Drop files here, or click to browse
One or more PDFs · up to 200 MB each
How to use
Add your PDFs
Drop one or more PDFs of up to 200 MB each. Every file is listed, and a preview shows the pages of the selected one.
Choose how to convert
Pick Keep text for most documents, or Rasterize, grayscale or Rasterize, black and white for scans and stubborn files, with a resolution for the raster modes.
Convert and check
Press Convert to grayscale. Check the preview of the result, then download each file or all of them as a ZIP.
Why Convert PDF to Grayscale
- Keep text mode turns colours gray while text stays sharp and selectable.
- Rasterize modes for grayscale or pure black and white pages.
- Convert several PDFs at once, with a preview of the result.
- Runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded.
Which grayscale mode to pick
All three modes make a PDF with no colour on screen. They differ in what happens to the text and to the file size.
| Mode | Text | Catches every colour | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep text | Stays real, selectable text | Most, not all | Reports, letters, invoices, slides |
| Rasterize, grayscale | Becomes part of an image | Yes | Files with unusual colours, brochures |
| Rasterize, black and white | Becomes pure black pixels | Yes | Scans, forms and upload portals |
What Keep text mode changes
A PDF page is a list of drawing instructions, and colours are set by short commands before text and shapes are drawn. Keep text mode rewrites those commands to the matching shade of gray, using the usual brightness formula so a dark red becomes a dark gray and a pale yellow a light one.
Photos are decoded and saved again in gray, palette images get a gray palette, and simple two-colour gradients are made gray. Anything the tool cannot read safely is left as it was, which is why the preview is worth a look before you download.