Convert PDF to CAD
Turn a PDF drawing into a DXF file that opens in AutoCAD and every other CAD program. Free, with a scale tool, and your file never leaves your computer.
Drop a PDF here or click to choose one
Converted on your device. Nothing is uploaded.
How do you convert a PDF to CAD?
Three steps, about ten seconds for a normal drawing.
1. Drop the PDF
Choose the drawing. Your browser reads it locally, so plans under an NDA stay private.
2. Set the scale
Click both ends of a dimension you know and type its real length. Every line is rescaled to true size.
3. Download the DXF
Lines, arcs, polylines and text arrive on layers grouped by colour, ready to edit in your CAD program.
What comes across into your CAD file?
Real geometry
Lines and polylines you can snap to, trim and dimension, with curves turned into smooth polylines.
Layers by colour
Each line colour gets its own layer, so walls, dimensions and furniture stay apart.
Editable text
Room names, labels and dimension values become CAD text you can change.
Private by design
The conversion runs on your computer. No upload, no account, no copy kept anywhere.
Which PDFs convert well?
A PDF exported from a drawing program holds the actual lines of the drawing, stored as vectors. Those convert into clean CAD geometry. A scanned PDF holds a photo of a paper sheet, so there are no lines to read.
| Where the PDF came from | Result |
|---|---|
| AutoCAD, Revit, ArchiCAD, SolidWorks, Inventor, Fusion "Save as PDF" or "Plot to PDF" | Clean lines, arcs and text |
| Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity, CorelDRAW exports | Clean paths and text |
| Microsoft Print to PDF from a CAD viewer | Clean lines; text sometimes arrives as outlines |
| A scanned paper plan or a photo saved as PDF | Not supported yet: needs tracing |
Read PDF to DXF for what the DXF contains, PDF to DWG if your office works in DWG, and how to scale a PDF drawing for true-size measurements.
Questions about converting PDF to CAD
Is this PDF to CAD converter free?
Yes. Converting a PDF drawing to DXF costs nothing and needs no account or email address.
Is my drawing uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is read and converted by your own browser. The file never leaves your computer, which matters for client drawings and anything under an NDA.
Which CAD programs open the result?
The converter writes DXF, the open CAD exchange format. AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, DraftSight, BricsCAD, LibreCAD, QCAD, FreeCAD, Fusion, SolidWorks (as a sketch), SketchUp Pro and most laser and CNC programs open it.
Can I get a DWG file?
Open the DXF in AutoCAD, BricsCAD or DraftSight and use Save As to store it as DWG. The geometry stays exactly the same.
Will the measurements be right?
Use the Set scale button: click two points whose real distance you know, type that length, and every line is rescaled to match. Without it the drawing comes out at the size of the printed sheet.
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Not yet. A scan is a photo of the paper with no lines inside, so it needs tracing. PDFs exported from CAD, Revit, ArchiCAD, Illustrator or any drawing program convert cleanly.