How to Extract Data From Multiple PDFs Into One Spreadsheet

To get the same fields out of many PDFs into one spreadsheet, one row per file, match the method to your files: Adobe Acrobat for completed PDF forms, Excel's Power Query for PDFs that share one table, and a document extraction tool such as Scrape AI for mixed layouts, scans, or specific fields like names, dates and totals.

First, check what kind of PDFs you have

The right method depends on how your PDFs were made, not on how many you have.

• Fillable forms: the PDF has boxes you can type into, such as an application or an intake form.
• Same table in every file: each PDF is a report with an identical table layout, such as a monthly export from the same system.
• Everything else: invoices from different vendors, contracts, resumes, scanned paper, or any set where the value you want sits in a different place in each file.

Method 1: Merge PDF form data with Adobe Acrobat

If your files are completed PDF forms, Acrobat can merge their responses into one spreadsheet. These steps follow Adobe's tutorial on working with form data (updated April 2026):

1. Put all the completed PDF forms in one folder.
2. Open one of them in Acrobat and select Prepare Form.
3. In the right-hand pane, select More, then Merge Data Files into Spreadsheet.
4. Select the folder with the completed forms. Acrobat builds one spreadsheet from all of them.

Where it stops working: the feature is built for completed forms. Invoices, contracts, reports and scans that were never fillable forms aren't what it's designed for.

Method 2: Combine PDF tables with Excel Power Query

If every PDF holds a table with the same structure, Excel's Power Query can combine them. Microsoft's PDF connector documentation says to import multiple PDF files at once with a multi-file connector such as the Folder connector:

1. Put only the PDFs you want to combine in a dedicated folder.
2. In Excel, choose Data, Get Data, From File, From Folder, and pick the folder (Microsoft's folder import steps).
3. Choose Combine, then pick the table that appears in every file.
4. Clean up the columns in the Power Query Editor and load the result.

Where it stops working: combining files works when they share the same schema (Microsoft's combine files overview), and the PDF connector returns the tables it finds in each file, not individual details you name. On a Mac, check first: in a February 2025 Microsoft Q&A thread, a user on the then-latest Excel for Mac (16.93.1) reported the Get Data from PDF option missing, and others marked the same question (Microsoft Q&A).

Method 3: Pick the fields and let Scrape AI fill the rows

Scrape AI (getscrape.ai) is a document data extraction tool that turns PDFs and Word files into spreadsheets. Every value is checked against the document's text and highlighted where it's printed. It suits the "everything else" pile: mixed layouts, scans, and files where you want specific fields rather than a whole table.

1. Create a run, give it a name, and choose Smart Scan (or a run type that fits, such as Finance & Legal).
2. Upload your PDFs. Scanned PDFs are read with OCR, and Word (.docx) files work too.
3. Scrape AI reads a sample of your files and suggests the fields it finds, such as vendor, date or total. Rename, remove, reorder or add fields until the list matches the columns you want.
4. Press Scrape. Each document becomes one row and each field one column, in a single results table.
5. Spot-check values: click any value to open the PDF with a gold box around the printed text it came from. If a value isn't on the page, the cell stays blank instead of holding a guess (how values are checked).
6. On a paid plan, export to CSV, Excel or Google Sheets.

Limits to know: each file can be up to 10 pages and 25 MB. A repeating table, such as invoice line items, comes through as one list field per document (one item per line in that cell), not as separate rows. The Free plan includes 10 documents, so you can test it on your own files and review every value in the app; editing and exporting start on the Standard plan (see pricing).

Which method should you use?

Frequently asked questions

Can I combine data from multiple PDFs into one Excel file?

Yes. If your PDFs are completed forms, Adobe Acrobat's Merge Data Files into Spreadsheet command merges their responses into one file. If they hold tables with the same structure, Excel's Power Query can combine them from a folder. Both need software you may already pay for. Scrape AI's Free plan lets you run 10 documents and review the results in the app; exporting starts on the Standard plan.

Does this work with scanned PDFs?

With Scrape AI, yes: scanned PDFs are read with OCR. Acrobat's form merge works on completed PDF forms; Adobe's tutorial doesn't cover scans.

What if each PDF has a different layout?

Power Query works best when every file shares the same structure. Scrape AI suggests fields from your own documents and pulls them from every file, with no templates, so the files don't need to share a layout.

What happens if a value isn't in one of the PDFs?

In Scrape AI the cell stays blank. Every value is checked against the document's printed text, and nothing is guessed.

Working with Word files instead? See how to extract data from multiple Word documents into Excel.

Try it free: 10 documents, no credit card →