PDF-first slide generator

Drop a PDF, get a slide deck with citations intact

Upload a lecture handout, research paper, or textbook chapter and Scholarly rebuilds it slide-by-slide — keeping figures, citations, math, and code anchored to the right slide.

Convert my PDF to slidesStart from a topic instead

Free to start · No credit card · Present and share by link on every plan; download as PDF or PowerPoint, or save to Google Slides, on paid plans

Used by 200,000+ learners and professionals worldwide

Looking for the main AI Slide Generator tool? Try the AI Slide Generator.

Citations stay anchored
Figures & references kept in place
Math & code preserved
Not flattened to plain text
How it works

From PDF to presentation in three steps

Convert PDF to slides with AI in one upload — no blank-slide problem, just a structured draft you can edit and present.

01

Step 1: Upload PDF

Lecture handout, research paper, textbook chapter — drop in any PDF.

02

Step 2: AI Extracts Structure

Section headings, key points, figures references — restructured into slide-friendly chunks.

03

Step 3: Edit & Present

Review the deck, present it in Scholarly, or share a viewing link. PDF download, PowerPoint (.pptx) download, and Save to Google Slides require a paid plan.

Convert my PDF to slides
Why use it

Why convert PDFs to slides?

Skip the blank-slide problem and start from a real draft of your source.

Faster than starting from scratch

Skip the blank-slide problem. Get an outline you can polish.

Slide-by-slide review

Dense PDFs become a visual chronological summary you can actually study.

Class presentations

Got a paper to present? The deck is half-built before you start.

PDF-first by design

A Slide Generator Built Around PDF Input

Most slide tools accept a PDF as one of many inputs and treat all of them the same. PDF to Slides AI is tuned specifically for the PDF case: the AI parses the document's actual structure (headings, sections, columns), tracks figure and citation references so they stay anchored to the right slide, preserves math notation and code blocks instead of flattening them to plain text, and respects the document's argument flow rather than re-outlining from scratch.

If you don't have a PDF and are starting from a topic, notes, or a prompt, the general-purpose AI Slide Generator is the better entry point.

Best Source PDFs

Text-based PDFs work best — research papers, lecture handouts, textbook chapters, slide decks already in PDF form. Scanned documents work but produce more accurate decks when the text is clean and selectable.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How does PDF-to-slides AI work?

Upload a PDF and Scholarly's AI reads its structure, identifies main ideas, and rebuilds the content as a coherent slide deck — title, agenda, one-idea-per-slide content, and conclusion.

What kind of PDFs work best?

Text-based PDFs (lecture handouts, research papers, textbook chapters, papers in PDF form). Scanned documents work but produce better decks when the text is selectable.

Can I edit the generated slides?

The deck is generated as a finished PDF, so slides are not edited in place. To change the structure, wording, length, or style, regenerate with custom instructions — for example "add a slide on X" or "keep it to 10 slides" — and the AI rebuilds the deck from your source with those changes.

Can I export the slides?

Yes, on a paid plan. Every plan can present the deck in Scholarly and share a viewing link. Premium and Laureate can download it as a PDF or a PowerPoint (.pptx) file, or save it to Google Slides when Google Drive is connected (Scholarly creates a separate copy in your Drive). Each slide exports as its rendered visual, so you can reorder, remove, or add slides in PowerPoint or Google Slides, but the slide text is not editable there. Free plans view, present, and share by link only.

Are math and code preserved?

Yes, math notation and code snippets are kept intact when extracted from the source PDF.

Is it free?

Yes, free with lifetime free AI Creation Credit limits. Premium includes 10 AI Creation Credits each week and longer documents.

How do I convert a PDF to slides with AI?

Upload your PDF, and the AI parses its real structure — headings, sections, columns, figures, citations, math, and code — then rebuilds it slide-by-slide. You get a structured deck instead of a blank one. Present it in Scholarly, share it by link, or, on a paid plan, download it as PDF or PowerPoint (.pptx) or save it to Google Slides.

Can I turn a PDF into a PowerPoint with AI?

