Convert PDF to PNG Portable Document Format ↔ Portable Network Graphics Free Online Secure
Every page of your PDF is drawn here in your browser and saved as a PNG, at the resolution you pick. PNG keeps every pixel exactly as it was drawn, which is what a page of text, a diagram or a table needs. Nothing is uploaded.
Convert your file
Drop a PDF here, or choose one.
Your file never leaves this device. Everything runs in your browser.
Nothing uploaded
Why this direction is the hard one
PDF was designed as a one-way street. It does not record that a document has paragraphs, headings, tables or columns; it records that a particular glyph sits at a particular point on the page, in a particular font, and that a line runs from here to there. That is exactly what makes it reliable — nothing is left for the other machine to interpret — and exactly what makes coming back out of it difficult. A converter has to reconstruct meaning that was deliberately thrown away: deciding which lines belong to one paragraph, which runs of text form a table, where a column ends. Going into PDF is a recording; coming out of it is a reading, and readings can differ.
Where you need it
The moment you need to change something you only have as a finished document: a contract to amend, a report whose table you want in a spreadsheet, a deck to reuse, an invoice whose figures must go into the accounts, a page you want as an image for a slide. It is also the usual route when the person who holds the editable original cannot be reached, or when the original was made in software you no longer have.
Questions people ask
Why doesn't the result look exactly like the PDF?
Because the layout had to be rebuilt rather than copied. Text in a PDF has a position but no structure, so the converter infers paragraphs, columns and tables from where things sit — and inference is sometimes wrong. Documents with a single column of plain text come back almost perfectly; multi-column layouts, text wrapped around images, and complex tables are where the guessing shows. Expect to tidy the result rather than to use it untouched.
I converted a scanned PDF and got no text at all. Why?
Because a scanned page contains a photograph of text, not text. To the file there is no difference between a page of writing and a picture of a brick wall — both are just pixels. Extracting words from it needs optical character recognition, which is a separate process that looks at the shapes and guesses the letters. Converting such a PDF to a document gives you the image placed in a document, which is usually not what was wanted.
Does the file lose quality?
It depends on what the two formats can hold. Converting between formats that store the same thing — a PNG to a BMP, a WAV to a FLAC — loses nothing. Converting into a format that throws information away to save space, such as JPEG or MP3, loses a little every time, and converting back does not bring it back. Where a choice exists, this page errs towards keeping the original quality rather than making the smallest file.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion happens inside your browser, on your own machine; the file never leaves it and there is no server here that could receive it. That is why a large file is limited by your own memory rather than by an upload, and why nothing you convert can appear in anybody's logs — including ours. The audio and video tools do fetch their conversion engine from this site the first time you use them, some thirty megabytes once; after that the work still happens entirely on your machine.
Why people convert PDF to PNG
A PDF is a document. A PNG is a picture. Most of the time we are happy to keep a document as a document, but there are plenty of moments when we need a page as an image: to put a diagram into a presentation, to show a table on a website, to attach one page to a message that does not accept PDFs, to post a certificate or a menu where only pictures are allowed, or to keep a crisp copy of a page that must not be edited by accident. In each of these cases the question is the same: how do I convert PDF to PNG without losing the sharpness of the page?
PNG is a good answer for a particular reason. It keeps every pixel exactly as it was drawn. There is no softening and no blocky noise around letters, which is what you get with other picture formats when they compress a page of text. A page of small type, a diagram with thin lines or a table with fine borders comes out of PNG as sharp as the resolution you choose allows. That is why PNG is the natural picture format for documents.
This page converts PDF to PNG in your browser. Every page of your PDF is drawn here and saved as a PNG, at the resolution you pick, and nothing is uploaded to a server. That matters for contracts, invoices, identity papers and anything else you would rather not hand to a stranger's machine. Below you will find how the conversion works, what is kept, what is lost and how to choose the best settings.
How the conversion works
Every page is drawn in your browser
Your PDF is opened inside your browser, and each page is drawn onto a canvas, the same way it would be drawn on screen. The drawing is then saved as a PNG file. No server is involved, so there is nothing to wait for and nothing to delete afterwards. If your PDF has ten pages, you receive ten pictures, one for each page, in order.
You pick the resolution
Resolution decides how many pixels the picture of each page contains. A low resolution gives a small file that is fine for a thumbnail or a quick look. A medium one is good for reading on a screen. A high one is for printing, for zooming into small details or for pages with fine type. The higher you go, the larger the picture and the longer the conversion takes.
A simple rule of thumb
For a picture that will be viewed on a screen, a medium setting is usually enough. For a page that will be printed or zoomed into, go higher. If you are unsure, convert one page at two settings and compare them before you convert the whole document.
