How to Convert a PDF to Google Docs?

Google Docs is one of the most popular tools used globally. This is not surprising, considering the platform offers a clean interface, solid document management, and just enough advanced features without making things complicated.

Do you know what else is popular? PDFs, but they can be a nightmare to edit.

That’s where Google Docs steps in as a super-easy tool that you can use to copy, paste, and edit text. But how can you convert your PDF to Google Docs?

Here’s a quick and painless guide on how to convert a PDF to Google Docs without losing formatting.

⏰ 60-Second Summary

Need a quick rundown? Here’s everything you need to know about converting and managing PDFs in Google Docs:

Google Docs is widely used and offers a familiar, user-friendly interface
Converting PDFs to Google Docs allows users to edit, collaborate, and share files easily, eliminating the need for expensive PDF editors
Methods for conversion include Google Drive for basic PDFs and third-party tools like CloudConvert for preserving formatting
- Upload your PDF file to Google Drive, right-click, select Open with > Google Docs, and start editing
- Convert PDFs to Word or Google Docs format while preserving tables, images, and complex formatting
- Use Adobe’s PDF-to-Word converter to maintain original styling before uploading to Google Docs
- Convert PDF files to Google Docs-compatible formats with an easy drag-and-drop interface
Editing PDFs in Google Docs is possible, but complex formatting elements like tables, images, and bulleted lists may not always transfer perfectly
ClickUp offers a better alternative for document management, integrating task automation, collaboration tools, and seamless organization for PDFs and Google Docs

Try ClickUp For Free

How to Convert a PDF to Google Docs

Why Convert PDFs to Google Docs?

I really like this tool because it allows collaboration between team members… It’s really productive and saves us a lot of time. I can edit the shared document at the same time as my colleagues. Super easy tool to share and work simultaneously on projects.

That’s a direct quote from a real Google Docs user on G2—because sometimes, the best way to prove a point is to let the users do the talking. And honestly, this sums up why Google Workspace users keep coming back.

So, when you convert a PDF to Google Docs format, here’s what you unlock:

Fix mistakes, edit text, and fill out forms without needing extra software
Work on the same document with teammates in real time, whether they’re in the next room or another timezone
Share a Google Docs file with a simple link, allowing others to view, comment, or edit
Reduce time spent on manual data entry with instant text conversion
Skip the cost of paid PDF conversion tools—Google Docs does it for free

💡 Pro Tip: Looking for a way to stop chasing scattered files and endless email threads? Knowledge management software helps capture, organize, and share information effortlessly.

Methods to Convert PDFs to Google Docs

There’s more than one way to convert a PDF to Google Docs, depending on what you need. Whether you’re dealing with a simple text-based PDF file, a scanned document, or one packed with complex formatting, here are the best methods to get the job done.

1. Using Google Drive

If you’re already using Google Workspace, this is the easiest way to convert PDFs without downloading extra software.

Go to drive.google.com
Click New > File Upload, then select your PDF file (or just drag and drop it into Google Drive)

Right-click the uploaded file
Select Open with > Google Docs

That’s it! Your PDF document is now an editable Google Doc.

To save your changes, click File > Download > PDF Document, and you’ll have a new PDF with your edits.

✍🏻 Note: While Google Docs does a great job with basic text, formatting can be a hit or miss. Headings and paragraphs usually transfer well, but tables, images, and bullet points may not look as polished as they did in the original PDF file.

Also Read: How to Customize and Format Google Docs

2. Using third-party tools

If your PDF document contains many images, tables, or complex layouts, Google Docs may struggle to maintain its original formatting. That’s where third-party tools like CloudConvert, Adobe Acrobat, and Smallpdf can help.

Go to a PDF-to-Word converter like CloudConvert or Adobe Acrobat Online
Click convert to turn your PDF file into a Word document

Upload the converted Word file to Google Drive

Upload the converted Word file to Google Drive

Double-click to open Google Docs, which will automatically convert the PDF pages

This method ensures that images, tables, and special formatting stay intact. Some tools even let you batch-convert PDF files for faster processing.

💡 Pro Tip: Managing PDF documents can be overwhelming, especially when searching for specific details in lengthy files. Instead of scrolling endlessly, learning how to conduct a PDF search effectively saves time.

3. Converting scanned PDFs

Converting scanned PDFs: PDF to Google Docs — *Source: PDFGear*

If your PDF file is a scanned document (meaning it’s an image rather than selectable text), Google Docs alone won’t cut it. You’ll need Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract the text.

Upload the scanned PDF file to Google Drive
Right-click and select Open with > Google Docs
Google will attempt to extract the text, but the formatting may not be perfect

Use tools like Adobe Acrobat’s OCR, Smallpdf, or CloudConvert before uploading to Google Docs for better results. These tools recognize text from scanned pages and maintain the original formatting as much as possible.

Also Read: How to Track Changes in Google Docs for Seamless Team Collaboration

Editing PDFs in Google Docs

So, you’ve successfully converted a PDF to Google Docs—great! But now comes the real challenge: editing it without wrecking the original formatting.

✅ The good news

Google Docs lets you edit or annotate your PDF document like any other file. Using built-in tools, you can fix typos, add new content, and format text. It even applies styles like Title, Subtitle, and Headings automatically.

