How to convert a PDF to CSV
- Upload the PDF in the box above.
- Click Extract. The converter looks for tables on every page.
- Click Export to CSV. The CSV file downloads to your computer.
Ordinary tables convert at no cost and with no account. Uploaded files are deleted automatically after a short time.
What you get in the CSV file
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Encoding | UTF-8 |
| Column separator | Semicolon (;) |
| Quotes | Every value in double quotes |
| Several tables | One file, a --- Table N --- line between tables |
| First row | The table header as found in the PDF |
Semicolons keep values like 1,250.00 in one column. Most tools that import CSV let you choose the separator.
Opening the CSV
- Excel: Data > From Text/CSV, pick the file, set the delimiter to Semicolon, Load.
- Google Sheets: File > Import > Upload, separator type Detect automatically. More in how to convert a PDF to Google Sheets.
- Python or a database: read it with a semicolon delimiter, for example
pandas.read_csv(path, sep=";").
CSV or Excel?
Choose CSV for imports into apps, databases and scripts. Choose Excel when a person will read and edit the table: each table gets its own sheet and the columns are ready. Both come from the same extraction, so you can download both. See also extract table from PDF to Excel.
Questions and answers
How do I convert a PDF to CSV?+
Upload the PDF on this page, click Extract and then Export to CSV. The converter finds the tables in the PDF and writes their rows and columns to a CSV file.
What does the CSV file look like?+
It is a UTF-8 text file. Columns are separated by semicolons and every value is in quotes, so numbers with commas stay in one cell. If the PDF has several tables, they follow each other with a line like --- Table 2 --- between them.
Why does the CSV open in one column in Excel?+
Excel in the US expects commas. Open the file through Data > From Text/CSV and pick Semicolon as the delimiter, or use Export to Excel instead, which gives you an .xlsx file with ready columns.
Can I convert a scanned PDF to CSV?+
Yes. When the PDF is a scan, the converter runs text recognition (OCR) first. For hard scans, deep extraction reads the page like a person does; you see one page of the result before you pay.
Does the converter keep text outside of tables?+
No. It exports only table data: rows and columns. Headings and paragraphs around the table are left out, which is usually what you want in a CSV.