What is kept
Every pixel exactly as it was drawn
PNG keeps every pixel exactly as it was drawn, at the resolution you choose. Nothing is guessed and nothing is approximated. A diagram, a table or a page of small type comes out as sharp as the number you pick allows. That is the difference between PNG and the formats that compress with loss, where letters get a faint haze around them.
The look of the page
The page looks in the picture as it looks on screen: the same fonts, colours, images and layout. If the PDF was designed carefully, the PNG is a faithful photograph of it. That is the strength of converting to an image: whatever the PDF shows, the picture shows.
What you should know before you convert PDF to PNG
Text stops being text
When you convert PDF to PNG, the text on the page becomes part of the picture. It cannot be selected, searched or copied afterwards. That is not a shortcoming of the conversion; it is simply what a picture of a page means. If you need the words, keep the PDF, or convert it to a format that holds text, such as PDF to DOCX.
Scanned pages with photographs
A scanned page full of photographs comes out several times larger than the same page as JPEG, which is the trade PNG makes. PNG does not throw detail away, and photographs contain a great deal of it. If file size matters more to you than perfect fidelity, PDF to JPG gives smaller pictures.
Large pages at high resolution
Everything runs on your own device, so a very large page at a very high resolution needs a lot of memory. A phone may struggle with a big poster at maximum settings. If it does, lower the resolution or try on a computer.
How to convert PDF to PNG here
Add your PDF
Drop the PDF onto the page or pick it from your device. It is opened inside your browser and is not uploaded.
Choose the resolution
Pick the resolution that fits your purpose, lower for a quick look and higher for print or fine detail.
Convert and download
Press the button and wait until the pages are drawn. Download the pictures and open a few of them. Check the first page, a page in the middle and the last, and zoom in on small type to make sure it is sharp enough for your purpose.
A closer look at PDF and PNG
What a PDF really is
A PDF is a set of instructions for drawing a page: put this letter here, draw this line there, place this picture in that corner. A PDF reader follows the instructions and shows the page. This is why a PDF looks the same on every screen, and it is also why the text can be copied: the letters are still letters, with positions. A PNG, in contrast, is a grid of coloured dots. Once the page has been turned into dots, the instructions are gone.
Why PNG suits documents
PNG compresses without loss. It is particularly good at flat colours, sharp edges and text, which is exactly what most documents consist of. For photographs it is less efficient, since they contain millions of subtly different colours. A page that mixes text and a photograph comes out larger as PNG than as JPG, and the difference may be considerable.
Transparency
PNG can hold transparent areas, but a PDF page is normally drawn on white, so the pictures you get here have a white background, as a printed page would.
Common situations in detail
Diagrams and charts for presentations
A chart in a PDF report can be dropped into a slide as a picture. Convert PDF to PNG at a good resolution, crop the chart in your presentation program and place it where you want. The sharp lines will stay sharp when projected.
Showing a page on a website or in a message
Many websites, forums and chat programs accept pictures and refuse documents. A PNG of the page is the simple way around. For a long document, send only the pages that matter, which you can pick out with extract pages from PDF before you convert.
Protecting a page from casual editing
A picture is harder to change than a PDF. A certificate or a price list as a PNG cannot be edited with a text tool, though it is not a security measure and a determined person can still redraw it.
Thumbnails and previews
A low-resolution PNG of the first page makes a good preview for a catalogue or a document library. Convert at a modest setting, and the pictures stay small.
Archiving a page as it looked
Sometimes you want a record of how a page looked on a given day: a form, a receipt, a timetable. A PNG keeps the appearance faithfully, independent of fonts or software that may change.
Questions people ask before converting
Can I select the text in the PNG?
No. Text becomes part of the picture. If you need the words, keep the PDF.
Why is the PNG so large?
Because PNG stores every pixel in full. A scanned page with photographs is much larger as PNG than as JPG. If size matters more than perfection, use JPG.
Which resolution should I choose?
A medium one for screens, a high one for print or for pages with very small type. When unsure, test one page at two settings.
Do I get one picture per page?
Yes. A ten-page PDF gives ten PNG pictures, in order.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser and the document never leaves your device.
Can I turn pictures back into a PDF?
Yes. PNG to PDF puts pictures into a PDF again.
Choosing wisely when you convert PDF to PNG
Convert only what you need
Before you convert PDF to PNG, think about which pages you actually want. A long document gives a long list of pictures, and there is no need to make fifty when you need three. Pick the pages first, with split PDF or by choosing only the ones you need.
Match the resolution to the purpose
Too low and the text is blurry; too high and the files are heavy for no reason. A screen needs far fewer pixels than a printer. Test and settle on a number you can reuse.
