How to Convert PDF to Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide

Working with data often means handling PDF files, which can be tricky when you need to extract tables or numbers into a spreadsheet. If you’ve ever wondered how to convert PDF to Excel, you’re not alone — it’s one of the most common file conversion needs for business users, analysts, students, and many others.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through simple and effective methods to convert your PDFs into Excel spreadsheets, so you can edit, analyze, and organize your data with ease.

Why Convert PDF to Excel?

PDFs are great for sharing fixed-format documents, but they’re not designed for editing. If you receive a PDF report full of tables, you can’t easily work with the data in Excel unless you convert it. By converting a PDF to Excel, you can:

✅ Edit numbers and formulas
✅ Sort and filter data
✅ Create charts and reports
✅ Combine data with other Excel sheets

Method 1: Use Adobe Acrobat

If you have access to Adobe Acrobat (the paid version, not just Acrobat Reader), it offers a built-in PDF-to-Excel conversion tool.

Steps:

Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
Click Export PDF on the right panel.
Select Spreadsheet → Microsoft Excel Workbook.
Click Export and choose where to save your Excel file.

✔ Pros: High-quality conversion, preserves formatting.
✖ Cons: Requires a paid subscription.

Method 2: Use Online PDF to Excel Converters

There are many free online tools that convert PDFs to Excel without needing software installation. Popular options include:

Smallpdf (smallpdf.com)
ILovePDF (ilovepdf.com)
PDFtoExcel (pdftoexcel.com)

Steps:

Go to one of these websites.
Upload your PDF file.
Click Convert to Excel.
Download the converted Excel file.

✔ Pros: Fast, free, no installation needed.
✖ Cons: May have file size limits; sensitive data risk if uploading to online services.

Method 3: Use Microsoft Excel (Built-in)

Surprisingly, Excel itself can open some PDFs directly (especially if they’re table-heavy).

Steps:

Open Excel.
Go to File → Open → Select your PDF file.
Excel will try to import the tables.
Review and clean up the data as needed.

✔ Pros: No extra tools needed.
✖ Cons: Doesn’t work well with complex PDFs.

Method 4: Use Dedicated PDF Conversion Software

If you frequently work with PDFs, you might consider dedicated software like:

Able2Extract
Nitro PDF
Wondershare PDFElement

These offer batch conversions, advanced formatting controls, and better handling of complex documents.

Tips for Better Results

Check your PDF quality: Scanned PDFs (images) often need OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to extract data.
Review after conversion: Always double-check for errors or misaligned columns.
Use Excel’s cleanup tools: Features like Text to Columns, Remove Duplicates, and Power Query can help tidy up messy imports.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to convert PDF to Excel can save you hours of manual work. Whether you use Adobe, online tools, or Excel itself, you now have several easy methods at your fingertips.

If you work with sensitive or confidential data, be cautious when using online converters — a desktop tool might be a safer choice.