Convert PDF to Image (JPG, PNG) - Free Methods That Work

You have a PDF, but you need it as an image. Maybe you want to embed it in a website, use it in a design project, or just share a screenshot of a page. Converting a PDF to JPG or PNG is a common task, and there are several ways to do it.

Let's walk through the best free methods, from the quickest to the highest-quality.

Method 1: Take a Screenshot (Quickest, Lowest Quality)

If you just need one page as an image and quality isn't critical, a screenshot works. It's not true conversion — you're literally taking a picture of your screen — but for some use cases, it's good enough.

Windows

1. Open your PDF
2. Press Windows Key + Shift + S (Snipping Tool)
3. Select the area you want to capture
4. The screenshot is copied to your clipboard
5. Paste it (Ctrl+V) wherever you need it

Or use the older PrtScn key to capture your entire screen, then crop.

Mac

1. Open your PDF in Preview
2. Press Cmd + Shift + 4 for a selection screenshot, or Cmd + Shift + 3 for full screen
3. The screenshot is saved to your desktop

Pros: Instant, no tools needed, works for anything you can see on screen

Cons: Limited to screen resolution, includes UI elements if you're not careful, not scalable

Method 2: Adobe Acrobat (Best Quality, Paid)

If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, it can export PDF pages as high-quality images. This is the best option if you care about image quality and resolution.

1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro
2. File → Export To → Image
3. Choose your format: JPEG, PNG, or TIFF
4. Click "Settings" to adjust quality and resolution
5. Set resolution to at least 150 DPI for print, 72-150 DPI for web
6. Choose "All pages" or select specific pages
7. Click "Export" and choose a destination folder

Adobe will create a separate image file for each PDF page.

Pros: Highest quality, customizable settings, handles all formats, maintains vector elements

Cons: Requires Adobe Acrobat subscription ($20+/month), overkill for occasional use

Method 3: Google Chrome (Free, Decent Quality)

Chrome has a built-in way to save PDFs as images that works surprisingly well.

1. Open your PDF in Chrome (drag the file into a Chrome tab)
2. Use Chrome's zoom controls to set the page size you want (Ctrl + / Ctrl -)
3. Right-click and select "Print" (or press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P)
4. Under "Destination", choose "Save as PDF"
5. Click "More settings"
6. Set "Margins" to "None" for full-page images
7. Click "Save"

Wait, that saves as PDF, not an image. Here's the trick: after saving the PDF, open that new PDF in Chrome again and take a screenshot using Chrome's built-in screenshot tool or your system's screenshot utility.

Actually, a better Chrome method exists:

1. Open the PDF in Chrome
2. Go to the page you want to convert
3. Press F12 to open Developer Tools
4. Click the three dots in the top-right of DevTools → "More tools" → "Capture screenshot"
5. The current page is saved as a PNG

Pros: Free, no software installation, works on any OS with Chrome

Cons: Lower resolution than dedicated tools, one page at a time (for the DevTools method)

Method 4: Online Converters (Free-ish, Privacy Trade-off)

There are countless websites that convert PDF to image. Popular ones include iLovePDF, Smallpdf, PDF2Go, and ILovePDF. The process is generally similar:

1. Go to the converter's website
2. Upload your PDF
3. Choose your output format (JPG, PNG, TIFF)
4. Click "Convert"
5. Wait for processing
6. Download the converted images (usually as a ZIP file if multiple pages)

Most of these services let you customize:

• Which pages to convert (all, specific pages, page ranges)
• Image quality (low, medium, high)
• Image resolution (DPI)
• Output format (JPG, PNG, WebP, etc.)

Pros: Easy to use, no software installation, handles batch conversion, customizable settings

Cons: Upload your files to third-party servers, may have file size limits, some require account creation for larger files

Privacy warning: If your PDF contains sensitive information, think twice before uploading it to an online converter. These services process files on their servers, and while most claim to delete files after a short period, there's still a window of vulnerability.

Method 5: Preview on Mac (Free, Built-in)

If you're on a Mac, you already have a tool that can convert PDFs to images: Preview.

1. Open your PDF in Preview (default app for PDFs on Mac)
2. In the sidebar, click the thumbnail of the page you want to convert
3. File → Export
4. Choose "JPEG", "PNG", or "TIFF" from the Format dropdown
5. Adjust the Quality slider if you're using JPEG
6. Click "Save"

To convert multiple pages:

1. Open the PDF in Preview
2. In the sidebar, Cmd + click to select multiple page thumbnails
3. File → Export Selected Images
4. Choose your format and settings
5. Each selected page is saved as a separate image

Pros: Free, built into Mac OS, good quality, handles batch export

Cons: Mac-only, Preview can be slow with very large PDFs

Method 6: Command Line Tools (Free, Tech-Savvy)

For developers and terminal users, there are powerful command-line tools that can convert PDFs to images.

