Best Way to Save a Webpage as PDF in Chrome (5 Options)

Quick answer

For most pages, Chrome's built-in Print → Save as PDF is all you need. It is free, already on your computer, and makes a real PDF where you can select the text and click the links. Get an extension only when the page is full of ads and pop-ups, images come out blank, or you want an exact picture of the page: PrintFriendly or our Convert: Web to PDF for a clean PDF, GoFullPage for a picture, and PDFCrowd only for public pages.

Two kinds of PDF

• A real PDF keeps the page's text as text. You can select it, copy it, search it with Ctrl+F, and click the links.
• An image PDF is a screenshot placed inside a PDF file. It looks exactly like the page, but the text is part of the picture. You can't copy it or search it, and links don't work.

A real PDF is better for reading, quoting and searching later. An image PDF is better when the page must look exactly as it did on screen.

Comparison table

Details checked on each tool's own website or Chrome Web Store listing on 10 October 2026.

Chrome's built-in Print → Save as PDF

How to use it: open the page, press Ctrl + P (Windows, Linux) or ⌘ + P (Mac), set the destination to Save as PDF, and click Save.

Good:

• Free and already there. Nothing to install.
• Makes a real PDF with selectable text and clickable links.
• Works on any page you can open, including pages you're signed into.

Not so good:

• It saves the page as it is. Ads, cookie banners and sticky headers (menus that stay stuck to the top of the screen) often end up in the PDF.
• Some pages only load images when you scroll to them. This is called lazy loading. If you haven't scrolled down first, those images can come out as blank boxes.
• Some sites look messy when printed. Columns shift, or parts get cut off.

Use it when: the page looks fine in the print preview. That covers receipts, simple articles and most documentation. Try this first.

PrintFriendly

PrintFriendly's main job is turning a cluttered page into a clean, printable one. Its Chrome Web Store listing describes a reader mode (a view that shows just the article, without menus and sidebars) and a lot more besides.

Good:

• Removes ads, sidebars and pop-ups, and keeps text, images and links, according to its listing.
• You can edit before saving: delete or resize images, crop the page, highlight text.
• Adjustable margins and page size. Supports right-to-left languages.
• Can save straight to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Notion or Zotero.
• Can also save as Word or Markdown, and has a full-page screenshot mode. The listing says it can turn a screenshot into a PDF whose text you can select.
• Listing says it exports long AI chats in full.

Not so good:

• It does a lot: a PDF editor, text-to-speech, social media post maker and more. If you only want a PDF, that can feel like more than you need.
• We couldn't confirm prices. PrintFriendly's terms mention paid subscriptions, but its pricing pages blocked our requests.
• Where the page is processed isn't stated for the extension. Its privacy policy says that when you give PrintFriendly a link, it fetches and processes the page itself, including an automatic content check done with outside AI providers.
• Its privacy policy says its website shows ads and shares some usage data with ad partners.

Use it when: you want a clean, readable PDF and like the idea of editing it first, or sending it straight to Drive, Notion or Zotero. We also wrote a longer PrintFriendly comparison.

GoFullPage

GoFullPage is a full-page screenshot tool. It scrolls down the page, takes a picture of each part, and joins them into one long image. You can download that image as PNG, JPEG, or a PDF.

Good:

• Free for unlimited screenshots and PDF exports, according to its FAQ.
• Very good at tricky pages. Its listing says it handles boxes that scroll inside a page (like an email inbox) and embedded frames.
• Its FAQ says screenshots are stored only in your browser, "not anywhere else online or in any servers."
• Also available for Edge and Firefox.

Not so good:

• The PDF is a picture. You can't select or search the text, and links don't work.
• No built-in way to remove ads or pop-ups. GoFullPage suggests closing pop-ups and loading the whole page before you capture.
• Cropping, notes and the date-and-URL stamp are Premium features: $12 a year, with a 7-day free trial.
• Very long pages may be split into several images.

Use it when: you need an exact picture of the page, for example to show a design, keep proof of how something looked, or share it as an image. For a closer look, see GoFullPage vs Convert: Web to PDF.

PDFCrowd Save as PDF

This add-on is made by PDFCrowd, a company that sells PDF conversion services. When you click it, the page is converted by PDFCrowd's online service, not in your browser. The listing says so directly.

Good:

• PDFCrowd's converter page says it removes ads, pop-ups and sidebars by default.
• Links are clickable by default (its settings include an option to turn them off).
• If you buy a license, you get many settings: page size, margins, page numbers, the source web address in the footer, and password protection.
• PDFCrowd's data security page says uploaded and generated files are deleted from its active processing systems within 30 minutes.

