Compare Tabula vs VeryPDF for Bulk PDF to Excel Conversion with Multilingual Support
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Struggling with multilingual PDFs? Here's how VeryPDF outperforms Tabula in bulk PDF to Excel conversions with better language support and automation.
Every finance report day was a nightmare.
I'd get slammed with dozenssometimes hundredsof PDFs. Invoices, balance sheets, audit files all locked in tables and written in multiple languages. French, Japanese, Englishyou name it.
At first, I tried Tabula, the open-source darling everyone recommended. It worked okay for a while. But once I started dealing with big batches and multilingual files? It broke. Either it'd crash, skip rows, or mangle non-English characters into unreadable gibberish.
That's when I started hunting for a better wayand landed on VeryPDF Software.
What Is VeryPDF, and Who's It For?
VeryPDF isn't just another PDF toolit's a powerhouse designed for professionals who need to extract, convert, and manipulate documents at scale.
If you're a:
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Financial analyst stuck converting bank statements
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Legal team dealing with multilingual contracts
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Data wrangler needing clean, consistent spreadsheets
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Or even a developer building PDF workflows into back-end systems
This is built for you.
It doesn't choke on file volume. It doesn't get tripped up by Japanese or Hebrew tables. And it's built to automate the stuff that used to eat up your Sundays.
Why I Ditched Tabula for VeryPDF
I was sceptical at first.
Tabula is free and decent but here's where it drops the ball:
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Manual extraction You have to draw boxes for every table.
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No batch mode Converting one file at a time isn't viable at scale.
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Terrible with foreign languages Accents? Asian scripts? Forget it.
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No command-line control Automation? Not happening.
VeryPDF fixes all of thatand more.
What VeryPDF Does Better (With Examples)
Here's how I use it today:
1. Batch Conversion for Huge File Sets
I throw 300+ PDFs into a directory, run a command-line script, and walk away.
VeryPDF churns through all of themno lag, no crashes.
Command I use:
That alone saves me 10+ hours a week.
2. Multilingual Support That Just Works
I once ran a batch of procurement documentssome in German, others in Chinese.
Tabula broke. VeryPDF? Flawless.
It's got built-in OCR for scanned content and supports Unicode, so nothing gets garbled.
3. Full Automation via Command Line
No dragging, no clicking. I scripted the whole process.
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Set source and output folders
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Configure format rules
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Run it daily on schedule
If you're a dev, this is gold.
Side-by-Side: Tabula vs VeryPDF
Feature | Tabula | VeryPDF |
---|---|---|
Batch Conversion | Manual | Fully automated |
Multilingual Support | Weak | Robust (OCR + Unicode) |
Command Line Support | None | Full CLI control |
Scanned PDF Compatibility | Not great | OCR included |
Speed & Stability | Sluggish | High performance |
Custom Extraction Templates | Basic | Template system |
The Bottom Line
VeryPDF solved real problems for me.
No more manually drawing extraction zones. No more garbage characters in French or Japanese. No more scripts crashing halfway through a bulk job.
If you're stuck with multilingual PDF tables and need fast, clean Excel output, I'd 100% recommend it.
Try it for yourself: https://www.verypdf.com
Custom Development Services by VeryPDF
Need something more specialised?
VeryPDF builds custom tools tailored to your workflow. Whether it's automating PDF to Excel conversions on Linux servers or integrating into your enterprise system with Python or .NETthey've got the chops.
They also offer:
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Windows virtual printer driver development
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API monitoring & print job interception
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PDF, PCL, PRN, Postscript document parsing
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Barcode recognition + layout analysis
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OCR table recognition (for scanned docs)
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Digital signature + PDF DRM tech
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Cloud tools for conversion & viewing
Got a niche use case? Reach out here: http://support.verypdf.com
FAQs
1. Can VeryPDF handle scanned PDFs?
Yes. It includes built-in OCR, so it can extract tables even from image-based PDFs.
2. Does it support non-English documents?
Absolutely. It's Unicode-aware and works with multiple scriptslike Japanese, Arabic, and Cyrillic.
3. Is it better than Tabula for large jobs?
For high-volume, multi-language, or automated workflowsyes, hands down.
4. Can I automate the conversion process?
Yes. VeryPDF has full command-line support, so you can run batch jobs with scripts or schedule them via cron.
5. What output formats does it support?
It can convert to XLS, XLSX, CSV, and moreperfect for analysis, reporting, or archiving.
Tags/Keywords
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bulk PDF to Excel conversion
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multilingual PDF table extraction
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Tabula vs VeryPDF
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convert scanned PDF tables to Excel