Convert PDF to JPG on iPhone
Turn the pages of a PDF into images on your iPhone, without an app and without screenshots.
Got a PDF on your iPhone and need it as an image to post it, send it in a chat or keep it in your photo library? Convert it to JPG here, in Safari: every page becomes a sharp image, with no app to install and without cropping screenshots.
How to convert PDF to JPG
- Save the PDF to the Files app: in Mail or WhatsApp, open it, tap Share and choose “Save to Files”.
- Open this page in Safari, tap the box above and choose “Choose Files” to pick the PDF.
- Choose the resolution and tap “Convert to JPG”. Wait a few seconds while the pages are rendered.
- Download the result: one JPG if the PDF has one page, or a ZIP with one image per page.
Why not just take a screenshot
A screenshot only captures what fits on the screen, at your iPhone’s resolution, and with the bars and margins of the PDF viewer. Converting the PDF gives you every page whole, without cropping, at the resolution you choose: up to 300 dpi, enough to print it or zoom in on small print. With a document of several pages, you get them all at once instead of one screenshot per page.
Which resolution to choose on a phone
- 150 dpi: the recommended option. Sharp text on the iPhone screen and images that are light enough to send in a chat.
- 72 dpi: if you only want to look at the page or your connection is slow.
- 300 dpi: if you are going to print the page or need to read very small text.
Save the pages to your photo library
Safari saves downloads to Files › Downloads. If you converted a single page, open the JPG, tap Share and choose Save Image to have it in Photos. If there were several pages, tap the ZIP: Files unzips it into a folder with the pages numbered in order (document-01.jpg, document-02.jpg…). Select them, tap Share and choose Save Images.
Can the iPhone do it on its own?
Not easily: neither the Files app nor the built-in PDF viewer offers a simple way to save a page as an image. In the Shortcuts app you can build a shortcut that converts PDF pages into images, but it takes a while to set up. For a one-off PDF, converting it here is quicker.
Before converting
- If the PDF is password-protected, open it and remove the password first: protected PDFs can’t be converted.
- The images can’t be searched or copied like the text of the PDF. Keep the PDF if you will need its text.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a PDF to JPG on my iPhone for free?
Open this page in Safari, choose the PDF from the Files app and tap “Convert to JPG”. You get one image per page, free and with no app to install.
How do I save a PDF page as a photo on my iPhone?
Convert the PDF to JPG on this page, open the image in the Files app, tap Share and choose Save Image. The page will appear in the Photos app.
My PDF is in an email or WhatsApp. How do I select it?
Open the PDF in that app, tap Share and choose Save to Files. Then, on this page, choose “Choose Files” and look for it in the folder where you saved it.
Is converting better than taking a screenshot of the PDF?
Yes, if you want the whole page and good quality. A screenshot crops the page to the screen and includes the viewer’s bars; the conversion gives you each full page at the resolution you choose.