Change PDF to Grayscale Online

Convert a colour PDF to grayscale, or to true black and white with no gray shades, for cleaner printing and easier sharing. Preview the result first, keep text selectable in grayscale, and convert only the pages you choose.

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100% FreeNo registration required

Secure & PrivateFiles auto-deleted after processing

Live PreviewSee the result before you convert

Works on Any DeviceDesktop, tablet and mobile

What Does Change PDF to Grayscale Do?

It removes the colour from a PDF. Grayscale turns every colour into a shade of gray, so photos, charts and highlights keep their detail. By default it changes the colours directly instead of turning pages into pictures, so text stays selectable and searchable and vector graphics stay sharp at any zoom.

Black & white goes further: every pixel becomes pure black or pure white, with no gray at all. That is what you want when you need to convert a PDF to black and white, not grayscale: crisp text for printing, faxing or document portals that only accept two-tone files. High-contrast black & white also stretches the contrast and whitens the paper first, which cleans up scans with a gray or yellowed background.

Grayscale or Black & White: Which Should You Choose?

Grayscale for photos, charts, slides and anything where different colours must stay distinguishable
Black & white for text documents, forms and contracts you will print on a laser printer
High-contrast black & white for phone scans and photocopies with a gray or uneven background
Not sure? The preview suggests a mode for the page you are looking at

Who Can Use This Tool?

Students and office workers printing without colour ink
Anyone submitting documents to a portal that asks for black and white files
People cleaning up phone scans of receipts, letters and forms
Publishers checking how a colour layout reads in print

How to Change a PDF to Grayscale Online

Upload your PDF. Page thumbnails and a live preview appear.

Choose Grayscale, Black & white or High-contrast black & white, and a quality.

Optionally pick only some pages, or fine-tune resolution, brightness and threshold.

Convert, check the summary and preview, then download.

Features

Grayscale that keeps text selectable and vector graphics sharp
True black and white with automatic or manual threshold and optional dithering
Live before/after preview with a compare slider and side-by-side view
Convert all pages or only the ones you choose; the rest stay in colour
Quality presets from small file to 300 DPI print quality
Free, no registration, files deleted automatically

Supported Formats

PDF → PDF

Tips for Converting PDFs to Black and White

Check the preview on a page with charts: colours that look different can become the same gray
If light text disappears in black & white, turn off automatic threshold and raise it
Turn on dithering for pages with photos, so shading shows as dots instead of solid black
Use Print friendly or Best quality for documents you will print

Troubleshooting

Problem: I can’t select or copy text after converting

Solution: Both black & white modes, and Grayscale with “Keep text selectable” turned off, turn pages into images. Use Grayscale with “Keep text selectable” on. A few pages may still be converted as images if they use colour effects that can’t be changed directly; the result summary tells you how many.

Problem: The converted PDF is larger than the original

Solution: Pages converted as images are usually larger than text. Choose the Small file quality or a lower resolution, keep text selectable in Grayscale, or run the result through Compress PDF.

Problem: Parts of the page vanished in black & white

Solution: Light colours fell on the white side of the threshold. Turn off automatic threshold and raise it, turn on dithering, or use Grayscale instead.

Problem: My file won’t upload

Solution: Make sure the file is a PDF under 50 MB. Password-protected files must be unlocked first with Unlock PDF, and damaged files can be fixed with Repair PDF.

Change PDF to Grayscale FAQ

Is changing a PDF to grayscale really free?

Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up, watermark or hidden limits beyond the file size shown above.

What is the difference between grayscale and black and white?

Grayscale keeps up to 256 shades of gray, so photos and charts keep their detail. Black and white uses only pure black and pure white, which prints crisply and makes small files, but light details and photo shading can be lost.

Can I convert a PDF to black and white, not grayscale?

Yes. Choose Black & white, or High-contrast black & white for scans. Every pixel becomes pure black or pure white, with no gray shades.

Will I still be able to select or search text after converting?

In Grayscale with “Keep text selectable” on, yes: the colours are changed without turning pages into pictures. Black and white modes turn pages into images, so text there is no longer selectable.

Can I convert only some pages?

Yes. Choose Custom Pages and enter pages or ranges such as 1, 3, 5-8, or use “Convert only this page” under the preview. Pages you don’t choose stay exactly as they were, in colour.

Will my file be kept after processing?

No. Your upload and the converted file are deleted automatically a short time after processing.

What is the maximum file size?

You can upload PDF files up to 50 MB.

Privacy & Security

Your files are handled securely

Uploads are transferred over an encrypted connection and processed in an isolated job folder. The live preview is drawn in your browser. Your original file is never modified: the converted PDF is always a new, separate file. Files are deleted automatically, normally within 60 minutes. Read our Privacy Policy or contact us with any questions.

Why Trust PDFCherry?

PDFCherry is built and maintained by a small, dedicated team and runs on established, industry-standard PDF libraries — not an anonymous "free tool" that resells your files or data. The privacy practices above apply across the whole site. More about PDFCherry.

Having issues or need help? Contact Us — we're here to help.

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Change PDF to Grayscale Online

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