How To Copy Table From PDF to Excel?

Copying tables from a PDF into Excel can feel frustrating when formatting breaks or numbers scatter into the wrong columns. With the right approach, you can move data across quickly and still keep it usable for sorting, formulas, and analysis.

Below you’ll find a quick summary of the process, our recommended automated method, manual options for more control, pro tips, and a detailed FAQ with common fixes.

Manual option:

1. Open the PDF in a reader.

2. Select the table with your cursor.

3. Copy and paste into Excel.

4. Use “Text to Columns,” alignment, and formatting tools to tidy up.

Our PDF to Excel converter is the fastest way to copy tables from PDF to Excel without manually rebuilding them.

1. Upload Your PDF

Go to our PDF to Excel.

You can:

• Drag and drop your PDF into the upload area, or

• Click “Choose File” and select it from your device, or

• Import from Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive.

We support both native PDFs and scanned documents.

If your file is too large, we have a solution for it as well, just upload to our Compress PDF tool, and continue converting your shrunk file.

2. Enable OCR for Scanned PDFs (Pro)

If your PDF is a scan or image-based:

• Enable “OCR (Optical Character Recognition).”

• OCR detects text in images, reads your table, and converts it into real cells.

This works well for scanned invoices, statements, and printed reports.

3. Convert and Download

Once processing finishes, click “Download” to get your XLSX file. You can open it in:

• Microsoft Excel

• Google Sheets

• LibreOffice Calc

• Most modern spreadsheet apps

From here, you can filter, sort, build formulas, or merge the data into an existing workbook.

Sometimes you may want a manual approach for a small table or quick copy.

Method 1: Copy and Paste from a Selectable PDF

This works best when the PDF is not scanned, and the text is selectable.

1. Open your PDF in a reader such as Smallpdf PDF Reader or your browser.

2. Use the “text selection tool” to highlight the table.

3. Right-click and select “Copy.”

4. Open Excel and select the cell where you want the table to start.

5. Paste the content (Ctrl+V or Command+V).

If the data lands in one column, try:

• “Data” > “Text to Columns” in Excel

• Use “Delimited,” then choose “Tabs” or “Spaces” as needed

You may need to adjust column widths and header formatting, but this method is fine for smaller tables.

Method 2: Export Table via PDF Viewer Tools

Some desktop PDF tools let you export a PDF page or table directly to Excel or CSV.

1. In your PDF viewer, look for “Export” or “Save As” options.

2. Choose “Spreadsheet” or “Excel” if available.

3. Save and open the exported file in Excel.

Results vary depending on the viewer. If the export is messy or incomplete, switching to the Smallpdf PDF to Excel converter usually improves accuracy.

Manual copying is fine for small tables, but it breaks down with:

• Long statements

• Multi-page reports

• Complex column layouts

• Scanned or image-based PDFs

Smallpdf helps you:

• Keep the table layout and structure as close as possible to the original

• Handle big files without manually copying each section

• Process multiple PDFs at once with “batch conversion (Pro)”

• Convert scanned PDFs using “OCR” instead of retyping

On top of that, your files are processed with:

• TLS encryption during transfer

• Automatic deletion after one hour of processing

• ISO 27001 and GDPR compliance standards

You get the speed of an online platform with a strong security baseline.

To get the best results when copying tables from PDF to Excel, keep these in mind:

• Use clear tables: PDFs with visible row and column structure convert more cleanly than loosely formatted text.

• Compress large PDFs first: Use Compress PDF to shrink very large files for faster upload and processing.

• Split long multi-page PDFs: With Split PDF, you can extract specific pages that contain the tables you need.

• Check your Excel output: After conversion, scan for misaligned headers, merged cells, or formatting quirks, and clean them up once.

• Standardize formatting after import: Apply a consistent table style, adjust column widths, and format numbers as currency, dates, or percentages as needed.

Here are a few ways users rely on this process:

• Accounting and finance: Turn PDF statements into Excel for reconciliation, cash flow tracking, or forecasting.

• Operations and inventory: Extract product lists, stock counts, or supplier price sheets into spreadsheets.

• Research and surveys: Move tabular data from PDF reports into Excel for sorting, filtering, and charting.

• Project reporting: Copy status tables or resource lists from PDF reports into Excel dashboards.

Instead of retyping, you convert once, clean the layout, and reuse the data across multiple reports.

Unlock unlimited conversions, OCR for scanned documents, and batch processing with Smallpdf Pro. 

Smallpdf tools are trusted by millions of users globally, making document management simple, secure, and efficient.