How to convert a PDF to PNG
- Choose your PDF with the box above, or drop the file onto it. The line under the options shows the pixel size of page 1.
- Set Resolution (DPI): 150 for documents and slides, 300 for print, 72 or 96 for small web files.
- Pick a Background. White fills the page, while Transparent leaves unpainted areas clear.
- Type page numbers in Pages (for example 1-3, 5) to convert only those pages, or leave it empty for all.
- Select Convert to PNG, then download single pages or use Download all as ZIP.
How the conversion works
Each page is drawn by PDF.js, Mozilla's open source PDF renderer, onto a canvas in your browser. A PDF measures pages in points, and 72 points make one inch (ISO 32000-1, section 8.3.2.3), so each page is scaled by DPI divided by 72. The canvas is saved as a PNG, a lossless format defined by the W3C PNG specification, so text edges stay sharp.
Worked example
Select Try a sample PDF: 2 pages of US Letter size, 8.5 x 11 in or 612 x 792 points. Keep the defaults, 150 DPI and White. The scale is 150 / 72 = 2.0833, so each page is 612 x 2.0833 = 1275 px wide and 792 x 2.0833 = 1650 px tall. The tool lists "Page 1: 1275 x 1650 px" and "Page 2: 1275 x 1650 px" and names the files sample-page-1.png and sample-page-2.png.
Limits and edge cases
- Transparent background only affects areas the page never paints. A scan, or a page with a white rectangle behind the text, stays opaque.
- Very large pages such as posters are scaled down past 16,384 px on a side or about 36 million pixels, and the page card says so.
- Password protected PDFs ask for the password. To remove it for good, use PDF Password Remover.
For photo-heavy pages try PDF to JPG, for the words alone use PDF to Text, and to go back to a document use Image to PDF.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a PDF to PNG with a transparent background?
Set Background to Transparent before you convert. Areas the PDF never paints come out see-through, which is typical for PDFs exported from design tools or word processors. Pages with a white rectangle or a scanned image stay opaque.
What DPI should I use for PDF to PNG?
Use 150 DPI for documents and slides, 96 DPI for web images, and 300 DPI to print. Pixel size equals page size in inches times DPI, so a US Letter page is 1275 x 1650 px at 150 DPI and 2550 x 3300 px at 300 DPI.
Can I convert just one page of a PDF to PNG?
Yes. Type the page number in the Pages box, such as 3, or a range such as 2-4, then select Convert to PNG. Only those pages are rendered.
Why are my PNG files so large?
PNG is lossless, so it keeps every pixel, and pages with photos or gradients compress poorly. A text page may be a few hundred KB, while a full-page photo at 300 DPI can run to many megabytes. Lower the DPI, convert fewer pages, or use PDF to JPG for photo-heavy pages, which gives much smaller files.
Sources: PDF.js documentation, W3C PNG Specification (Third Edition), ISO 32000-1.