Not so good:

• It can't save pages you're signed into. Its listing says webmail, online banking, shopping carts and similar pages won't work.
• Free PDFs carry PDFCrowd branding. Removing it needs a paid license. PDFCrowd's pricing page lists its cheapest plan, which includes unlimited online tools, at $12 a year.
• The page goes through PDFCrowd's servers. For logged-in accounts, its data security page says converted addresses are kept in a log for 14 days by default (you can turn this off).
• Custom settings only work when you're logged in to a PDFCrowd account.

Use it when: you're saving public pages, like a news article or a blog post, and you don't mind the branding or the page going through PDFCrowd.

Convert: Web to PDF (ours)

We make this one, so read this section with that in mind. Here is what it does and doesn't do.

It uses Chrome's own print engine, so you get the same kind of real PDF as Ctrl + P, with selectable text and clickable links. The difference is what you can do before saving.

Good:

• Article Mode strips the page down to the main article, like a reader view.
• Remove Elements lets you click any part of the page (an ad, a banner, a comment section) to remove it, with undo.
• Load All Images scrolls the page for you first, so lazy-loaded images show up instead of blank boxes.
• Single Page Mode saves the whole page as one long PDF page, with no page breaks.
• Capture Element saves just one part of a page, like a table or a card.
• Paper sizes from A3 to Ledger, plus margins and scale.
• Runs in your browser, so it works on pages you're signed into.
• Free, with no paid tier.

Not so good:

• For a simple page, Ctrl + P gives you the same kind of PDF without installing anything.
• Article Mode can drop things it doesn't recognise as the main article, such as code blocks. Check the preview, or use Remove Elements instead.
• No OCR. OCR (optical character recognition) means turning text inside images into real text. If text is part of an image on the page, it stays an image.
• It can't get past paywalls. It only saves what your browser can already show you.
• On endless-scroll pages (social feeds, for example), it only saves what has loaded. Scroll as far as you need first.
• Chrome, Edge, Brave and Arc on a computer only. It doesn't work on phones, Firefox or Safari.
• After each save, it sends one anonymous counter to our server. That counter contains no web address, no page content, and no IP address. The page itself is never uploaded.

Use it when: Ctrl + P gives you a messy result, and you want a real PDF without ads, blank images or clutter, including on pages you're signed into. See the tool page or add it from the Chrome Web Store.

Which should you pick?

• A simple page that looks fine in print preview: use Chrome's Ctrl + P → Save as PDF. You don't need anything else.
• A news article or recipe buried in ads: PrintFriendly or Convert: Web to PDF. Both remove clutter and keep the text real. Pick PrintFriendly if you want to send PDFs straight to Drive, Notion or Zotero. Pick ours if you want click-to-remove with undo and no paid tier.
• You need it to look exactly like the screen: GoFullPage. Just remember the text won't be searchable.
• A page you're signed into (a bank statement, an order history, an internal dashboard): Chrome's built-in option, Convert: Web to PDF, or GoFullPage. Not PDFCrowd, which can't open those pages.
• Images come out as blank boxes: scroll to the bottom before pressing Ctrl + P, or use Load All Images.
• A long AI chat: PrintFriendly's listing says it exports full chats from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and DeepSeek. With Ctrl + P or our tool, scroll to the top of the chat first so all of it has loaded.
• One long page with no page breaks: our Single Page Mode, or GoFullPage if a picture is fine.
• You're on a phone: none of these extensions work there. Use your phone browser's own share or print option.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an extension to save a webpage as a PDF?

No. Chrome can do it on its own: press Ctrl + P (or ⌘ + P on a Mac) and choose Save as PDF. An extension only helps when the result looks messy, has ads in it, or is missing images. Our step-by-step guide covers both ways.

Why can't I select or search the text in my PDF?

You probably used a screenshot tool, which saves the page as an image inside a PDF. Chrome's Save as PDF, PrintFriendly's normal mode and Convert: Web to PDF keep the text as real text. PrintFriendly's listing also says its screenshot mode can make the text selectable.

Can I save a page that needs a login, like my bank or email?

Yes, if the tool works inside your browser. Chrome's built-in option, GoFullPage and Convert: Web to PDF all see what you see. PDFCrowd's add-on can't: its listing says pages that need a login won't work. Here's how to save a page behind a login.

How do I get rid of ads and pop-ups in the PDF?

Chrome's built-in option keeps them. PrintFriendly and PDFCrowd remove them automatically. In Convert: Web to PDF you can use Article Mode, or click to remove ads and clutter one by one.

Is it safe to use a web-to-PDF extension on private pages?

It depends on where the page goes. If the tool sends it to its own servers, someone else's computer handles your content. For private pages, pick a tool that works in your browser and install it from its official Chrome Web Store page.

Bottom line

Start with Chrome's own Ctrl + P → Save as PDF. It's free, makes a real PDF, and is enough for most pages. If the result is cluttered or missing images, try PrintFriendly or Convert: Web to PDF. If you need an exact picture of the page, use GoFullPage. Use PDFCrowd's add-on only for public pages, since it converts them on its own servers.