PDF to Excel converter

pdf2rows is an online PDF to Excel converter for the tables inside your PDFs. Upload a file, check a preview of every table it finds, and download an .xlsx workbook that opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc or Apple Numbers. It's built for everyday documents like invoices, price lists, reports, statements and data exports that someone sent you as a PDF when you needed a spreadsheet.

Open the converter, free for 5 pages a day

How to use the PDF to Excel converter

Open the converter and drop in your PDF, or click to choose one (up to 20 MB).
Wait a few seconds while each page is scanned for tables.
Check the preview. Every table is listed with its page number, size, and the detection method that found it.
Click Download XLSX. Each table goes on its own sheet. Tick All tables on one sheet if you want them stacked together.

Prefer plain text? The same results can be downloaded as CSV, and downloading both doesn't use extra pages. See PDF to CSV online for when CSV is the better choice.

Why convert instead of copy and paste

Copying a table out of a PDF viewer rarely works. Depending on how the PDF was made, you get one long column of text, all the values of a row squashed into one cell, or rows in the wrong order. That's because a PDF stores positioned pieces of text, not a grid of cells.

The converter reads the position of every word on the page, rebuilds the rows and columns, and writes them to a real spreadsheet. In the XLSX file, numbers are stored as numbers: 1,234.50 becomes 1234.5 and an accounting-style negative like (45.00) becomes -45, so SUM, sorting and filters work right away without a find-and-replace pass. Header rows are bolded and column widths are set to fit the content.

What kinds of PDFs convert well

The best results come from PDFs generated by software: accounting and invoicing tools, ERP and CRM exports, bank and card statements, spreadsheets saved as PDF, and reports from analytics tools. These have a real text layer and consistent column positions.

Tables with ruling lines are detected from the lines themselves, which is the most reliable case.
Tables aligned only with spaces go through a row parser that groups words by line and splits columns at wide gaps. This handles most clean layouts. Check the preview if columns are very close together.
Multi-page documents are processed page by page, and a single page can contain several tables. More on that in convert PDF tables to a spreadsheet.

PDF to XLSX vs. opening the PDF directly

Some desktop spreadsheet and office apps can open or import PDFs, and that's worth a try if you already have one. An online PDF to XLSX converter is useful when you're on a machine without those tools, when you want to see all the tables in a document side by side before choosing what to keep, or when the built-in import puts everything in a single column. pdf2rows runs in any modern browser and doesn't need an install or an account for the free plan.

Privacy

Your PDF is deleted as soon as the conversion finishes, and no copy of your file or tables is kept. Only a daily page count per visitor is stored, to enforce the free limit. Payments for Pro are handled by Stripe. Read the privacy page for details.

Current limitations

Scanned PDFs: pages that are just images have no text layer, and OCR is not supported yet. If you can't select the text in your PDF viewer, the converter won't find it either.
Password-protected PDFs: remove the password first (you need to know it).
Complex layouts: merged cells, rotated text and nested tables may need a quick cleanup after download.
Size: up to 20 MB per file. The free plan converts 5 pages per day; Pro ($9/month, 7-day free trial) removes the daily limit.

Frequently asked questions

Is pdf2rows made by Microsoft?

No. pdf2rows is an independent tool and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. It creates standard .xlsx files that Excel and other spreadsheet apps can open.

Is the PDF to Excel converter free?

Yes, for up to 5 pages per day with no account needed. Pro costs $9/month, removes the daily page limit, and starts with a 7-day free trial.

Will formulas or formatting from the original be kept?

No. A PDF only contains the printed values, so you get the values in clean cells. Numbers are stored as numbers so you can add your own formulas.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. The converter runs in the browser, so you can upload a PDF from a phone and download the XLSX file.