Need to turn a PDF into JPG images on your Mac? You don’t need expensive software or sketchy online converters. macOS actually has decent built-in tools for this, and there are several free apps that handle the job well.
I tested 9 different methods over the past month – from built-in macOS features to third-party apps and online tools. Here’s what actually works in 2026, with real steps and honest limitations. If you’re looking for more general PDF editing options, check out our best free PDF editors roundup.
Quick Comparison: PDF to JPG Methods on Mac
| Method | Batch Convert | Quality Control | Offline | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preview (built-in) | No (page by page) | Basic | Yes | Quick single pages |
| Automator/Shortcuts | Yes | Good (DPI settings) | Yes | Batch automation |
| sips (Terminal) | Yes (scriptable) | Good | Yes | Power users, scripts |
| ILovePDF | Yes | Resolution options | No | Occasional use |
| Smallpdf | Yes | Limited | No | Quick online convert |
| LibreOffice Draw | Yes | Good (export settings) | Yes | Already installed |
| PDF Expert | No free batch | Excellent | Yes | Frequent PDF work |
| ImageMagick | Yes | Full control | Yes | Developers, automation |
| Adobe Acrobat Online | Limited | Good | No | Adobe ecosystem users |
1. Preview – The Built-in Option That’s Already on Your Mac
Preview gets overlooked because people assume it only opens files. But it can export PDF pages as JPG images right out of the box.
Steps to convert PDF to JPG with Preview
- Open your PDF in Preview (double-click usually does it)
- Go to File > Export
- Change the Format dropdown to JPEG
- Adjust the Quality slider (I recommend 85% for a good size-to-quality ratio)
- Pick your save location and click Save
The catch: this exports only the currently visible page. For a 40-page PDF, you’d need to repeat this 40 times. Not great. But for grabbing one or two pages as images, Preview is fast and the quality is solid.
One thing I noticed – Preview’s JPEG export produces slightly larger files than what you get from dedicated converters. A single page from a text-heavy PDF came out at about 420KB at 85% quality, while ILovePDF produced a 280KB file that looked the same.
2. Automator – Batch Convert Without Installing Anything
Automator is Apple’s automation tool that ships with every Mac. You can build a workflow that converts all pages of a PDF to JPG in one shot. This is honestly the best free method for batch conversion on Mac.
How to set it up
- Open Automator from Applications
- Choose “Quick Action” as your workflow type
- Set “Workflow receives current” to “PDF files” in Finder
- From the left panel, drag “Render PDF Pages as Images” into the workflow area
- Set format to JPEG, resolution to 150 or 300 DPI (300 if you need print quality)
- Add “Move Finder Items” and pick your output folder
- Save the workflow with a name like “PDF to JPG”
Now you can right-click any PDF in Finder, go to Quick Actions, and hit your “PDF to JPG” workflow. All pages get converted at once. On my M2 MacBook Air, a 25-page PDF converted in about 4 seconds at 150 DPI.
On macOS Ventura and later, you can also use Shortcuts instead of Automator. Same concept, slightly different interface. Apple has been pushing Shortcuts as Automator’s replacement, though both still work fine in macOS Sequoia.
3. Terminal with sips – For the Command Line Crowd
macOS includes a command-line tool called sips (Scriptable Image Processing System). It handles image conversion without any installs. There’s a problem though – sips can’t directly read PDF files. You need a two-step process.
The actual working method
First, use the built-in qlmanage (Quick Look) command to render PDF pages, then convert with sips:
qlmanage -t -s 2048 -o /tmp/ yourfile.pdf
sips -s format jpeg /tmp/yourfile.pdf.png --out output.jpgFor bulk conversion, wrap it in a shell script. Here’s one that processes every PDF in a folder:
for f in *.pdf; do
qlmanage -t -s 2048 -o ./output/ "$f"
doneThe -s 2048 flag sets the longest dimension to 2048 pixels. Bump it up to 3000 or 4000 for higher resolution output. The downside of qlmanage is that it only renders the first page of multi-page PDFs. For all pages, you’re better off with ImageMagick or Automator.
