PDF to Greyscale

Convert all colors to black and white.

Click to select a file or drag and drop

A single PDF file

Your files never leave your device.

How It Works

1

Upload File

Click or drag and drop your file to begin

2

Process

Click the process button to start

3

Download

Save your processed file instantly

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does converting a PDF to grayscale make it smaller?

Often, yes. Each page is stored as a grayscale JPEG at 90% quality, which is smaller than a color image, so color-heavy files usually shrink. A text-only PDF can grow instead, because its compact vector text becomes a full-page image.

Will the text still be selectable after conversion?

No. Every page is rendered at 2x scale, desaturated, and re-embedded as a JPEG image, so the output is image-based and text can't be selected or searched. If you need searchable text again, run the result through OCR PDF.

Can I adjust brightness or contrast, or keep some pages in color?

Not here. This tool has no options and converts every page using a standard luminance formula. For brightness, contrast, or saturation controls use Adjust Colors, and to convert only some pages, split those out first and merge the results afterward.

Is grayscale the same as black and white?

No. Grayscale keeps shades of gray, so photos, shaded charts, and highlights stay readable, while true black and white drops everything to two tones; this tool produces grayscale. If you need 1-bit output, PDF to TIFF has a Black & White mode.

Does the page size or print quality change?

The page dimensions are preserved. Pages are rendered at 2x scale, about 144 dpi, which looks fine on screen and is acceptable for office printing, but fine detail won't be as crisp as the vector original.

Why convert a PDF to grayscale before printing?

A grayscale file prints the same on any printer and avoids color charges, and some print shops, courts, and government portals require grayscale submissions. Converting first also shows how colored charts and highlights will look in gray before you print.

What happens to annotations, form fields, and links?

They're flattened into the page image. Form fields stop being fillable, comments become part of the picture, and clickable links no longer work.

Is my PDF uploaded to convert it?

No. Rendering and the grayscale filter run on a canvas in your browser tab, and the new PDF is assembled there too. Nothing is sent to a server.