PDF table to Excel converter

How it works

A digital PDF stores every word with its position on the page, but nothing that says “this is a table”. The converter rebuilds the table from those positions. It groups words that sit on the same line into rows, then looks for vertical strips of empty space that run through almost every row — those gaps are the column edges. The first row of short text labels becomes the header.

When a table carries on over several pages, the rows are joined into one table and the header repeated at the top of each later page is removed. Page numbers such as “Page 2 of 5” are skipped. A line that only continues the text of the row above — a description that wrapped onto a second line — is joined back onto that row.

Some PDFs that look digital are really pictures of pages — you can't select the text in them. For these, the tool offers text recognition (OCR): each page is rendered at high resolution and the words are recognised in your browser, then the same table detection runs on the result.

Each column is then given a type. Number columns understand currency symbols, thousands separators, minus signs, amounts in brackets such as (1,234.50) and CR/DR markers. Date columns understand formats like 01/31/2026, 31/01/2026, 2026-01-31, 05 Jan 2026 and Jan 5, 2026, and the tool works out whether the dates are day-first or month-first from the whole column. In the Excel file, numbers and dates are real values you can add up and sort, not text.

Tips for the best results

• Use the original PDF. A PDF downloaded from the system that produced it works far better than one that was printed and scanned.
• Check the preview first. Compare the row count and a column total with the PDF. Highlighted cells didn't match their column's type and were kept as text.
• Fix the column types if needed. An order number made only of digits may be detected as a number; switch it to Text to keep it exactly as written.
• Check the date order. If every date could be read either way (like 03/04/2026), confirm the Dates in this table setting.
• Several tables? The largest one is shown first; pick another from the list.

Your PDF stays on your device

The PDF is opened by your browser using the same PDF engine that's built into Firefox, running from this site. It isn't uploaded, stored or seen by anyone. When you close the tab, it's gone. That matters for statements, invoices and payroll reports, which are exactly the kind of documents people need tables from.

What doesn't work well yet

• Poor scans. Text recognition needs a clear, straight scan. Faint, skewed or low-resolution pages, handwriting and photos taken at an angle give poor results. OCR reads up to 30 pages, in English.
• Complex layouts. Merged cells, tables side by side, rotated pages and forms with boxes all over the page may not come out as a clean grid.
• Very small gaps between columns. If two columns almost touch, they can be read as one.

Converting a bank statement? The PDF bank statement converter is built specifically for transactions and can produce QuickBooks and Xero files too.

Frequently asked questions