4. ILovePDF – Best Online Option for Mac Users
When I don’t want to mess with Automator workflows or terminal commands, ILovePDF handles the job in seconds. Upload, convert, download. Done.
How it works
- Go to ilovepdf.com/pdf_to_jpg
- Upload your PDF (drag and drop works)
- Choose “Page to JPG” (converts each page) or “Extract images” (pulls embedded images only)
- Pick resolution – Normal (150 DPI) or High (300 DPI)
- Click Convert and download the ZIP
Free tier limits: 1 file at a time, max 15MB file size, 2 tasks per hour. The paid plan ($4/month) removes all limits. For occasional use, the free tier covers most needs.
I ran a side-by-side test with a 12-page presentation PDF. ILovePDF at high quality produced images that were visually identical to Preview’s export, but 30-35% smaller in file size. Whatever compression they use, it’s effective.
5. Smallpdf – Simple but More Restrictive
Smallpdf works similarly to ILovePDF but with tighter free limits. You get 2 free tasks per day (down from 7 back in 2024). The conversion quality is comparable.
Pricing: Pro plan runs $12/month or $9/month billed annually. Honestly, ILovePDF gives you more for less money, so Smallpdf only makes sense if you’re already paying for their other tools.
The one advantage Smallpdf has: their Mac desktop app (free download) can do offline conversions without the daily task limits. It’s a 45MB download, and the converter works without an internet connection. The app is ad-supported in the free version, but the ads aren’t intrusive.
6. LibreOffice Draw – Free, Offline, and Surprisingly Capable
If you already have LibreOffice installed (and a lot of Mac users do for the free office suite), Draw can open PDFs and export pages as JPG. The process is clunkier than dedicated tools, but it gives you fine control over export settings.
Steps
- Open LibreOffice Draw
- File > Open > select your PDF
- Each page becomes a separate slide-like canvas
- File > Export > change file type to JPEG
- In the options dialog, set quality (I use 90%) and resolution
LibreOffice processes PDFs differently than Preview – it re-renders the content rather than rasterizing the page. This means text stays sharper at lower resolutions, but complex vector graphics might render with slight differences. For text-heavy documents, LibreOffice actually produces better-looking JPGs than Preview at the same file size.
Download size: about 400MB. If you’re installing it just for PDF conversion, that’s overkill. But if you use it for documents or spreadsheets anyway, the PDF export feature is a nice bonus.
7. ImageMagick via Homebrew – Developer’s Best Friend
ImageMagick is the Swiss army knife of image processing. Install it through Homebrew and you get command-line PDF-to-JPG conversion with complete control over every parameter.
Installation and usage
brew install imagemagick ghostscript
convert -density 300 input.pdf -quality 90 output-%03d.jpgThe -density 300 flag sets 300 DPI rendering. The %03d creates numbered output files (output-000.jpg, output-001.jpg, etc.). You need Ghostscript alongside ImageMagick for PDF support – Homebrew handles the dependency automatically.
For a folder full of PDFs:
for f in *.pdf; do
convert -density 200 -quality 85 "$f" "${f%.pdf}-%03d.jpg"
doneImageMagick gives you options no other free tool matches. Want white background instead of transparent? Add -alpha remove -alpha off. Need specific pixel dimensions? Use -resize 1920x. Want to strip metadata for smaller files? Add -strip.
Processing speed depends on PDF complexity. A 50-page text document at 200 DPI took about 12 seconds on my M2 Mac. A graphics-heavy design PDF took closer to 45 seconds for 8 pages.
8. PDF Expert – Polished but Not Entirely Free
PDF Expert by Readdle is one of the most popular PDF apps on Mac. The free version lets you view, annotate, and do basic edits. Exporting pages as images requires the paid version ($79.99/year or $139.99 one-time).
If you’re paying for it anyway, the export quality is the best I tested. PDF Expert handles embedded fonts, transparency, and color profiles better than any other option here. For professional work where color accuracy matters (design proofs, photography portfolios), it’s worth the cost.
But for straightforward “I just need these pages as JPGs,” you’re paying a lot for something Preview and Automator do for free.
