Quick answer: To convert a PDF to grayscale, choose it here and press Convert to grayscale. “Keep text” turns colours and photos grey while text stays selectable; “Scan-style” redraws every page as a grey image, which is always fully grey and the smallest option for scanned documents. Nothing is uploaded.
Upload portals ask for black-and-white scans, printers charge for colour, and grey scans are smaller. Turn any PDF grey here, keeping its text sharp and selectable.
Grayscale PDF at a glance
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no watermark, no daily limit |
|---|---|
| Accepts | |
| Largest file | 200 MB per file, several files at once |
| Where it runs | In your browser: files are never uploaded |
| Works on | Any modern browser on iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux |
| Send the result | Download it, or send it free with a link or by email (up to 20 GB) |
How to grayscale PDF
- Choose one or more PDFs.
- Keep “Keep text” for documents, or pick “Scan-style” for scans and upload forms.
- Press Convert to grayscale.
- Check the result on the page, then download it or send it with a link.
Two methods
| Keep text | Scan-style | |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Stays sharp and selectable | Becomes part of the page image |
| Photos | Re-saved in grey | Redrawn in grey |
| Everything grey? | Almost always; gradients and special print colours can stay in colour | Always |
| Best for | Reports, contracts, slides | Scans, photos of documents, upload portals |
Does grayscale make a PDF smaller?
Usually, yes, for scans and photo-heavy files: a grey page carries far less colour information. For typed documents the size hardly changes, because text is tiny either way. If you need to hit a size limit, combine it with Compress PDF or Compress PDF to 100 KB.
Printing in black and white
Most printers can print in grayscale on their own, but a grey PDF guarantees it: no colour cartridge is touched, and coloured text or light-coloured highlights come out as clear shades of grey instead of faint dots. It is also what many government, visa and exam portals ask for when they say “black and white scan”.
Private, on your device
The PDF is converted in your browser with pdf-lib and pdf.js and is never uploaded. That matters for IDs, bank statements and signed contracts.
How this compares
| This tool | Online converters (e.g. iLovePDF, Smallpdf or Adobe Acrobat online) | Desktop apps (e.g. Adobe Acrobat Pro) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your file is uploaded | No | Yes, to their servers | No |
| Install or account | None | Account for some features | Install needed |
| Watermark or daily limits | None | Common on free plans | Depends on the app |
Plans of other services change; check their sites. More pdf tools.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a PDF black and white?
Choose it here and press Convert to grayscale. Keep text leaves text selectable; Scan-style makes every page a grey image.
Why is something still in colour?
Keep text changes normal colours and photos but not gradients or special print colours. Use Scan-style for a fully grey result.
Will the text still be searchable?
With Keep text, yes. With Scan-style, no: pages become images.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. It is converted in your browser on your device.
Need to send a big file?
Send files up to 20 GB with a download link or by email. Free, no account needed, original quality.
Send large files free