Yes. Scholarly's PDF-to-PowerPoint AI builds a slide deck from your PDF. Every plan can present it in Scholarly and share a viewing link. On a paid plan you can download it as a PowerPoint (.pptx) file or a PDF, or save it to Google Slides with Google Drive connected. Each slide exports as its rendered visual rather than editable text, and Keynote export is not offered. Figures and citation references stay anchored to the slide they belong to.

Keep exploring

More Scholarly study tools

AI Slide Generator

Generate slides from any topic or notes.

Lecture Slides Generator

Slide-by-slide lecture decks.

AI Presentation Generator

Full presentations from a topic.

PDF to Flashcards

Turn the same PDF into flashcards.

PDF Summarizer

Get a written summary of any PDF.

PowerPoint to Flashcards

Convert your finished deck back into flashcards.

Get started

Sign up to Convert PDFs to Slides

Free to start. No credit card required.

Convert my PDF to slidesStart from a topic instead

Trying your first source? Start Free. Working with new material each week? Premium includes 10 AI Creation Credits a week. Need more capacity? Compare Laureate.

Pricing shown in USD by default. Local currency may be available in app or at checkout.

Compare plans

AI chat

Premium and Laureate include unlimited AI chat. The chat model menu is a curated selection and is smaller than the creation catalog — some models, including the Frontier tier, are reserved for credit-metered AI creations.

Free
3 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

AI Creation Credits

AI Creation Credits share one balance across every creation tool. Most models use 1 credit, a few use 2, and Frontier models use 3.

Free
1 total
Premium
10/week
Laureate
80/week

Podcast length

Free episodes are fixed at 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target length up to 60 minutes.

Free
2 minutes
Premium
Up to 60 minutes
Laureate
Up to 60 minutes

Video lecture length

Free lectures with a length control are fixed at 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target up to 45 minutes. Short uses its own short video format.

Free
2 minutes
Premium
Up to 45 minutes
Laureate
Up to 45 minutes

File uploads

Free
1 total (8MB)
Premium
Unlimited (300MB)
Laureate
Unlimited (1 GB each)

PDF to flashcards

Free
32 pages
Premium
1000 pages
Laureate
3000 pages

Sources per creation

Free
Up to 1
Premium
Up to 10
Laureate
Up to 20

Practice questions

Free
5 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Practice exams

Free
1 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Voice mode

Free
15 min total
Premium
2 hr/day
Laureate
12 hr/day

Autocomplete

Free
500 words total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Export to Anki

Free
—
Premium
Included
Laureate
Included

Support

Free
Standard
Premium
Priority
Laureate
Priority

What customers say

Scholarly has enhanced the quality of notes and questions I administer to my tutees. Insightful, to the point.

TD Georgas

TD Georgas

Tutor

I have very good experience with Scholarly it summarize me scientific text in hovel academic level with citation. I use this for any therapeutic area . It is great and useful tool.

Diana

Diana

Scholarly user

Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.

Briana

Briana

Scholarly user

This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.

Kelvin

Kelvin

Scholarly user

Your questions, answered

Is Scholarly free to use?

Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with lifetime allowances: 3 AI Chat messages, 500 autocomplete words, 5 quiz questions, 15 voice minutes, 1 practice exam, one free AI Creation Credit total, and 1 file upload. These allowances do not reset. Upgrade to Premium for 10 AI Creation Credits per week and unlimited uploads.

What uses my free AI Creation Credits?

AI Creation Credits are shared across flashcards, podcasts, videos, slides, AI Documents, Deep Research, and the Transcribe tool. The selected model determines the credit cost. Recording a meeting and saving its transcript never uses AI Creation Credits. On paid plans, Generate notes uses 1 credit per meeting, whatever its length; Free includes notes for its one saved meeting.

Can I cancel anytime?

Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.

Can I use Scholarly with a class or school?

Yes. For a school or organization-wide rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so and we'll help you find the right setup.

What happens when I hit a free plan limit?

You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost — limits only apply to new actions. Free-plan allowances are lifetime credits and do not reset. Premium includes 10 AI Creation Credits per week, podcasts up to 60 minutes, video lectures up to 45 minutes, unlimited uploads, chat, autocomplete, quizzes, and exams, plus more daily voice time.