How to Convert PDF to AI Free, Step by Step
Need an AI from a PDF? Here is how to convert PDF to AI, what usually goes wrong, and how to get a file you can use first time.
Why convert PDF to AI?
An AI is Illustrator's native file, which has been a PDF container since Illustrator 9 in 2000. What print shops and sign makers ask for by name. Fully editable geometry.
- Artwork for a print shop.
- Screen printing.
- Anything a designer will edit next.
The catch is the PDF itself. A page, not artwork. It can equally hold one full-page bitmap and be no more useful than a JPG. That is why the conversion matters as much as the file you start with.
Where most converters let you down
Plenty of tools will happily take your PDF and give you something back. The trouble is what they give you: many turn your artwork into a picture on the way through, or lose the size it was meant to be. You only find out later, when the file will not cut, print, import or open the way you expected.
What you actually want is the same artwork in the format you need, at the size you need it. That is the standard this PDF to AI converter is built to.
How to convert PDF to AI in 3 steps
- Open the PDF to AI converter and drop in your PDF.
- Check the result in the preview and adjust the settings if you need to.
- Download the AI.
Why Veconvert is the better PDF to AI converter
- Geometry preserved. Vector artwork is converted path for path, not traced from a picture.
- Real size. AI output is sized in real units, not left in pixels for someone to guess at.
- Holes and fill rules kept. A counter stays a counter.
- Private. Files are converted in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
What happens to your file
A PDF is read as geometry: paths, fills, strokes and the transforms applied to them, with text outlined from the fonts the file embeds. It is not rasterised and traced again, so nothing is approximated.
The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded: client work, statements and unreleased designs stay on your computer.
Getting the best AI: mistakes to avoid
- If the PDF came from design software it is probably vector already; a scanned PDF is a picture.
- Outline fonts in your design software first if the next program will not have them installed.
- Remove hidden layers and guides you do not want in the output.
- Open the result in the program you will use next before sending it on.
What it costs
Yes, converting is free: the conversion and checking the result cost nothing, and the work runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. The side-by-side preview on the converter pages comes with a free account. Saving the finished file is paid: $3.49 for one file ($3.99 for a technical file such as DXF, G-code, STL or embroidery) with no account needed, or included in a plan from $6.99 a month.
You see the result before you spend anything, so you only pay for a file you are happy with.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert PDF to AI?
Drop your PDF file on this page, check the preview, and press Download. The AI is made in a few seconds, with no sign-up.
Is my PDF file uploaded anywhere?
No. The pdf to ai conversion runs in your browser, on your own device. The file never leaves it.
What is the best PDF to AI converter?
One that gives you the same artwork in the format you need, at the size you need it, shows the result before you pay, and does not upload your file. That is what this page is built to do.
Is it free?
Yes, converting is free: the conversion and checking the result cost nothing, and the work runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. The side-by-side preview on the converter pages comes with a free account. Saving the finished file is paid: $3.49 for one file ($3.99 for a technical file such as DXF, G-code, STL or embroidery) with no account needed, or included in a plan from $6.99 a month.