Convert between PDF and Word, Excel or PowerPoint
Open the matching tool (for example PDF to Word or Word to PDF), upload the file, set the options and click Convert. Office conversions run on our servers and each one counts toward your monthly Office & advanced conversions.
Updated 2 min read Counts toward office & advanced conversions, ocr pages
Not sure which tool? Convert PDF takes any file and shows only the conversions that fit it, under From PDF and To PDF.
PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint
Step 1: Upload the PDF
Open the tool for the format you want and drop the PDF. Password-protected files ask for the password first.
Step 2: Set the options
Excel: choose a Sheet layout (One sheet per table, One sheet per page or Everything on one sheet). PowerPoint: Editable text boxes adds real text boxes over each slide's page image; off makes each slide an exact picture.
Step 3: Decide on OCR for scans
Under Recognize text in scans (OCR), choose Off, Auto (only pages without a usable text layer) or On (all pages), and pick the languages. OCR pages are counted on top of the conversion.
Step 4: Convert and download
Click Convert to Word, Convert to Excel or Convert to PowerPoint. Large files are converted in parts; keep the tab open.
| Output | What comes out editable | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Word | Paragraphs, tables and images | Multi-column layouts and text boxes are approximated; headers and footers become body text. |
| Excel | Detected tables become cells; numbers stay numbers | Text outside tables is left out. Scanned tables need OCR. |
| PowerPoint | One slide per page | Without editable text boxes, slides are pictures of the pages. |
Word, Excel or PowerPoint to PDF
Step 1: Upload the Office file
Word accepts DOC, DOCX, ODT and RTF; Excel accepts XLS, XLSX and CSV; PowerPoint accepts PPT and PPTX.
Step 2: Set spreadsheet options
For an XLSX, choose Sheets to include, Scaling (As in workbook, Fit columns to width or Each sheet on one page) and Orientation.
Step 3: Click Convert to PDF
Download the PDF, or click Open in the editor to keep working on it.
Fonts we don't have are replaced with similar ones, which can shift line and page breaks. Files that need a password to open, and documents with macros, aren't converted; macros never run.
| Feature | No account | Free | Pro | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office & advanced conversions | 2 | 10 | 500 | 2,000 |
Can I convert a document I edited in PDFBetter?
Yes. In the editor, Done → Other formats… lists the formats. Download the edited PDF first, then convert it.
Do form fields and comments convert to Word?
No. Form fields, comments, signatures and other annotations aren't turned into Word equivalents.
Why did my Excel file come out empty?
The PDF is probably a scan. Turn on OCR (Auto or On) so the tables have text to read.
Tools in this article
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