How to
How to convert SVG to PDF
- Add your SVG. Choose the file, drop it on the box, or paste the SVG code. It stays on your device.
- Choose the page. Fit the page to the drawing for a PDF exactly the size of the SVG, or place it on Letter, Legal, Tabloid, A3, A4 or A5.
- Set the margin. On a standard page the drawing is scaled to fit inside the margins and centered. Orientation follows the drawing unless you choose one.
- Download the PDF. Paths, fills, strokes and gradients stay vectors, so it prints sharp at any size.
How big is the PDF page?
With Fit the page to the drawing, the page is the size written in the SVG, read at the CSS standard of 96 pixels per inch. An SVG that is 960 pixels wide becomes a page 10 inches wide, and one sized in millimeters or inches keeps that size. On a standard page the drawing is enlarged or reduced to the largest size that fits inside the margins, and the size of the page is shown above the preview.
What about text and fonts?
Text in the SVG is written into the PDF with the standard PDF fonts, Helvetica, Times or Courier, whichever is closest. To keep an exact typeface, such as a brand font in a logo, convert the text to outlines in your vector editor first. The letters then become shapes and come through exactly.
Need an image instead? Use SVG to PNG or SVG to JPG. For printable grids, try the graph paper maker, which downloads a PDF too.
Questions people ask
Is SVG better than PDF for printing?
For sending to a printer, PDF is the safer choice. Both can hold vector shapes, but PDF also fixes the page size and margins, and print shops, office printers and design apps all accept it. SVG is made for screens and the web. Keep the SVG as your editable master and send a PDF made from it for printing.
Is a PDF a SVG file?
No, they are different formats. SVG is an XML text format from the W3C for vector graphics on the web. PDF is a page format, now an ISO standard, that can contain vector shapes, text, fonts and images. This converter redraws the shapes of your SVG as PDF vector paths, so the result is a real PDF, not a picture of the SVG.
Can I convert a PDF to SVG for free?
Not on this page, which only goes from SVG to PDF. The free vector editor Inkscape can open a PDF page and save it as SVG, keeping the shapes as vectors. If the PDF is a scan, it only holds a picture, so trace it instead: save the page as a PNG and use our image to SVG converter.
Is there a free SVG converter?
Yes. This page converts SVG to PDF for free, with no sign-up and no watermark, and graphsmith has free converters from SVG to PNG, JPG and ICO too. They all run in your browser. Going the other way, the SVG converter turns PNG and JPG images into SVG by tracing them.
Is it safe to open an SVG file?
An SVG is a text file that can include scripts and links, so treat SVGs from unknown senders like any other download. Opening one directly in a browser tab can run its scripts. Converting it here does not: the SVG is drawn the way an image is, which ignores scripts, and the file stays on your device.