Add an Adobe Illustrator .ai file and get a PDF back. Only the first artboard is converted.
To convert ai to pdf, add the .ai file, keep PDF as the output format and download the result. In our test, a 1,382-byte PDF-compatible .ai file with two artboards became a 3,856-byte pdf of the first artboard only, with its text still selectable text. An .ai file saved as PostScript only, without PDF content, failed.
Transfers use HTTPS, and files converted on the free tier are deleted after 24 hours, so the result is not a long-term archive. Quality depends on the source file, so open the PDF file once before you share it.
Need more PDF options? Open the PDF Converter hub.
AI (Adobe Illustrator Artwork)
The native vector format of Adobe Illustrator. Shapes, paths and text are stored as drawing instructions, and a file can hold several artboards. Since Illustrator 9 a file can also carry an embedded PDF copy of the artwork when it is saved with the PDF-compatible option, and that copy is what other programs read. Adobe controls the format and does not publish a full specification.
PDF (Portable Document Format)
A fixed-layout document format published as ISO 32000. Each page records the exact position of every character, image and line, usually with the fonts embedded, so it displays and prints identically in any reader and is awkward to edit.
A two-artboard PDF-compatible .ai test logo, converted on indox.org
Illustrator can save an .ai file together with a PDF copy of the artwork, and that copy is what other programs read. This converter works from it, so an .ai file saved with the PDF-compatible option is the one that converts.
The conversion runs on indox servers, so a client, a printer or a colleague can turn an .ai file into a PDF from any device with a browser. In our test no sign-up was needed.
In our test the output PDF held 0 raster images and the word in our logo was still real, extractable text. Shapes stay sharp at any zoom, which a PNG export cannot offer.
You get the first artboard only, and a PostScript-only .ai file can fail. We measured both.
Drop the file on the box or choose it from your device. Keep the original .ai: it is the only copy that opens as editable artwork in Illustrator.
Check that PDF is the output format on the converter and start the conversion. In our test it took 3.8 seconds from the click to Completed.
Open the PDF before you send it. It will have one page, the first artboard. If your file had several artboards, convert them one at a time from a version saved with a single artboard.
You add an Adobe Illustrator .ai file and take away a PDF that anyone can open, ready to send for approval, print or archive. The page lists what a conversion keeps and what it drops before you start.
The upload box shows the live size limit before you add a file. Signing in raises it; a paid plan does not change it.
AI in, PDF out. Pick another output on the converter if you need a different format.
Files are encrypted in transit over HTTPS and processed on indox infrastructure.
Free-tier files are kept for 24 hours after the job finishes, then deleted automatically.
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The conversion shows Failed | The .ai file has no PDF content and is PostScript only | Reopen it in Illustrator and save with PDF compatibility on, then convert again |
| The PDF has one page but my file had two artboards | Only the first artboard is converted | Save a copy where the artboard you want comes first, then convert it |
| The letters look slightly different | The font was not embedded, so a substitute was embedded instead | Embed or outline the fonts in Illustrator before you save the .ai file |
| Renaming to .pdf did not work | Renaming does not add PDF content to the file | Convert the file here, or save from Illustrator with PDF compatibility on |
| You need a picture instead of a PDF | A PDF is a document, not an image | Use AI to PNG for a raster picture of the first artboard |
| Compared on | AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Editing artwork in Adobe Illustrator | Viewing, sending and printing the finished page |
| Artboards and pages | One file can hold several artboards | Pages; a conversion here gives one |
| Who can open it | Illustrator and a few editors, via the embedded PDF copy | Practically every browser, phone and reader |
| Editing data | Layers and live effects are kept | Drawing and text stay, Illustrator layers do not |
| Standard | Adobe controls the format and does not publish a full specification | Published as ISO 32000 |
Facts checked on November 4, 2026
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Open the converter, add your .ai file, keep PDF as the output and download the result. You do not need Illustrator or any software on your computer.
Convert it to PDF here and open the PDF in any browser or reader. If the .ai file was saved with PDF compatibility, the PDF shows its first artboard.
In our test the PDF had no raster images, the text stayed selectable text and a 50% transparency was kept. The rendered first page differed from the input by 0.57% RMSE at 72 dpi, so it looked the same. Embedded fonts may be substituted if the .ai file did not embed them.
Only the first artboard is converted. Our two-artboard file gave a one-page PDF the size of artboard one. Save a copy with a single artboard if you need a different one.
The most likely cause is an .ai file saved without PDF content, which is common in files from Illustrator 8 and older. Our PostScript-only test file failed with backend_error. Open it in Illustrator and save again with the PDF-compatible option on.
Only if the file was saved with PDF compatibility, as an Adobe Community answer explains. Renaming leaves the contents as they were, so a file without PDF content will not open. Converting is the safer route.
No. The converter writes a new PDF and your .ai file is left as it was.
Yes. The conversion runs on indox servers, so any device with a browser can add the file and download the PDF.