Using pdftoppm (Linux/Mac/Windows via WSL)

pdftoppm is part of the Poppler utilities and can convert PDF pages to PPM, PNG, or JPEG images.

Install on Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install poppler-utils

Convert all pages to PNG:

pdftoppm -png input.pdf output

This creates files named output-1.png, output-2.png, etc.

Convert specific pages:

pdftoppm -png -f 1 -l 5 input.pdf output

Convert to JPEG with a specific resolution (150 DPI):

pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 input.pdf output

Using Ghostscript (Cross-platform)

Ghostscript is a powerful PostScript/PDF interpreter that can handle image conversion.

gs -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pngalpha -dFirstPage=1 -dLastPage=1 -sOutputFile=output.png input.pdf

This converts only the first page to PNG with transparency support.

Using ImageMagick (Cross-platform)

ImageMagick is a suite of command-line image manipulation tools.

convert input.pdf output.png

This converts the entire PDF to a series of PNG files.

Pros: Free, scriptable, no GUI overhead, works in automation pipelines

Cons: Requires command-line knowledge, steeper learning curve, dependencies to install

JPG vs PNG: Which Format to Choose?

JPEG (JPG)

JPEG uses lossy compression, meaning it throws away some data to reduce file size.

• Use when: File size matters, the PDF contains photographs or complex images, you're uploading to the web
• Avoid when: You need text to remain perfectly crisp, you need transparency, you're planning to edit the image later

JPEG compression can introduce artifacts — visible blocks or blurriness — especially around text and sharp edges. At high quality settings (90%+), this is minimal, but it's still something to be aware of.

PNG

PNG uses lossless compression, meaning no data is lost.

• Use when: You need maximum quality, the PDF has text that must remain crisp, you need transparency, you're working with graphics
• Avoid when: File size is a concern (PNG files are larger than JPEG), you're dealing with photographs (JPEG handles photos better)

PNG is generally the safer choice for document pages because it preserves text sharpness and doesn't introduce compression artifacts.

Resolution Matters: DPI Explained

When converting PDFs to images, DPI (dots per inch) determines the resolution. Higher DPI means more detail, but larger files.

72-96 DPI

Screen resolution. Good for web images, email attachments, and non-print use. File sizes are small, but print quality will be pixelated.

150 DPI

Medium resolution. A good balance for most purposes. Text is readable when printed, images are decent quality. Suitable for internal documents, presentations, and general use.

300 DPI

Print resolution. What you want for professional printing. Text is crisp, images are clear. File sizes are significantly larger.

600+ DPI

High-resolution printing. For materials that need to look absolutely perfect: brochures, flyers, marketing materials. File sizes are very large.

Converting Specific Pages vs. Whole Document

Most tools let you choose:

• Single page: Good when you only need one section of a document
• Page range: Useful for extracting specific chapters or sections
• All pages: Creates a separate image file for each page — great for creating image-based slideshows or archives

When converting a multi-page PDF, most tools will create a ZIP archive containing all the individual image files. This makes downloading easier than downloading each image separately.

What About Editing the Images After Conversion?

Once you have your images, you might need to edit them:

• Cropping: Remove margins or focus on a specific area
• Resizing: Scale up or down for different uses
• Adjusting brightness/contrast: Make text more readable
• Adding annotations: Mark up the image with notes or highlights

Free tools for editing include Paint (Windows), Preview (Mac), GIMP (cross-platform), and Photopea (browser-based).

Quick Reference: Which Method Should You Use?

"I need one page quickly, quality doesn't matter"

• Screenshot (Windows Snipping Tool or Mac screenshot)

"I have Adobe Acrobat"

• Adobe Acrobat export (best quality, most control)

"I'm on a Mac"

• Preview export (built-in, free, good quality)

"I don't want to install anything"

• Online converter (convenient, but uploads your files)
• Chrome with DevTools screenshot (no upload, one page at a time)

"I need to convert lots of PDFs regularly"

• Command-line tools for automation
• Dedicated software (Adobe Acrobat or similar)

"Privacy is important — I can't upload my files"

• Preview (Mac)
• Adobe Acrobat
• Command-line tools
• Browser-based local conversion (see below)

The Bottom Line

Converting a PDF to an image is straightforward once you know which method fits your needs. Screenshots are the quickest, Adobe Acrobat is the highest quality, and Preview is the best free option for Mac users.

If you're converting sensitive documents, avoid online converters and stick to local tools. If you need to convert many files regularly, command-line tools or dedicated software will save you time.