To convert a PDF to Excel on Windows without buying anything, start with Excel's Data > Get Data > From PDF if you have Microsoft 365. Without it, open the PDF in Word and copy the rebuilt table, copy text from Edge and split it, or use the Snipping Tool's text actions on a scanned page.
Which Windows PDF to Excel route do you already have?
A typical Windows PC has four tools that can move a PDF table into Excel: Excel itself, Word, the Edge browser and the Snipping Tool. Which ones work for you depends on your Office edition and on whether the PDF holds real text or a picture of text. Check both before you pick.
The first check is the file. Open the PDF and try to drag across one line of the table. If the words highlight, the PDF contains text and every route below can work. If nothing highlights, or the whole page highlights as one block, the page is an image, and only the Snipping Tool route reads it. If you are not sure the file can be converted at all, whether a PDF can be turned into an Excel file covers locked and signed files.
The second check is your Office edition. Open Excel, choose File, then Account, and read the product name under Product Information. "Microsoft 365" means a subscription. "Office 2019" or "Office 2016" means a one-time purchase, and that difference decides the first route.
The table compares the four routes. Treat it as a starting guide; your file may behave differently.
| Route | What you need | Keeps columns | Reads scans | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excel Get Data from PDF | Excel with Microsoft 365 | Usually | No | Multi-page tables, monthly refresh |
| Word PDF reflow | Desktop Word | Often | No | A few tables in a mostly text file |
| Copy from Edge | Edge, any Excel | No, needs splitting | No | One short table |
| Snipping Tool text actions | Windows 11 | No | Yes | A screenshot or scanned page |
None of these routes changes the PDF itself. Each one reads the page and rebuilds rows somewhere else. Why a PDF and a workbook are different kinds of file explains why that rebuild is always needed.
Excel's Get Data route on a Windows PC
Excel on Windows can import a PDF through Data > Get Data > From File > From PDF, but only in Microsoft 365. Microsoft's table of Power Query data sources in Excel versions marks the PDF connector as included for Microsoft 365 plans and leaves it blank for Office 2016 and 2019.
The same table notes that the connector requires .NET Framework 4.5 or later, a Windows component. Most up-to-date Windows PCs already have it. On a managed work PC you cannot add Windows components yourself, so if From PDF fails while other imports work, ask whoever manages the PC to confirm that .NET Framework is present.
When the option is there, it is usually the best of the built-in routes. It finds tables on each page, lets you pick the ones you want, and saves the import as a query you can refresh when next month's file arrives. The click sequence, with what to choose in the Navigator window, is in the Get Data from PDF import steps.
If the option is missing on Office 2016 or 2019, upgrading is one fix and a workaround is the other. Why Excel 2016 and 2019 have no From PDF import walks through how to confirm your build and the routes that still work on those versions.
A Windows-specific snag
Work PCs often run Microsoft 365 on a slower update channel set by IT. A colleague may see From PDF while you do not, on the same subscription. Before you blame the file, ask whoever manages your PC which update channel your Office uses.
Word's PDF reflow as a Windows stepping stone
Desktop Word on Windows can open a PDF directly and rebuild its content as an editable document, a feature Microsoft calls PDF reflow. Tables in the PDF often come back as Word tables. You then copy a table from Word and paste it into Excel, where each Word cell lands in its own Excel cell.
Microsoft's page on adding a PDF to an Office file says Word pulls content from the fixed-format PDF into a .docx file "while preserving as much of the layout information as it can," and lists tables among the content you can edit. The page names Word 2013 and 2016, so on a newer Word, confirm that you see the same conversion message.
The steps on a Windows PC:
- Right-click the PDF in File Explorer and choose Open with, then Word. Or open Word and use File, Open.
- Accept the message that Word will convert the PDF. Large files take a moment.
- Click inside a table. If the Table Design tab appears on the ribbon, Word rebuilt it as a real table.
- Select the table with the four-arrow handle at its top-left corner and press Ctrl+C.
- Click cell A1 in a blank Excel sheet and press Ctrl+V.
If step 3 shows no Table Design tab, Word placed the figures as text boxes or tab-separated lines. Pasting those into Excel gives one column of text that needs splitting.
Why reflow works better on some files
Reflow does well on reports and letters with a few tidy tables. It struggles with dense layouts, such as a statement with narrow columns and wrapped descriptions. Microsoft notes that conversion works best with PDFs that are mostly text.
Copying PDF text from the Edge browser into Excel
Edge is the default PDF viewer on most Windows PCs, so double-clicking a PDF often opens it there. You can select table text in Edge, copy it and paste it into Excel. The paste usually puts each printed line into one cell, so the columns have to be split afterwards with Text to Columns.
This route needs nothing beyond what ships with Windows and any version of Excel. It is the quickest choice for a short table on one page.
Here is a worked example with invented values. Copying three lines from a price table in Edge and pasting them into A1 gives:
| Cell | Pasted content |
|---|---|
| A1 | Code Item Unit Price |
| A2 | 10-442 Hex bolt M8 box 12.40 |
| A3 | 10-451 Hex bolt M10 box 15.75 |
Choose Data, Text to Columns, Delimited, and tick Space. The code and price separate cleanly, but "Hex bolt M8" splits into three cells. Two common fixes are to split by a fixed width instead, or to rejoin the middle cells with a formula. Splitting fixed-width text into Excel columns shows the fixed-width approach, which suits text whose columns line up by position.
Edge sometimes copies a table column by column instead of row by row, depending on how the PDF was made. If the pasted list shows all codes first and then all prices, stop and use the Word route instead.
Can the Snipping Tool read a scanned PDF page on Windows?
When a PDF page is a picture, the Snipping Tool in Windows 11 can read the text in it. Microsoft's guide to capturing screenshots with Snipping Tool describes a Text actions button that runs optical character recognition on a snip, so you can copy some or all of its text.
The same guide says "all text recognition processes are performed locally on your device," which matters for a page with account numbers. Its Windows 10 sections do not mention Text actions, so expect this route on Windows 11.
The steps:
- Open the scanned PDF and zoom until the table fills the screen.
- Press Windows+Shift+S and drag a box around the table.
- Open the snip in the Snipping Tool and select Text actions.
- Choose Copy all text, then paste into Excel.
The paste arrives as lines of text, not columns, just like the Edge route. Split it the same way. Then check the numbers, because recognition can misread a 5 as a 6 or drop a decimal point. Add up the amount column and compare the sum with the total printed on the page.
When the built-in Windows routes are the wrong choice
The built-in routes suit a few pages. They become the wrong choice when the file is long, when you get the same kind of PDF every month without Microsoft 365, or when the PDF is a bank statement whose running balance has to tie out. Then the splitting and checking cost more time than they save.
Signs you have outgrown the free routes:
- You repeat the same Text to Columns fixes every month.
- A ten-page file means ten snips and ten pastes.
- Totals in Excel do not match the PDF and you cannot find the missing row.
- Rows from page breaks and repeated headers need deleting by hand each time.
For bank statements in particular, a dedicated converter can check the arithmetic for you. FastBankConvert is getting ready to open for that: a statement PDF in, Excel or CSV rows out, with a warning before download if the balances do not add up. Get started leaves your email for when trial conversions open.