Bank statements, invoices, price lists and financial reports usually arrive as PDFs, but the work happens in a spreadsheet. Copying a table out of a PDF by hand tends to paste everything into one column, or turns amounts into text that Excel refuses to add up. The S-PDF PDF to Excel converter finds the tables for you and writes them into an .xlsx workbook, cell by cell.
It recognises both kinds of table you meet in PDFs: ruled tables drawn with lines, and tables that are only lined up by spacing, which is how many statements and system exports are laid out. Amounts are turned into real numbers, so a column of figures can go straight into a SUM, a filter or a pivot table without any cleanup.
How to convert PDF to Excel in 3 steps
- Add your PDF Upload the statement, invoice or report by dragging it onto the page or browsing for it. Scanned statements need OCR PDF first, because a scan holds pictures, not numbers.
- Convert to Excel Start the conversion. Each PDF page gets its own worksheet named Page 1, Page 2 and so on, with the tables found on that page.
- Download the workbook Download the
.xlsxfile and open it in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers or LibreOffice Calc. Several PDFs arrive as one ZIP, and each workbook can also be downloaded on its own.
Why use S-PDF for PDF to Excel
- Finds both table typesTables drawn with ruled lines and tables aligned only by spacing are both detected.
- Real numbersValues are stored as numbers rather than text, so formulas, sorting and charts work straight away.
- Number formats understoodThousands separators, percentages, currency symbols and negatives in parentheses are all read correctly.
- One sheet per pageEach PDF page lands on its own worksheet, so it is easy to compare the workbook with the original.
- Ready to readThe first row of each table is bold with a light-blue fill, and column widths are sized to fit the content.
- Text pages split tooPages without a table are still split into columns wherever the text has wide gaps.
How numbers are converted
A number in a PDF is just a row of characters. Pasted into a spreadsheet, values like (1,250.00) or € 89 usually stay as text, and every formula that touches them breaks. The converter reads the common ways numbers are written and stores the value itself:
| In the PDF | Stored in Excel as |
|---|---|
12,480 | The number 12480 (thousands separator removed) |
7.5% | A percentage you can multiply with |
$1,299.00 | The number 1299, without the currency symbol in the way |
(350.00) | The negative number −350, as accountants write it |
Text such as names, descriptions and reference codes stays as text. It is still worth a quick check of dates and IDs with leading zeros, such as account numbers, after converting, and setting the cell format you want for them.
What the workbook looks like
Every page of the PDF becomes one worksheet, so a 12-page statement gives you sheets named Page 1 to Page 12. On each sheet, the first row of every table is bold with a light-blue fill, so headers stand out, and columns are widened to fit their contents. When a page has no table at all, such as a cover page or a notes page, its lines are still split into columns wherever there are wide gaps, which keeps label-and-value layouts like Invoice number … 2026-114 in separate cells.
If a table runs across several pages, you'll find each part on its own sheet. Copy the rows from the later sheets under the first one to combine them into a single list for filtering or a pivot table.
Getting the cleanest result
- Use the digital original. A PDF downloaded from online banking or exported from accounting software converts far better than a printout that was scanned back in.
- Scans need OCR. If you can't highlight the numbers in your PDF, it is an image. Run OCR PDF first, then convert the result, and double-check figures afterwards, because OCR can misread a digit.
- Convert only the pages with data. Use Extract pages to keep just the table pages of a long annual report.
- Going the other way? To share a finished spreadsheet as a fixed document, use Excel to PDF.
Complex layouts, such as tables with many merged cells or several small tables side by side, may need a little tidying in Excel after conversion.
Frequently asked questions
Is the PDF to Excel converter free?
Yes. Convert up to 10 files and 50 MB per task, 5 tasks a day, with no signup and no watermark. Pro ($5 a month or $50 a year) allows 50 files and 500 MB per task, unlimited tasks under fair use, and no ads.
Can I do calculations with the converted numbers?
Yes. Amounts are stored as real numbers, including values written with thousands separators, percentages, currency symbols or negatives in parentheses, so SUM, sorting, filters and pivot tables work right away.
Does it work with tables that have no lines?
Yes. Besides ruled tables, the converter detects tables whose columns are aligned only by spacing, which is common in bank statements and reports exported from business software.
Why does my workbook have one sheet per page?
Each PDF page is written to its own worksheet named Page 1, Page 2 and so on, which makes it easy to check the result against the original. Copy rows between sheets to combine a table that spans several pages.
Can I convert a scanned bank statement to Excel?
Not directly, because a scan contains a picture of the numbers rather than the numbers themselves. Run it through OCR PDF first, convert the result, and check the figures, since OCR can misread a character.
Does it open in Google Sheets?
Yes. The XLSX file opens in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers and LibreOffice Calc. For Google Sheets, upload it to Drive and open it with Sheets.
Can I convert a batch of statements in one go?
Yes. Upload up to 10 PDFs per task for free or 50 with Pro. Every PDF gets its own XLSX workbook, and the results come as one ZIP or as separate downloads.
Are my financial documents kept private?
Files are uploaded over HTTPS, stored where the web cannot reach them, never shared or used for anything else, and deleted automatically one hour after your last action. Delete my files now removes them immediately.
Last updated by The S-PDF team.