Skip to content

LaTeX to PDF converter

LaTeX to PDF in this app parses LaTeX with our document engine and renders with our PDF renderer, so it is not a pdflatex-compatible build service.

  • Converted with Document engine → PDF renderer · input deleted within 24 h
  • Free: 5 conversions a day · 5 MB each
  • Higher limits →

From real runs

What you get — and what changes

  • Sections Kept

    \section and \subsection became PDF headings, and the toc option produced a Contents block with page-number links.

  • Inline equations Kept

    Simple inline math such as a^2+b^2=c^2 rendered as math glyphs in the PDF text extraction.

  • Display equations Changed

    The integral rendered through our PDF renderer, but text extraction split the limits and fraction across several lines.

  • Tabular data Changed

    The small tabular environment appeared in the PDF, although extracted text showed columns separated more like blocks than rows.

  • Footnotes Kept

    The LaTeX footnote became a numbered footnote at the bottom of the single-page PDF.

  • Unresolved citations Lost

    An unresolved \cite{doe2026} stopped PDF generation with a PDF renderer label-not-found error instead of printing a placeholder.

  • Included graphics Changed

    A relative \includegraphics path no longer stops PDF output; it becomes linked text and X-Warnings reports the replacement.

  • LaTeX packages Changed

    \usepackage{booktabs} did not drive a LaTeX engine; our document engine interpreted the table structure before our PDF renderer rendered the page.

Sample conversions

PDF-safe LaTeX article

Input
LaTeX article with title, author, table of contents, section, subsection, inline math, display integral, footnote, and a three-column tabular environment.
Output
21 KB one-page PDF with title, Contents, Method and Close headings, rendered equations, a visible table, and a numbered footnote at the bottom.

Image replacement and citation failure

Input
Similar LaTeX article with \cite{doe2026} and \includegraphics[width=1cm]{assets/pixel.png} but no uploaded bibliography or asset bundle.
Output
The image-only run succeeded as a 14 KB PDF with the word image where the figure would be and an X-Warnings image-replacement header. The citation run still failed with label <doe2026> does not exist in the generated our PDF renderer document.

A real LaTeX → PDF run

We converted our LaTeX sample (217 B) with Document engine → PDF renderer on 2026-09-11. It took 35 ms and produced a 12 KB PDF file, 57× larger than the input. The engine raised no warnings.

Input · sample.tex · 217 B

9 non-empty lines, 22 words

Lines
9
Words
22

Output · sample.pdf · 12 KB

PDF 1.7, 1 page, selectable text (LibertinusSerif-Bold-Identity-H, LibertinusSerif-Bold, LibertinusSerif-Regular-Identity-H, LibertinusSerif-Regular), 0 image objects

Version
1.7
Pages
1
Fonts
LibertinusSerif-Bold-Identity-H, LibertinusSerif-Bold, LibertinusSerif-Regular-Identity-H, LibertinusSerif-Regular
Images
0
Text layer
yes

Options and when to change them

toc
Use when section headings should produce a Contents block before our PDF renderer renders the PDF.

Do it yourself

pandoc plus Typst

bash
pandoc paper.tex --pdf-engine=typst --toc -o paper.pdf

This matches the app route more closely than pdflatex, so LaTeX packages and unresolved references still need separate review.

pdflatex

bash
pdflatex paper.tex && bibtex paper && pdflatex paper.tex && pdflatex paper.tex

Use a real LaTeX toolchain when packages, bibliography files, custom classes, or local figures are required.

LaTeX to PDF by API or MCP

The HTTP API and the MCP server run the exact engine this page uses (Document engine → PDF renderer); the response carries the same warnings the web converter shows. Check support first with GET /api/v1/pairs?from=latex&to=pdf.

curl
curl -X POST https://filetypeconverters.com/api/v1/convert \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FTC_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@input.tex" -F "from=latex" -F "to=pdf" \
  --output output.pdf
API reference

When this is the wrong conversion

  • If your source depends on custom classes, BibTeX, or package-specific macros, compile with pdflatex, lualatex, or xelatex outside this converter.
  • If the output needs Word math and editable paragraphs, use /convert/latex-to-docx and inspect the generated DOCX XML or Word view.
  • If the source is Markdown with a few equations, use /convert/md-to-pdf rather than writing LaTeX just for PDF output.

LaTeX to PDF questions

Does LaTeX to PDF use pdflatex?

No. The local route reported our document engine and our PDF renderer, and our document engine warned that pdflatex would give better results for a .tex file.

Why did my unresolved \cite stop the PDF?

The tested \cite{doe2026} became a PDF renderer reference, and our PDF renderer failed because the label did not exist. Supply a resolved bibliography workflow or remove unresolved citations for this route.

Can \includegraphics use files beside my .tex?

Not as an embedded figure. The sandboxed route replaced a relative assets/pixel.png image with linked text and returned an X-Warnings message explaining that only the uploaded file is available.

How reliable is math rendering in this path?

Simple inline and display equations rendered in the PDF. Text extraction from the result can look fragmented because the final file is fixed-layout PDF text.

Related conversions