What happens when you convert PDF to PSD
- Each page of the PDF is drawn by MuPDF, the open-source PDF renderer, on our conversion server at 150 dpi, so an A4 page becomes about 1240 by 1750 pixels, and ImageMagick saves it as a PSD file.
- A one-page PDF gives a single PSD; a longer one comes back as a ZIP file with one PSD per page, named page-01.psd, page-02.psd and so on, for up to 100 pages.
- The PSD has a single layer holding the rendered page; it does not rebuild the original shapes or text as editable Photoshop layers.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert PDF to PSD online
- Press "Choose PDF files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to PSD". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each PSD with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your PDF and the PSD by then.
Why convert PDF to PSD?
PDF files usually come from documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files. People convert them to PSD because a PSD opens in Photoshop, GIMP and Photopea as a layer ready to retouch, mask or build a design on.
In short, PDF is good at what it was made for, and PSD is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer, while PSD does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files.
How to convert PDF to PSD on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your PDF files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PSD is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the PDF files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PSD files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose PDF files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PSD appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose PDF files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PSD is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for PDF to PSD
There are no settings: every page is rendered at 150 dpi, up to the first 100 pages, with the longest side capped at 6,000 pixels.
Open the PSD in Photoshop to retouch the rendered image or place it in a design; for editable shapes, open the original in Illustrator or Inkscape instead.
PDF vs PSD: the differences
| PSD | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Portable Document Format | Adobe Photoshop document |
| Type | document | image |
| Created by | Adobe | Adobe |
| First released | 1993 | 1990 |
| Compression | Lossy or lossless | Lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Vector | Raster |
| Colour | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images | up to 32 bits per channel, in RGB, CMYK, Lab or greyscale |
| What it holds | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images | layers, masks, adjustment and text layers, plus a flattened copy of the whole image |
| In a browser | opens in every browser's built-in viewer | does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files |
| Common uses | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files | Photoshop artwork, photo retouching, mock-ups and design files |
| MIME type | application/pdf | image/vnd.adobe.photoshop |
About PDF and PSD files
What is a PDF file?
A PDF fixes the layout of every page so it looks the same on any device. Converting a PDF to an image renders each page to pixels; converting an image to PDF wraps it as a page.
What is a PSD file?
A PSD keeps every layer, mask, adjustment and text layer separately so the work can be edited later, and stores a flattened copy of the whole picture beside them. A PSD is limited to 30,000 pixels a side and 2 GB; larger work is saved as PSB.
PDF to PSD not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in PDF format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .pdf is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert PDF to PSD from the command line
Poppler and ImageMagick do the same on your own computer:
pdftoppm -r 150 -png input.pdf page
magick mogrify -format psd page-*.pngConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
PDF to PSD converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting PDF to PSD?
The pages are rendered to pixels at 150 dpi, which is sharp for reading and for printing text. The pixels are stored losslessly.
Why is the PSD a different size from the PDF?
The PSD stores every pixel, while the PDF stores drawing instructions, so the PSD is usually larger for detailed pages and can be smaller for simple ones.
Are my PDF files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful PDF to PSD conversion needs MuPDF and ImageMagick, two open-source tools, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the PSD as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several PDF files to PSD at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a PSD file?
PSD does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files. PSD is common for Photoshop artwork, photo retouching, mock-ups and design files.
Is this PDF to PSD converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert PDF to PSD on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the PSD is saved to your Downloads folder.