How to convert PDF to Word and Excel for free

A text PDF converts almost without errors; a scan has to be recognised. What to expect from each, when to choose Word or Excel, and how to check the result.

BOMBA DESIGN editorialNovember 13, 202610 min read

A PDF document converted to editable text in the BOMBA DESIGN tool — **PDF to Word and Excel:** the original on the left, the editable result on the right.

PDF was created so that a document looks the same on any device. That is exactly why it is so awkward to edit. To change contract terms, update a price list or add up totals, you need the document in Word or Excel.

There are two kinds of PDF, and the result depends on which one you have. In a text PDF the letters can be selected with the mouse – such a file converts accurately. A scan or a photo of a document is a picture, and the text has to be recognised from it.

Key points

A text PDF is carried over almost without errors: paragraphs, headings, tables.
Scans are recognised, but the result must be proofread – numbers and surnames above all.
A converter that runs in the browser does not send the document to a server – important for contracts and invoices.

How-toHow to convert PDF to Word or Excel: 4 steps

Open the converterGo to the PDF to Word and Excel tool. No sign-up is needed.
Upload the PDFUp to 40 MB and up to 60 pages. If it is a scan, leave “Recognise scans” switched on.
Check and correctThe original is shown on the left, the result on the right. Click a paragraph or a cell to fix it. Doubtful places are highlighted in yellow.
Download the fileWord for text, Excel for tables, TXT if you only need the text.

ResultWhat is carried over and what is not

Element	Word	Excel
Text and paragraphs	Yes	Yes, row by row
Headings, bold type	Yes	Bold
Tables	Yes	Yes, numbers as numbers
Pictures and logos	No	No
Columns, headers and footers	No	No
Formulas	–	No, values only

In Excel each PDF page becomes a separate sheet. Amounts such as “7 900.50” are written as numbers, so you can add them up at once. Codes with leading zeros and phone numbers stay as text so the zeros do not disappear.

ScansHow to get a good result from a scan

Scan straight and at 300 dpi. Skewed or small text is recognised worse.

Avoid shadows and folds. A phone photo of a document will do if the sheet lies flat and is lit without the shadow of your hand.

Proofread the numbers. The most common errors are mixing up 0 and O, 1 and l, 5 and S. The tool highlights the places it is not sure about.

If you only need a table from a Word file rather than a PDF, use the Word to Excel tables tool.

HonestlyThe tool extracts the text. Designing the document is a separate job

The converter carries over the content: text, headings and tables. It will not make the document look good. If a commercial proposal, price list or letterhead has to look on-brand, you need a template in your brand style – with the company logo, fonts and colours. We design such templates to order: print and document design.

A recognised document is a draft. Before sending it to a client or to accounting, compare the amounts, dates and company details with the original.

CheckHow to tell a text PDF from a scan

Open the file and try to select one word with the mouse, or press Ctrl + F and search for a word that is definitely on the page.

If the word is selected and found, it is a text PDF: it was created from Word, Excel, accounting software or online banking. The conversion will be accurate.

If the whole page is selected at once or the search finds nothing, it is a scan or a photo. The text will have to be recognised, and the result depends on the image quality.

There is a mixed case too: a contract was printed, signed, scanned and saved as PDF. Such a file is also a scan, even if it started out as text.

ChoiceWhen you need Word and when Excel

Document	Convert to	Why
Contract, addendum	Word	Paragraphs and clause numbering matter
Commercial proposal	Word	Text with small tables
Price list	Excel	Prices can be sorted and recalculated
Invoice, delivery note	Excel	Amounts become numbers straight away
Bank statement	Excel	Filters by date, amount, counterparty
CV, letter	Word	Continuous text
Report with tables	Both	Text in Word, tables separately in Excel

The same PDF can be downloaded in both formats: Word first for the text, then Excel for the tables. There is no need to upload the file again.

ComparisonOther ways to convert PDF to Word

An honest word about the alternatives: sometimes they are more convenient.

Microsoft Word. Modern Word can open a PDF itself: “File” → “Open” → choose the PDF. It works well with simple text documents, worse with scans and complex tables. A licence is required.

Google Drive. Upload the PDF to Drive, right-click → “Open with” → “Google Docs”. It recognises scans too. The downside: the document goes to the cloud, and table formatting is often lost.

Paid online converters. They preserve the layout more precisely but usually limit the number of free files per day and process the document on their server.

The BOMBA DESIGN tool. Free, no sign-up and no limit on the number of files; the document does not leave your computer; the result can be corrected before downloading. It does not carry over pictures or complex layout.

After convertingTypical problems and how to fix them

Lines are broken mid-sentence. In a PDF every line is stored separately. The tool joins them into paragraphs, but in documents with an unusual layout some will have to be joined by hand.

The table has “shifted”. It happens when the cells in the PDF had no borders or held several lines of text. Check the table header and the last row with the total.

Numbers do not add up in Excel. If a cell is aligned left, it is text. The most common cause: a stray letter or space inside the number after a scan was recognised.

Dates turned into numbers or the other way round. Select the column and set the cell format to “Date”.

Strange symbols instead of letters. This happens with PDFs in which the font is embedded in a non-standard way. Ask the sender to save the PDF again from the source program.