PDF files are everywhere in the workplace, storing everything from invoices to reports. But working with the data inside them can be a challenge. PDFs are great for sharing information, but not for editing or analyzing it. To work with this data, especially in Excel, you need to extract it – and that’s often easier said than done.
Manually copying and pasting data from PDFs to Excel might work for a few documents. But when dealing with dozens or hundreds, this process becomes time-consuming, error-prone, and downright frustrating. That’s why finding smarter, automated solutions for extracting data is a game-changer.
In this guide, we’ll explore the most effective ways to extract data from PDF to Excel. We’ll cover manual methods, free tools, advanced techniques, and automation options – helping you find the right approach for your needs. By the end, you’ll understand how to save time, reduce errors, and streamline your workflow with intelligent data processing.
4 Easy Ways to Extract Data from PDF to Excel
There are many different ways to extract data from PDF to Excel, but these are the four most common ways to do so:
- Copy and paste
- PDF converters
- PDF table extraction tools
- Direct import in Excel
1. Copy and paste
The most basic method of extracting data from a PDF file to Excel is to simply copy and paste. This consists of opening the file, selecting the relevant text, and copying and pasting it into an Excel sheet.
This method may be the best option if you only have a few PDF files. But once you have thousands of them, this will most likely result in data entry errors and take up a lot of your time. Furthermore, it is an extremely tedious process.
Copy and paste with Microsoft Word
Copy-pasting data works well in most cases, but sometimes it doesn’t give you the desired results. For example, it’s almost impossible to nicely copy and paste an entire table, including its structure and data, from PDF to Excel. In such a case, you have to open the PDF file in Word first, and then copy/paste it to Excel.
To make use of this method, you must have Microsoft Word 2013 or a newer version. Then, you need to perform the following steps:
- Open the PDF file by using Microsoft Word
- Copy the content from the Microsoft Word file and paste it into an Excel spreadsheet.
While this method provides reasonable results, it won’t handle complex elements, such as more complicated tables with cell spacing. Besides that, it’s not possible to extract data in bulk as you have to open every PDF file one by one.
2. PDF converters
If you have to extract data from PDF files to Excel more often, PDF scraping is a good option. This method helps transform PDF files into Excel files in just a matter of seconds.
The process is quite simple: select the PDF file that you wish to convert, upload the file to the PDF converter, and click the convert button. Your file can be converted into an Excel file or other desired formats.
With some PDF scrapers, you can even directly edit text and images in a PDF file and then export them to an Excel sheet.
There are many PDF converters available, but here is a list of some of the best PDF converters on the market:
While a PDF converter may extract data efficiently and quickly, it doesn’t provide data extraction in bulk. You have to upload the PDF files one by one. Also, PDF converters only work with native PDF documents. This means that if you have a scanned paper document saved as a PDF, it’s not possible to extract data from it.
3. PDF table extraction tools
There can be times when you only want to extract table data from an image or PDF. A PDF converter can be your first choice, but it fails to extract the data accurately. Fortunately, other tools can be of great help: table extraction tools.
You can find the five best table extraction tools below:
Most of these tools allow you to draw a box around the table and then extract the data into Excel or other formats.
Something you should consider is that data extraction for tables only works with native PDF files. With most of these tools, you can only upload one file at a time and you need to select the table that needs to be converted.
Also, in most cases, you would need in-house knowledge to finetune a table extraction tool in order to make it work for your specific use case. In other words, using a PDF table extraction tool is still labor intensive, hence, not the ideal solution.
4. Direct import in Excel
Importing a PDF directly into Excel and extracting data from it can also be a good option.
Let’s have a look at the steps:
- Open the Excel spreadsheet
- Select the tab Data > Get data > From file > From PDF
- Select the PDF file and select Import
- Then you will see a Navigator panel with the tables and pages in your PDF, along with a preview
- Select the table and click on ‘’Load’’. The table is imported to the Excel sheet.
This method is quite efficient with straightforward data. Complicated data or tables with multiple pages, however, will result in annoying errors in the formatting.
The Pros & Cons of Each Method
Now that you know about the four different ways to extract data from a PDF file, you may ask yourself which of these methods you should use when extracting data from PDF to Excel.
To help you find the answer to that question, we have listed the pros and cons of each method in the table below.
| Copy and Paste | Pros – In case you only have a couple of PDF files, it is the easiest method – No extra software or equipment is needed Cons – When you have a lot of files it is very time-consuming – Prone to errors – Extremely tedious process |
| PDF converters | Pros – Easy to use – Many online tools available – Cheap option Cons – Functionality is limited – Not possible to extract data in bulk – Only works with native PDFs |
| PDF table extraction tools | Pros – Extracts data from a table quickly and accurately – Extracts the data into other formats as well Cons – Only works with native PDF files – Requires internal experts – Not a fully automated process |
| Direct Import in Excel | Pros – Easy method – No extra software or equipment needed Cons – Impossible to extract data in bulk – Requires some knowledge of Excel – Errors in formatting |
After analyzing the table above, you probably realize that none of these methods are perfect. All of them are unable to handle large volumes of documents, non-native PDF files, and/or are not fully automated. For these reasons, we will present you with a fully automated solution, which is faster, more accurate, and more efficient!
Extract Data from PDF to Excel With an Automated Solution
The most accurate and fastest way to extract data from PDF files to Excel is by using an automated data extraction solution.
Automated data extraction solutions utilize a text recognition technology known as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to accurately extract data from documents.
A good example of such an automated solution is Klippa DocHorizon, which can process high volumes of native and non-native PDFs within seconds. It can also be easily integrated into existing software by making use of Klippa’s OCR API.
Here’s a quick overview of how the technology works:
- Upload the PDF file to the API – First, you have to submit the PDF document to the API. You can do this via our mobile or web application.
- Pre-processing the PDF file – In the second step, the document’s features are improved to increase recognition accuracy. For example, the brightness of a scan or the grayscale of a document is improved.
- Converting the PDF to text – Then, the software will convert the PDF document into a text file. The PDF data is now extracted, but not yet structured at this point.
- Converting to Excel – In the final step, the Klippa parser converts the text file into structured data, in this case, Excel. From this point on, you can easily start using the data from the PDF file in Excel.
By following these steps, Klippa DocHorizon can extract data from almost any PDF file. You will be able to save time, reduce errors, and lower costs.
Conclusion
In this blog, we discussed the four most popular methods to extract data from PDF to Excel. We described their pros and cons and compared them on several functionalities. In the end, it became clear that none of them was the perfect option.
That’s where we introduced Klippa DocHorizon!
Klippa DocHorizon is a fully automated solution that can greatly help you extract data from PDF files. Our solution is able to process large volumes of documents and can be easily integrated into your company’s existing software.
In case you still have some questions about our solution, do not hesitate to contact our experts or book a free demo below!