How to Count the Number of Tokens in a Large PDF

Introduction
The Easy Way: Using Online Tools
The Developer Approach: Python Solution
Conclusion

Introduction

If you’re working with large language models or need to calculate costs for AI API calls, knowing how to count tokens in your PDF documents is essential. Whether you’re a developer or just someone who needs a quick token count, this guide will show you two straightforward approaches to get the job done.

The Easy Way: Using Online Tools

For most users, the simplest solution is to combine two free online tools:

First, convert your PDF to text using PDFtoText.com

Simply upload your PDF file
Download or copy the extracted text

Then, count the tokens using TokenCounter.co

Paste the extracted text
Get an instant token count

This method requires no coding knowledge and works with most PDF files. It’s particularly useful for:

Quick one-off token counts
Non-technical users
Processing documents without installing software

Pro tip: If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improving these tools, use the feedback form available on each site. Your input helps make these tools better for everyone.

The Developer Approach: Python Solution

For developers or those who need to process multiple PDFs programmatically, here’s a Python solution using popular libraries:

import PyPDF2
import tiktoken

def count_tokens_in_pdf(pdf_path, model="gpt-3.5-turbo"):
    # Initialize the tokenizer
    encoding = tiktoken.encoding_for_model(model)

    # Read the PDF
    with open(pdf_path, 'rb') as file:
        # Create PDF reader object
        pdf_reader = PyPDF2.PdfReader(file)

        # Extract text from all pages
        text = ""
        for page in pdf_reader.pages:
            text += page.extract_text()

    # Count tokens
    tokens = encoding.encode(text)
    return len(tokens)

# Example usage
if __name__ == "__main__":
    pdf_path = "your_document.pdf"
    token_count = count_tokens_in_pdf(pdf_path)
    print(f"Number of tokens: {token_count}")

To use this script, you’ll need to install the required packages:

pip install PyPDF2 tiktoken

This approach is ideal for:

Batch processing multiple PDFs
Integration into existing workflows
Custom token counting solutions

Conclusion

Whether you choose the online tools approach or the Python solution, you now have two reliable methods to count tokens in your PDF documents. The online tools offer simplicity and immediate results, while the Python solution provides more flexibility and automation possibilities.

For most users, we recommend starting with the online tools (PDFtoText.com + TokenCounter.co) as they require no setup and provide quick results. If you find yourself frequently counting tokens or need to automate the process, consider implementing the Python solution.

Remember to share your feedback through the forms available on both online tools – your input helps improve these services for everyone in the community.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Easy Way: Using Online Tools

The Developer Approach: Python Solution

Conclusion