9. Adobe Acrobat Online – Free but Limited
Adobe offers a free online PDF-to-JPG converter at adobe.com/acrobat/online/pdf-to-jpg.html. You need a free Adobe account to use it. The conversion quality is excellent (as you’d expect from the company that created PDF), but the free tier limits you to 1 conversion, then you need to wait 30 minutes. Premium ($12.99/month) removes that limit.
The online tool actually produces noticeably sharper text rendering than most competitors. If you’re converting a document with small text and need it readable in the JPG output, Adobe’s renderer handles hinting and anti-aliasing better than Preview or LibreOffice.
Which Method Should You Pick?
For most Mac users, here’s my honest recommendation:
- One-off, single page: Just use Preview. It’s already there.
- Batch convert, no installs: Set up an Automator workflow once. Takes 2 minutes, works forever.
- Quick online conversion: ILovePDF. Better free tier than Smallpdf.
- Developer or power user: ImageMagick via Homebrew. Full control, scriptable.
- Already have LibreOffice: Use it. No reason to install something else.
I keep coming back to Automator for my own workflow. Zero internet needed, handles any file size, processes 100+ pages without breaking a sweat. The initial setup takes 2 minutes, and after that it’s right-click > Quick Action. Hard to beat that.
For related guides, see our comparison of how to convert PDF to JPG (cross-platform) and the full best free PDF editors list.
Tips for Better JPG Quality from PDFs
Resolution matters more than quality percentage
A 300 DPI render at 75% JPEG quality looks better than a 72 DPI render at 100% quality. Always set your DPI/resolution first, then adjust JPEG compression.
Text documents vs. photo-heavy PDFs need different settings
For text documents, 150 DPI and 85% quality is plenty. The text will be sharp and readable. For PDFs with photos, charts, or detailed graphics, go 300 DPI and 90%+ quality. The file sizes will be larger, but you won’t lose detail.
Check color profiles
Some PDFs use CMYK color space (common in print design). When converted to JPG (which uses RGB), colors can shift. Preview and ImageMagick handle this conversion well. LibreOffice sometimes produces slightly muted colors with CMYK sources. If color accuracy matters, run a test page first.
File size management
A 300 DPI, 95% quality JPG of a full-color PDF page runs about 1.5-3MB. For web use, that’s often too large. Drop to 150 DPI and 80% quality and you’ll get files under 400KB that still look good on screen. For email attachments, 100 DPI and 75% quality keeps each page under 200KB.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I convert PDF to JPG on Mac without any software?
Yes. macOS Preview (pre-installed on every Mac) can export individual PDF pages as JPEG files. Open the PDF, go to File > Export, and select JPEG format. For batch conversion of all pages at once, use the built-in Automator app to create a Quick Action workflow – no third-party downloads needed.
What’s the best free way to batch convert a multi-page PDF to JPG on Mac?
Automator (built into macOS) is the best free batch method. Create a Quick Action with the “Render PDF Pages as Images” step, set format to JPEG and your preferred DPI, and add “Move Finder Items” for the output folder. After saving, right-click any PDF in Finder and select your workflow. A 25-page PDF converts in about 4 seconds on Apple Silicon Macs.
Is the built-in Preview app good enough for PDF to JPG conversion?
Preview produces good quality JPGs, but it only exports one page at a time. For a single page or a few pages, it’s perfectly fine. For multi-page documents, you’ll want Automator or ImageMagick. Preview also creates slightly larger files compared to dedicated converters like ILovePDF – about 30-40% bigger for the same visual quality.
How do I convert PDF to JPG using Terminal on Mac?
The built-in qlmanage command renders the first page: qlmanage -t -s 2048 -o /tmp/ yourfile.pdf. For multi-page PDFs with full control, install ImageMagick via Homebrew (brew install imagemagick ghostscript) and run convert -density 300 input.pdf -quality 90 output-%03d.jpg. ImageMagick handles batch processing, custom DPI, and quality settings.
What DPI should I use when converting PDF to JPG on Mac?
For screen viewing and web use, 150 DPI works well and keeps file sizes small (under 400KB per page). For printing or when you need sharp detail, use 300 DPI (1.5-3MB per page). For text-only documents where you just need readability, even 100 DPI is often sufficient.