How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac: 5 Ways

As a writer, I often get files emailed to me in the format of PDF. At first, I used to copy all the text from the PDF file and copy it to Pages, and do all the reformatting, but this is very time-consuming.  Especially when converting some scanned PDF files, you won't be allowed to copy and paste. 

However, I do find some ways and apps that convert PDF to Pages file with good formatting. Here are 5 solutions on how to convert PDF to Pages on macOS. Also, we share extra method to convert PDF to Pages on iOS device, like iPad or iPhone if you need to.

 

TL;DR – Best PDF to Pages Converter (Tested and Compared)

 

Best PDF to Pages Converter for Mac 2025

Cisdem PDF Converter OCR can perform the PDF-to-Pages conversion directly, with it, you never have to worry about how to convert PDF to Pages or even a scanned PDF to Pages with its OCR capability. It provides a full offline solution for all PDF conversion related problems. Now, please download this tool to convert a PDF to Pages on Mac for a trial.

Key Features of Cisdem PDF Converter OCR for Mac

• Accurate PDF conversions to formats such as images, MS Office, Pages, Keynote, EPUB, HTML, and more.
• Convert scanned PDF to editable and searchable formats, coming with support for 50+ language options.
• Offline conversion, so no worries on converting confidential and sensitive files.
• Create PDF from Word, PowerPoint, EPUB, HTML, Text, CHM, etc.
• Supports batch converting PDF files.
• Have no limit on PDF file size and file number. 

Pros

• Easy to use, lightweight.
• Support batch conversion.
• Accurate OCR engine. 
• Convert PDF to Pages without losing format, Keep layouts, links, images, alignment, fonts, etc.

Free Download macOS 10.14 or later

Tutorial #1 How to Convert Native PDF to Pages on MacBook Air, Pro or iMac

Step 1: Upload the PDF File

Launch PDF Converter OCR for Mac and go to "Converter" interface. You can drag and drop to add multiple files directly into the application (up to 200 files). Add or delete the files by clicking the "+" or "-" icon in the lower left corner.

Step 2: Choose the Output Format

Select "All Pages" or the page range to specify the pages before conversion. In the right-side drop down menu, choose the "to Pages" option.

Step 3: Convert PDF to Pages on Mac

For more accurate conversion, click on the Pages Setting icon and choose a priority. Then choose a destination folder to save the file. Finally, click “Convert” to efficiently convert multiple PDFs to Pages simultaneously. 

After the conversion is done, you can click on the folder icon to locate the converted Pages file. You can now open Pages directly on your Mac and edit it the way you need.

Now, let’s just compare the converted Pages and the original PDF file. See, notice how well the layout has been preserved here, it can convert PDF to editable pages document while retaining formatting accurately.

Download Cisdem PDF Converter OCR and give it a try on your own now!

Free Download macOS 10.14 or later

Video Tutorial on How to Convert PDF to Pages

Tutorial #2 How to Convert Scanned PDF to Pages on Mac

Most of the time, the PDF you get will be scanned PDF files. If you’re using a PDF conversion program that has no support for OCR, the converted Pages will be a single image, which is not editable and searchable.

Cisdem PDF Converter OCR makes conversion as simple as possible. It requires no experience for working with OCR modules. And it supports most of the popular OCR languages. 

1. Drag and drop scanned PDF files to the program.
2. The program will automatically detect the scanned PDF or image file and prompt you to download the advanced OCR module. With this, you can convert scanned PDF or images to editable Pages.

That's it, several clicks and wait for several seconds, you will get your PDF in Pages format, and you will be able to edit the Pages file on your iPad or Mac anytime, anywhere.

 

Convert PDF to Pages Online with CleverPDF

If your PDF is small and has no confidential information, we recommend you to use CleverPDF to convert PDF to pages. It offers online free services to create, convert, protect, unlock, compress and organize PDF files. Its PDF Converter helps to convert native PDFs to Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image formats. 

What impress us most is that the quality of the output pages is fairly good, you only need to do small changes manually. 

Limitations: 

• OCR is not supported.
• Can process only one PDF to Pages conversion at a time.
• Only support adding PDF files smaller than 20 MB.
• Potential risk of information leakage.
• Require a stable Internet connection to process the file.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online Free with CleverPDF?

1. Visit cleverpdf.com and choose the PDF to Pages tool.

2. Drag and drop a PDF file to CleverPDF or upload PDF from cloud storage devices such as Google Drive and Dropbox.

3. Then click on the Start conversion to turn your PDF into Pages.

4. Then download the Pages document to your Mac, Google Drive or Dropbox.

Now, let's just compare the converted Pages and the original PDF file. See, the result is good, though after conversion, the titles are crowded together.

 

Convert PDF to Pages Online with HiPDF

Some users may note that CleverPDF doesn’t support batch process PDFs, which takes more time and effort. Here we show another online free PDF to Pages converter for you. It enables you to batch export PDFs as Pages format, but works on native PDFs only too. 

Limitations:

• Scanned PDF can’t be recognized.
• The maximum file size is 20 MB.
• The maximum number of pages per file is 100 pages.
• 5 files/task at most for free.
• Need to enter an email address to use the tool.
• Potential risk of information leakage.
• Require manually revise conversion errors.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online Free with HiPDF?

1. Go to HiPDF PDF to Pages.

2. Drag and drop PDF files to the program or click Choose File to upload.

3. Click Convert to start the conversion.

4. When your task has been completed, they will ask you to enter the email address to log in and download the converted Pages file.

