PDF to AI Converter
Turn a PDF into an .ai file you can open in a vector editor, without uploading it anywhere. A modern .ai file is built on PDF, so this tool does not redraw or trace anything: it copies the pages you choose, exactly as they are, into a clean new PDF-based .ai file. Shapes stay shapes, text stays text and fonts stay embedded, so they open as editable vectors. Pick pages from thumbnails or type a range, then make one .ai with a page (artboard) for each, or one .ai per page in a ZIP. Before you download, every page is checked: the tool tells you which pages are vector and which are only a picture, such as a scan, because a picture stays a picture in any .ai. The new file is then opened again and compared with your PDF, page by page. Your PDF never leaves your device.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Your PDF is read and turned into an .ai file on your device; nothing is uploaded or stored.
Pages
Type page numbers such as 1-3, 5, or click the thumbnails.
Files
The .ai is PDF-based, the kind vector apps open directly: shapes and text stay editable vectors. Pages that are only a picture, such as scans, stay pictures.
Runs in your browser: pdf.js (Apache-2.0) reads the PDF and checks each page, and pdf-lib (MIT) copies the pages into the new file; both load from jsDelivr when you add a file. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is saved. Password-protected PDFs cannot be copied here: the tool says so. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own document stay as they were. Not affiliated with Adobe.
How to convert a PDF to AI
- Drop your PDF on the box, or click Try a sample.
- Click thumbnails to leave out pages you do not need, or type a range such as 1-3, 5.
- Choose one .ai for all chosen pages, or one .ai per page.
- Read the check under the thumbnails, then click Download .ai.
What you can use it for
- Open a logo or chart someone sent as a PDF in a vector editor
- Pull one page of a brochure out as its own .ai
- Send a printer or designer an .ai when they ask for one
- Split a multi-page PDF of icons into one .ai per page
- Check which pages of a PDF are real vectors before you promise edits
- Turn a vector PDF export into an .ai for an archive
What happens to each page
| Kind of page | How the tool marks it | In the .ai file |
|---|---|---|
| Shapes and text (from a design, office or chart app) | Vector | Editable paths and text, exactly as in the PDF |
| Shapes, text and photos | Vector + pictures | Paths and text editable; photos stay photos |
| Only a picture (a scan or a photo of a page) | Picture only | One picture, not shapes; trace it to get vectors |
| Empty page | Blank | An empty artboard |
A modern .ai file is built on PDF: when it is saved with PDF compatibility, the usual setting, the file holds a complete PDF of the artwork with one page per artboard, and that PDF part is what other programs read. Next to it, Illustrator keeps its own editing data in a part of the PDF set aside for an app’s private data.
That is why the tool copies pages instead of redrawing them: the PDF already holds the vectors, and an .ai made from it holds the very same paths and text. The tool reads each page’s drawing instructions to tell you which pages are vector, so there are no surprises when you open the file.
One .ai or one per page
| Choice | You get | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| One .ai (default) | A single file, one artboard per chosen page, in page order | Logo sets, short brochures, a page range |
| One .ai per page | A ZIP with document-page-01.ai, document-page-02.ai and so on | Icon sheets, handing out single pages |
| Our test PDF | Pages | What the check said |
|---|---|---|
| A vector PDF from a layout app (paths, a curve, text) | 2 | Both Vector; the .ai pages look the same as the PDF |
| A PDF with one scanned page | 1 | Picture only, with a plain warning before download |
| A PDF with a vector page and a scanned page | 2 | Page 1 Vector, page 2 Picture only |
| A 12-page PDF, one .ai per page | 12 | A ZIP of 12 .ai files, each opens with its page |
| A real Illustrator logo file opened as a PDF (2,189,478 bytes) | 1 | Vector, fonts kept, the old file’s editing data left out: 488,008 bytes |
Every .ai made here was opened again in a second, independent PDF reader during testing: page sizes, text and vector drawings were all still there.
Tips
- Export from the original app as PDF with fonts embedded; that PDF converts best.
- If the PDF is a scan, the .ai will hold a picture: trace it to vectors instead.
- For a single page of a long PDF, type its number in the range box; nothing else goes into the file.
Need something else from the PDF? Turn pages into pictures with PDF to PNG, split it with Split PDF or take out pages with Extract PDF Pages. For a protected PDF you have the right to change, start with Unlock PDF; to trace a scan into shapes, use PNG to SVG.
Not affiliated with Adobe.
Sources
Sources: ISO 32000-2, the PDF 2.0 standard (page-piece dictionaries for an app’s private data, 1 point = 1/72 inch); pdf.js on GitHub (Apache-2.0 licence); pdf-lib on GitHub (MIT licence).
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See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this PDF to AI converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit. The PDF is read in your browser and never leaves your device.
Is the .ai file really an .ai?
It is a PDF-based .ai, which is what a modern .ai file is underneath: Illustrator saves a full PDF of the artwork inside every .ai saved with PDF compatibility, and other programs read that part. The file this tool makes holds only that PDF part, with no Illustrator editing data, so Illustrator opens it the way it opens a PDF: shapes and text are there to edit.
Will I be able to edit the shapes and text?
Yes, for pages that are vector, which most PDFs exported from design, office and chart apps are. Nothing is redrawn, so every path and every line of text is the original. Text keeps its embedded font; if that font is not on your computer, the vector editor may ask to swap it.
What about scanned PDFs?
A scanned page is a picture, and it stays a picture in any .ai file. The tool marks such pages Picture only before you download. To get editable shapes from a picture, trace it into vectors first, for example with PNG to SVG on a picture of the page.
Can I choose some pages?
Yes. Click thumbnails to leave pages out or add them back, or type a range such as 2 or 1-3, 5. The pages go into the .ai in page order.
One .ai or one per page?
One .ai keeps every chosen page in a single file, one artboard per page, which suits a logo set or a short brochure. One per page gives a ZIP with a separate .ai for each page, named after the PDF and the page number, which suits icon sheets and handing out single pages.
Are layers kept?
Layers saved in the PDF come through as they are. The tool does not invent Illustrator layers, groups or symbols that are not in the PDF; most PDFs have none, so the artwork arrives as one layer of shapes and text.
Is it just renaming the PDF?
Almost, and that is why the vectors are kept exactly. The difference is the clean rewrite: only the pages you chose, one file per page if you like, the hidden editing data of another app taken out, a check of every page, and a warning for pages that are only pictures.
Why is my PDF refused?
A PDF protected with a password or with copying restrictions cannot have its pages copied here, and the tool says so. Remove the protection in the app that made it, if you have the right to, and add it again.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. pdf.js and pdf-lib are downloaded from jsDelivr and run in your browser; the PDF itself stays on your device.