How to Convert a PDF Table to Excel (Free)

To get a table out of a PDF and into Excel, open the Universal Document Converter, choose PDF to Office and then PDF to Excel (.xlsx), add the PDF, and click Convert. You get an .xlsx workbook with one sheet per PDF page, rows and columns rebuilt from the layout, and numbers stored as real numbers — so SUM, sorting and filtering work immediately.

Convert a PDF to Excel step by step

1. Open the Universal Document Converter.
2. Click PDF to Office, then PDF to Excel (.xlsx).
3. Add your PDF and click Convert.
4. Click Download to save the workbook, then open it in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers or LibreOffice.

What the converter does with your table

A PDF has no idea it contains a table — it only knows where each piece of text sits. The converter looks at those positions to rebuild the grid:

• Text at the same height becomes a row.
• Text that lines up vertically becomes a column, and a heading spanning several columns is placed over them.
• Values such as 1,250.00 or -42 become numbers, not text, so formulas work without cleaning.
• Each PDF page becomes its own sheet, which keeps long statements manageable.

Getting a clean result

Most tables convert cleanly; a few habits help with the rest:

• Convert only the pages you need. If the table is on pages 4–6 of a 30-page report, cut them out first with Split PDF. Fewer sheets, less tidying.
• Expect to tidy headers. Multi-line column headings may land on two rows; merge them in Excel by hand.
• Check totals. A quick SUM of a column against the total printed in the PDF tells you nothing was dropped.
• Watch dates. Excel may read 03/04/2026 as 3 April or 4 March depending on your region settings; check a few dates after converting.

Bank statements, invoices and price lists

These are the most common reasons to convert, and they usually work well because they're laid out as consistent tables. For a statement, combine the sheets afterwards by copying each page's rows under the first sheet, then sort or filter by date, payee or amount. For price lists, the numbers come through as numbers, so you can add a column for a discount or VAT straight away.

Scanned PDFs need OCR

If the PDF is a scan — a photographed receipt, a faxed price list — there's no text inside to convert, and the spreadsheet will be empty. Run PDF OCR to read the text first. OCR output is plain text, so for small tables it's often quickest to paste it into Excel and use Data › Text to Columns to split it into cells.

If you only need the numbers as text — to search or paste somewhere — PDF to Text is faster than a spreadsheet.

Other ways to get PDF tables into Excel

• Excel's own importer: recent Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows can import tables from a PDF via Data › Get Data › From File › From PDF. It's good for repeated, identical reports, but it isn't available in every edition.
• Copy and paste: selecting a table in a PDF viewer and pasting into Excel sometimes works for a handful of rows, but usually dumps everything into one column.

The converter is the quick option that works in any browser on any computer, with nothing installed and nothing uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

Is my financial document uploaded?

No. The conversion runs in your browser, so statements and invoices stay on your device.

Can it convert Excel back to PDF?

Yes — the same tool's Office to PDF side converts workbooks to PDF. See how to convert Excel to PDF without cutting off columns.

Why did a column split into two?

When a column's values don't line up precisely — some right-aligned, some centred — they can be read as two columns. Delete the empty cells and move the values together in Excel.