FubakoConvert PDF to Excel Locally on Mac (Free, No Upload)
Invoices and quotes arrive as PDFs; your numbers live in Excel. Here's how to bridge that gap without a single byte leaving your Mac.
"PDF to Excel" searches lead to web services
The top converters are web-based: they process your file on their servers. Invoices contain amounts, business partners, and bank details — if your policy forbids external uploads, they're not an option. Subscribing to Acrobat Pro just for this feels excessive.
What Fubako can and can't convert
Fubako detects tables as structure using Apple's document-recognition engine (Vision) and writes .xlsx with a dependency-free engine of its own. Here's the honest coverage:
| Input | Supported | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ruled tables (invoices, quotes, statements) | Yes | Merged cells (vertical & horizontal) reproduced |
| Tables inside scanned PDFs | Yes | Cell contents read via OCR |
| Tables spanning multiple pages | Yes | Concatenated into one sheet |
| Numbers & amounts | Yes | Thousands separators become real numeric values |
| Borderless tables (whitespace-aligned only) | No | Not detectable as structure — stated openly |
Layout policy
By default the output is one sheet that mirrors the original layout: tables and surrounding text appear in document order, so you never hunt for which table went where. A table-per-sheet option is also available.
How to use it
- Open the PDF in Fubako, choose Export → Excel (.xlsx)
- Pick the layout (single sheet / sheet per table) and save
- The file opens in Excel or Numbers as-is
FAQ
How accurate is it?
On clearly ruled documents, both structure and contents are production-accurate. Heavily skewed or low-resolution scans reduce accuracy. Conversion takes seconds and runs locally — the fastest way to know is to try your own file.
Are formulas and formatting converted?
Values and table structure (including merged cells) are converted. PDFs don't retain formula information, so no tool can recover formulas — that's inherent to the format.
How do I know it's really not uploading?
Fubako is signed without any network entitlements; the macOS sandbox structurally forbids communication. Anyone can inspect the signature with the codesign command.
Fubako — a free, fully local PDF toolbox
macOS 14+ (Excel conversion: 26+) · Free · Notarized
Download · macOS