🚩 The not-so-good news

Google Docs formatting isn’t perfect. If your PDF file had complex elements like tables, checkboxes, or icons, things might look… a little messy. For example:

Bulleted lists may have weird spacing
Tables could lose their structure
Images might appear in lower resolution

💡 Pro Tip: Here are Google Docs hacks to make things simpler—if your document relies heavily on formatting, consider using a PDF editor before uploading it to Google Docs.

📮ClickUp Insight: Low-performing teams are 4 times more likely to juggle 15+ tools, while high-performing teams maintain efficiency by limiting their toolkit to 9 or fewer platforms. But how about using one platform?
As the everything app for work, ClickUp brings your tasks, projects, docs, wikis, chat, and calls under a single platform, complete with AI-powered workflows. Ready to work smarter? ClickUp works for every team, makes work visible, and allows you to focus on what matters while AI handles the rest.

Try ClickUp for Free

Common Issues and Limitations in Using Google Docs

Once again, let’s hear it from real Google Docs users to understand the challenges the platform imposes:

🗣️ “When I have used Workspace and opened docs, Excel, Gmail, instant messaging, and browsing other sites, I experienced a significant reduction in processing speed,” said this G2 user.

🗣️ Another user on Reddit noted, “Perfect until you reach a certain word count, then you might want to split it into multiple documents or use another software.”

💡 Pro Tip: Documentation can be time-consuming and tedious, but once you learn how to use AI for documentation, you can automate repetitive tasks, organize information efficiently, and free up time for more important work.

Clearly, Google Docs isn’t perfect. Here are five challenges that might trouble you when using it for PDF document editing and beyond:

Performance issues: If you have too many tabs open, expect Google Docs to slow down, especially with large PDF files or long documents
Formatting struggles: Converting a PDF to Google Docs often messes up tables, images, and fonts, requiring manual fixes
Limited offline access: Without Google Workspace offline mode, editing documents without an internet connection can be tricky
Scalability problems: Documents over 200,000 words or 200+ pages can become buggy, laggy, and difficult to manage.
Collaboration imbalance: Comments and discussions in Google Docs files can get overwhelming, especially when multiple team members edit at once

💡 Pro Tip: Outdated operating systems and unsupported file formats slow down collaboration, but file-sharing software simplifies document access and eliminates time-consuming email exchanges.

Using ClickUp for Document Management

Even if you’re handling multiple PDF files and Google Docs, you deserve an organized space where everything stays neat and your workflow remains smooth.

ClickUp, being the everything app for work, combines document management workflow, task tracking, and AI-powered automation in a centralized platform that is built for collaboration.

ClickUp’s Hierarchy lets you structure documents, tasks, and projects in a way that actually makes sense. Instead of searching across multiple platforms, you can:

Create, store, and edit documents directly within ClickUp, keeping everything linked to your projects
Upload PDFs and Google Docs into specific folders, projects, or tasks for easy access
Nest documents under categories like “Contracts,” “Marketing Materials,” or “Client Proposals” to maintain a structured workflow
Sync with Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive for seamless access to external PDF files and shared Google Docs files

🍪 Bonus: With ClickUp Integrations, you can connect over 1,000 apps, including Dropbox, Slack, and Google Drive. This means files stay synchronized across platforms, ensuring that your team can access, edit, and share documents effortlessly.

With ClickUp Docs, collaboration becomes more than just sharing files. For instance, team members can edit Google Docs files in real time without leaving the platform, tag colleagues directly in ClickUp Docs, and leave comments on PDF documents without the usual back-and-forth over email.

ClickUp Docs: PDF to Google Docs — *Tag team members in ClickUp Docs, ensuring they review or edit the right sections*

Every document update, revision, or approval is linked to a task, so there’s no second-guessing who’s responsible for what.

ClickUp loves to make things as easy as possible for you. This is why ClickUp’s Automations take repetitive work off your plate. Here’s how PDF to Google Docs users can benefit:

Auto-assign tasks when a document is uploaded for review
Notify the right team members when a PDF is converted and ready for editing
Change task status automatically once a document is approved
Trigger follow-up actions (like tagging, reassigning, or setting due dates) when a file is updated

ClickUp Automations: PDF to Google Docs — *Notify the right people, assign a review task, and trigger an approval workflow automatically when a PDF file is uploaded using ClickUp Automations*

📌 Example: Say you convert a PDF into Google Docs format and upload it to ClickUp. You can set an automation that immediately notifies your editor, assigns them the review, and updates the task status—all without manual input.

Also Read: How to Write Project Documentation [Examples & Templates]

Upgrade from Docs and PDFs with ClickUp

We’ve heard from Google Docs users. Now it’s time to see what ClickUp users are talking about (Turns out they’re onto something big.)

For instance, Mitch Stephens, PMP, Technical Program Manager at Shipt, had this to say:

Since adopting ClickUp, our teams have slowly migrated away from Google Docs for documentation, and in fact, documentation has improved significantly.

That’s because ClickUp isn’t just a document management tool—it’s a full-fledged workflow powerhouse. With features like real-time collaboration, task automation, and seamless integrations with Google Drive and Dropbox, it keeps PDF files, Google Docs, and project documents organized in one place.