What's the difference between PDF and PNG?

PDF is the universal document format. PNG is a lossless raster format that supports transparency.

Why convert away from PDF?

PDF is the universal document format. Where it falls down: anywhere you need to edit the content after the fact (PDFs are read-mostly); single images that don't need pagination (use the image format directly). PNG addresses that for most workflows.

When is PNG the right format?

PNG is a good choice for: screenshots and UI captures; logos and icons with transparent backgrounds; diagrams, charts, and anything with sharp edges; images that will be edited further (the lossless round-trip preserves quality). It is a poor choice when photographs and large naturalistic images (file size is huge).

Anything surprising about PDF or PNG?

Browsers can render PDFs in-page — no plugin required since around 2015. And on the PNG side: PNG-8 uses a palette of up to 256 colors and is much smaller than PNG-24, but loses gradient fidelity.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The drop zone falls back to your phone's file picker, and conversions run on-device just like desktop. Large files may be slower on mobile due to CPU and memory constraints, but the workflow is identical.

What's the maximum file size?

No hard limit — the browser handles it. Files under 50MB convert in a few seconds. Larger files work but may take longer as the browser allocates memory. If you hit issues, batch in smaller groups.

Convert PDF to PNG

Convert PDF pages to PNG images. Lossless rasterization — every page becomes a high-quality PNG at the DPI you set. Useful for screenshots of PDF content for slides or docs. Free, in-browser, no upload.

Drop a PDF to convert

One PDF at a time — every page becomes an image

The PDF stays on your device. No upload.

Resolution

Overview

Why convert PDF to PNG

PNG is a more practical choice than PDF for most modern workflows: screenshots and UI captures. Coming from PDF, the thing to know is that anywhere you need to edit the content after the fact (PDFs are read-mostly).

Comparison

PDF vs PNG: what actually differs

PDF compared with PNG across encoding, fidelity, file size and support.
Attribute	PDF	PNG
Compression	Lossy or lossless	Lossless
Transparency	Yes	Yes
Animation	No	No
Typical file size	Varies	Very large
Browser support	Every browser can display PDFs natively. PDF.js (built into Firefox and Edge) is the same engine that powers most in-page PDF viewers.	Universally supported in every browser since the late 1990s.

How to

How to convert PDF to PNG

01
Drop your PDF files
Drag one or more PDF files onto the dropzone above, or click to browse. Files stay on your device — nothing uploads.
02
Convert in your browser
convert.now decodes each PDF and re-encodes it as PNG via WebAssembly. The conversion runs in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive.
03
Download the result
Download a single PNG file or, for batch conversions, a zip of all converted files. Filenames preserve the originals.

Why here

Why convert.now

Private
Files stay in your browser. No upload step. Nothing for anyone to see.
Fast
No queue, no upload wait. Conversion starts the moment you drop a file.
Free
No ads. No file-count limit. No sign-up wall. Just the converter.

FAQ

PDF to PNG: common questions

No. The conversion from PDF to PNG runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Files never leave your device. Open DevTools' Network tab if you'd like to verify — there are no network requests with file contents.

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Last updated 27 August 2026

Why convert PDF to PNG

PDF vs PNG: what actually differs

How to convert PDF to PNG

Drop your PDF files

Convert in your browser

Download the result

Why convert.now

PDF to PNG: common questions

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