Mind the file size
If the pictures must be sent by e-mail or uploaded to a site with a limit, check their size after you convert PDF to PNG. If they are too large, lower the resolution, or run them through compress PNG to make them lighter.
Keep the PDF
The PDF holds the text and the structure. The PNG holds only the look. Keep the document as your master.
Getting the best pictures when you convert PDF to PNG
Think about where the picture will be shown
A picture shown on a phone screen needs far fewer pixels than one printed on paper. Before you convert PDF to PNG, think about the final place. A web page rarely benefits from anything wider than the width of the column it sits in, while a print on A4 paper looks good at a much higher setting. Matching the two avoids heavy files and blurry text alike.
Look at the size of the original page
Pages are not all the same size. A poster or a large drawing holds many more pixels at the same resolution than an ordinary letter page. If you convert PDF to PNG with a poster, start with a modest setting and increase it only when the details are not clear enough. This also keeps the browser comfortable.
Pages with a coloured background
Some PDFs have a tinted or dark background. The picture will reproduce it faithfully, which is usually what you want. If you plan to print the pages, bear in mind that a dark background uses a lot of ink, and consider whether you need the picture or the plain document.
Rotated pages
If a page appears on its side in the PDF, it will be on its side in the picture too. Turn it first with the rotate PDF tool, and then convert PDF to PNG, so that the pictures come out the right way up.
Name your files
The pictures come in page order, but file names such as page-1 and page-10 sort oddly in some programs. If you intend to use many pictures in sequence, rename them with numbers that have leading zeros, so that the order stays correct everywhere.
Check the edges
Some documents have thin lines or fine borders near the edge of the page. After you convert PDF to PNG, zoom to the edge and check that nothing important has been cut. If you will crop the picture afterwards, leave a margin for yourself.
Privacy and handling
Why local conversion matters for documents
PDF files often hold what is private: contracts, invoices, medical results, identity papers, bank statements. Many online converters ask you to upload the file to a server, process it and return the result, and for a while a copy lives on a machine you do not control. Here, your own browser does the work, so the document stays on your device. There is nothing to delete afterwards and no account to create.
What happens when you leave
When you close the page, the pictures disappear from the browser, so download them first. Nothing about your document is kept.
If something goes wrong
The page freezes with a large document
Everything runs on your device, and a long document at a high resolution needs a lot of memory. Try again with a lower resolution, with fewer pages at a time, or on a computer.
The text in the picture looks soft
The resolution was too low for the size of the type. Convert again at a higher setting.
The PDF is password protected
A protected document must be opened with its password first. Without it, the pages cannot be drawn.
The pictures are enormous
That is how PNG behaves with photographs. Lower the resolution, or choose JPG when the pages are mostly photographs.
Related tools
The same family of tools covers the neighbouring jobs. For smaller pictures of the pages, use PDF to JPG. To turn a picture back into a PDF, PNG to PDF and JPG to PDF are at hand. For editable text rather than pictures, PDF to DOCX reads the words from a PDF. To change the picture format afterwards, PNG to JPG and PNG to WebP make lighter files, and compress PNG trims the weight without changing the look.
A worked example
Say you have a PDF report of twelve pages, and you need the chart from page seven for a slide. You drop the report here, choose a medium-high resolution and press the button. A short while later you download twelve PNG pictures. You open the seventh, crop the chart in your presentation program and place it on the slide. The lines are crisp and the labels are readable. The PDF stays in your folder as the master.
A short checklist
Before converting
Decide which pages you need. Decide on the resolution. Keep the PDF safe.
While converting
Stay on the page until the pictures are ready. Do not start other heavy tasks on a phone.
After converting
Download the pictures, zoom in on small type to check the sharpness and name the files so that you can tell them apart.
Common mistakes
Expecting selectable text
Do not convert PDF to PNG if you need to copy words from the result. The text is part of the picture.
Choosing an extreme resolution
Very high settings produce huge files without any visible benefit on screen.
Deleting the PDF
Keep the PDF. It holds the text, the structure and the original quality.
Your document stays on your device
The conversion happens locally. Your PDF is read by your own browser, drawn there and handed back as pictures. Nothing is uploaded, so no copy ends up on a server and nobody else can read it. For documents with private content, that is the safe way to convert PDF to PNG.
Summary
To convert PDF to PNG here, drop the document, choose a resolution and press the button. Every page of your PDF is drawn in your browser and saved as a PNG. PNG keeps every pixel exactly as it was drawn, which is what a page of text, a diagram or a table needs, and a page of small type comes out as sharp as the resolution you pick allows. Text stops being text, because it becomes part of the picture and can no longer be selected, searched or copied. A scanned page full of photographs comes out several times larger than the same page as JPEG. Nothing leaves your device.