Turn a PDF into a short narrated video
Upload a PDF and DocReel reads it, writes a script, and makes a short animated video with a voice-over and captions. For a long PDF, pick the pages you want explained.
Sample: “Who counts as employed, unemployed, or neither” (5:24)
- Made from: a real 14-page PDF, How the Government Measures Unemployment from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, added with “Paste a link”.
- Settings: made for Adults, length “Fit the document”, with this instruction: “Cover only the part of this document from the section “What are the basic concepts of employment and unemployment?” through the section “What about cases of overlap?”, including its examples.” The video covers about 7 of the PDF's pages.
- Plan: made on the Pro plan, which allows up to 5 custom-animated scenes per video (Plus gets 1). Free videos also carry a small docreel.app badge and end with a short DocReel card.
- Editing: none. This is the video exactly as DocReel made it, on 8 November 2026.
- Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey technical documentation. U.S. government work, used with credit.
How to turn a PDF into a video
Nothing to install and no editing software.
Sign in and choose your settings
Sign in with your email. Pick who the video is for and how long it should be, and add instructions if you like (for example “Focus on section 2”).
Add your document
Upload the PDF. If it has more pages than your plan explains in one video, DocReel asks which pages you want, for example pages 12–20, and uploads only those. You can also upload Word, Markdown or text files, paste text, or paste a link.
Check it, then share
Most videos take about 5–15 minutes, and we email you when yours is ready. Watch it all the way through, then share the link or download the MP4.
Which PDFs make good videos
DocReel explains the text in your PDF. The more it explains, the better the video.
Text that explains something
Guides, handouts, articles, reports and how-to documents: a few pages of explanatory text make the clearest videos.
One chapter or section
A video explains a few pages well. For a long book or manual, make one video per chapter or section.
Pictures and scanned pages
Photos and diagrams in your PDF can appear in the video, and scanned pages and slides are read too: up to 10 picture pages per video on Free.
What to know before uploading a PDF
Tips for a good video
- Long PDF? Pick the pages you want explained. The page picker appears when a PDF has more pages than your plan explains, or is over the size limit.
- Skip the front matter. Start at the part you want explained, not the cover, contents or introduction.
- Size limits: 5 MB on Free. A big PDF can still be used: only the pages you pick are uploaded, as long as they fit.
- Password-protected PDFs can't be read. Remove the password first, or save the pages you need as a new PDF.
- Slides: save them as PDF. Slides that are only pictures make weak videos; slides with text work better.
Privacy
- Anyone with a video's link can watch it, including people it is forwarded to. Don't upload personal information or confidential material.
- Uploaded documents are deleted 30 days after upload. Free videos are deleted 30 days after they're made.
- To make the video, your document's text is sent to Anthropic (Claude) to write the script, and the narration text to Google (Gemini) for the voice; OpenAI or our own server is the backup voice. The privacy policy has the details.
Questions about PDF to video
Is it free?
Yes. The Free plan gives you 3 videos every 30 days, with no credit card. Each video explains up to about 10 pages of text (for a longer PDF you choose which) and runs up to about 3 minutes. Plus ($5 a month, about 20 pages) and Pro ($15 a month, about 35 pages) read more and make longer videos.
Can I turn a 100-page PDF into a video?
Not in one video. A video on Free explains about 10 pages. When you upload a long PDF, DocReel asks which pages to explain, so you can make one video per chapter.
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Yes, within limits. DocReel reads pages that are mostly pictures (scans, slides, diagrams) with AI: up to 10 per video on Free, 20 on Plus and 35 on Pro. For a long scanned book, upload just the pages you need. A text PDF still gives the best result.
How long does it take?
Most videos take about 5–15 minutes; long documents can take longer. You can close the page. We email you a link when your video is ready.
Can I make videos in other languages?
The video uses the language your document is written in, so a Spanish document becomes a Spanish video. On the Pro plan you can also pick another language for the video (15 languages), and DocReel translates the script.
Does the video have captions?
Yes. The narration is shown as captions in the video. They're part of the picture, so they can't be turned off, and there's no separate caption file.
How accurate are the videos?
DocReel builds the video from your document, but it can make mistakes. Watch it before you share it. If something needs fixing, choose Make a new version and describe the change; on Plus and Pro, the first new version of each video is free.