When you convert a PDF page to an image, you'll usually be offered two formats: PNG and JPG. They look almost the same at first glance, but they behave very differently — and choosing the wrong one gives you either blurry text or huge files.
The short answer
- Pages with text, charts, diagrams or slides → PNG. It's lossless, so every edge stays sharp.
- Scanned pages and pages with photos → JPG. It makes files several times smaller with no visible difference.
How they differ
| PNG | JPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossless — every pixel kept | Lossy — fine detail simplified |
| Text and thin lines | Perfectly crisp | Can show faint smudges around edges |
| Photos and scans | Very large files | Small files, looks the same |
| Best for | Slides, diagrams, UI, documents | Scans, brochures, photo-heavy pages |
JPG saves space by simplifying detail the eye barely notices in photos. Sharp black text on a white background is exactly where that simplification shows up, as soft "halos" around letters. PNG never throws detail away — which is why it's the right choice for crisp content and the wrong one for photos.
How to convert a PDF to PNG
- Open the free PDF to PNG converter and choose your PDF.
- Pick a resolution — 300 DPI gives the sharpest result.
- Convert every page, or enter only the pages you need, like
2, 5-8. - Click Convert to PNG, then download single images or a ZIP of all of them.
For JPG, the PDF to JPG converter works the same way and adds a quality slider. Both run in your browser, so the PDF is never uploaded.
Watch the file size
Because PNG is lossless, a full A4 page at 300 DPI can be several megabytes. If that's too big:
- Lower the resolution to 150 DPI — still sharp on screens.
- Use JPG for pages that are mostly photos.
- Compress the result — see How to Compress Images Without Losing Quality.
FAQ
Do PNG pages have a transparent background? No. Pages are rendered on white, the way they appear in a PDF viewer.
Which is better for printing? Either works at 300 DPI. Choose PNG for text-heavy pages and JPG for photo-heavy ones.
Can I convert just one page? Yes — untick "Convert every page" and enter the page number.
Try it now
Convert your pages with PDF to PNG or PDF to JPG.
Related reading
See How to Convert a PDF to JPG Images and JPG vs PNG: Which Format Should You Use?. Browse the full blog for more guides.