# Convert PDF tables to an Excel spreadsheet

Source: https://www.mergevanta.com/pdf-to-excel
Updated: 2026-10-22

> Convert PDF to Excel online free. Extract PDF tables into editable XLSX sheets with real numbers, merged cells and headers. No watermark and no sign-up needed.

Pull the tables out of a PDF into a real .xlsx workbook — numbers become numbers you can sum, merged header cells are kept, and every table can get its own sheet. Free, with no sign-up and no watermark.

## How do I convert a PDF table to Excel for free?

Add the PDF to Mergevanta's PDF to Excel tool, choose One sheet per table, One sheet per page or All on one sheet, and press Convert to Excel. Ruled tables become spreadsheet cells, values like 1,234.56 or (500) become real numbers, and you download an .xlsx free with no watermark.

## Key facts

- **Price:** Free
- **Watermark:** None
- **Sign-up:** Not required
- **Accepts:** .pdf
- **You get:** An editable .xlsx workbook
- **Processing:** Encrypted server for files up to 4 MB, your browser for larger ones
- **Files stored:** Never
- **Works on:** Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android

## Why use Mergevanta

- **Real numbers, not text:** Values like 1,234.56, (1,234), 12% and $5 become numbers with a matching format, so SUM, sorting and charts work straight away.
- **Tables keep their shape:** Ruled tables are read cell by cell, merged header cells stay merged, and the header row is bold and frozen.
- **Borderless pages handled:** Pages without table lines are split into rows and columns by the position of the text, so statements and lists still land in columns.
- **Private by design:** Files are encrypted end to end, processed in memory and never stored; large files are converted in your browser instead.

## How to use it

1. Press Choose PDF and pick the file, or drop it on the page. Enter its password if it has one.
2. Under Layout, choose One sheet per table, One sheet per page or All on one sheet.
3. Press Convert to Excel.
4. Press Download and open the .xlsx in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.

## Frequently asked questions

### Where is my PDF processed?

PDFs up to 4 MB are processed on Mergevanta's server, encrypted end to end and deleted as soon as the workbook is sent back. Larger PDFs are converted in your browser, which reads the text by position but doesn't detect ruled tables or merged cells.

### Does it work on scanned PDFs?

Scanned pages are pictures with no text to read. Run [OCR PDF](https://www.mergevanta.com/ocr-pdf) on the file first, then convert the result to Excel. The result lists any pages that look scanned.

### Will the numbers work in formulas?

Yes. Thousands separators, decimals, negatives in brackets, percentages, currency symbols and ISO dates are stored as real values. Codes with leading zeros, like 00123, stay as text so nothing is lost.

### What if a page has no table lines?

Its text is split into rows by line and into columns by the gaps between words, lined up across the page. The result says which pages were handled this way, so you can check them.

### Can I convert a password-protected PDF?

Yes. Enter the password when asked; it's used only to open the file for this conversion.

### Does it work on my phone?

Yes. It runs in any modern browser on iPhone, iPad and Android, with no app to install.

## Related tools

- [Excel to PDF](https://www.mergevanta.com/excel-to-pdf)
- [Merge Excel](https://www.mergevanta.com/merge-excel)
- [OCR PDF](https://www.mergevanta.com/ocr-pdf)