Compared with CleverPDF, the output of HiPDF is not that good, the result came out all scrambled, and you need take some time to manually adjust it.

 

Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Free Using Preview

If you are looking for a built-in solution on macOS that can import PDF to Pages, then preview is what you are looking for. But, Preview only supports converting native PDF to Pages by copying and pasting, and this may lead to format loss. If you need to process a PDF file with a relatively small number of pages, then you can try the following method.

How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Using Preview?

1. Open PDF with macOS Preview.
2. Select and Copy the text that you want to paste to Pages.
3. Create a new Pages document. Click on the Add Page icon and Paste the contents to the Pages file.
4. Go to File > Save, your PDF file will be saved as Pages format on Mac.

 

Convert PDF to Pages Free with Automator

You may encounter a situation where you cannot copy text when using Preview. If your file has too many pages or too much text to copy, you can try to convert it directly to Text format. On Mac, Automator can help you create automated workflow, applications or actions to process PDF files in batch.

How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac with Automator?

1. Enter and find Automator in Spotlight Search.
2. Run Automator on your macOS, click Application > Choose.
3. Drag your PDF file onto the right work interface.
4. Go to PDFs > Extract PDF Text and also drag it to the right side of the interface. Set the output format as Plain Text and choose the output file name.
5. Click on Run button at the top right corner to start processing automatically. You can easily copy and paste the text to Pages on your Mac now.

 You are able to batch convert PDF to text using Automator, in the step 3, drag many files into the right panel. Select all the imported PDFs by holding down the Shift key and click on files simultaneously. Then follow the above steps to finish bulk conversion.

Can I Open a PDF File in Pages on Mac?

The above ways we show are relying on PDF converters, editors, or even workflows creator. Can I open a PDF in Pages without the help of them? I can definitely answer that this is achievable, but it will not be as convenient as we imagined.

Mac Pages allows users to insert PDF to Pages as images. You have to manually add a multi-page PDF file page by page and the content on the image cannot be changed.

Since iWork Pages cannot open PDF directly, you will need to open an existing Pages file, then insert the PDF file to Pages.

Steps to Insert PDF to Pages on Mac

1. In Pages app, open a blank or existing Pages document.
2. Head to Insert > Choose...
3. Then choose a PDF file that you want to insert to the Pages you create, and click on the Insert button.
4. The PDF will be inserted as an image, you can adjust the style, opacity, position, size and rotation on the right pane.

Notes: If the PDF you’ve chosen contains many pages, then only the first page of this PDF will be inserted on the blank page.

 

Extended: Convert PDF to Pages on iPhone or iPad

You may use Pages on iPhone or iPad more frequently, since iOS devices are more portable. Then how to convert PDF to Pages on iOS devices? You will need a PDF to Pages application for iOS. Let’s say Lighten PDF to Pages for iOS.

Lighten PDF to Pages for iOS is a lightweight app to turn native PDFs into iWork Pages on iPhone and iPad, it is priced at $1.99. Users are allowed to upload PDF from iCloud, Dropbox, Email or other places for Pages conversion, then share the Pages to iCloud, Dropbox or just keep it in the app. 

Steps to Convert PDF to Pages on iPhone or iPad

1. Download and install Lighten PDF to Pages for iOS.
   
2. Add PDF to the application for conversion.
3. Tap on Convert button to start PDF to Pages conversion.
4. Once ready, share the Pages document to iCloud or other places as needed.

 

Which is the best method to convert your PDF to Pages?

You may have noticed there are quite a few solutions to convert a PDF to Pages directly. Most of the guides told you to convert PDF to Word, then save Word as Pages, which takes time and scarifies quality.

All the methods we introduced above support directly convert PDF to pages. Which method you should follow depends on the PDF and your personal needs.

• Using Preview - If your PDF is short and are mainly text-based.
• Using Automator - If you have multiple PDFs that are long and text-based.
• Using CleverPDF & HiPDF - If your PDF is short, has complex formatting, and no sensitive information.
• Using PDF Converter OCR - If your PDF is long, has complex formatting, is scanned, or you have batches of PDF to be converted to Pages.

 

FAQs in PDF to Pages Conversion

What are the differences between the original PDF and the converted Pages document?  

When converting PDF to pages, the most frequently asked question is whether the conversion will cause differences between the original PDF and the converted Pages file, such as format, layout, image quality, font substitution, hyperlink, bookmark, comment, etc.

If maintaining the original formatting is important to you, and you just don’t want to manually refine the output Pages document, we recommend you to use PDF Converter OCR or online sites like CleverPDF. These two methods will preserve hyperlinks and interactive elements. There is no loss of quality, all the images, tables and charts remaining intact.

Is there any limitation or restriction on converting PDF to Pages?

For offline tools and build-in tools like Preview and Automator, there is no limit on the file size and file number, but for online sites like CleverPDF and HiPDF, they will have different limits on file size and file number, and number of tasks per day.

Can I edit text and images after the PDF to Pages conversion?

For normal PDF files, the converted Pages documents can easily be edited. But for scanned PDF files, you need a tool that supports OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, otherwise the converted Pages will be a whole image, which can not be edited.

Are Pages files compatible with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or other word processing software?

Yes, Microsoft Word and Google Docs can read Pages documents. However, you need to export the Pages document to.docx or .doc before opening.