanned PDF searchable, or what OCR is for the background), then convert to Excel.
Numbers are the part that suffers most from a poor scan, because a misread digit looks perfectly plausible in a cell. Choosing the document's language before running OCR, and scanning at 300 DPI, both cut that risk sharply.
Tips
- Convert from the original PDF for the most accurate column detection.
- Check totals after converting — verify a few sums match the source.
- Split first if you only need one table from a long report; extract that page, then convert.
Going the other way
Once the numbers are updated, convert the spreadsheet back to PDF to share a final version. One thing to set before you do: Page Layout → Scale to Fit → Width: 1 page, or the widest columns land on a page of their own.