Convert PDF to text, including scanned PDFs: pages without text are read with OCR in your browser. Get .txt or a searchable PDF. Free, nothing uploaded.
Runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded. How it works
PDF to Text gets the words out of a PDF as plain text you can copy, search or edit. It also handles scanned PDFs, where the pages are only pictures: those pages are recognised with OCR right in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.
How to convert a PDF to text
Click Choose a PDF or drop a PDF onto the page.
Each page is read in turn. Pages with real text are copied exactly; scanned pages are recognised.
Fix anything that was misread in the text box, then click Copy text or Download .txt.
For a scanned PDF, click Download searchable PDF to get the original pages with a hidden text layer you can search and select.
Normal PDF vs scanned PDF
Normal PDF (from Word, a website, an app)
Scanned PDF (from a scanner or phone scan app)
What is inside
Real letters
A picture of each page
How this tool reads it
Copies the text directly
Recognises the text with OCR
Speed
Instant
A few seconds per page
Accuracy
Exact
Very good on clean print; check names and numbers
Mixed PDFs, with some scanned pages, are handled page by page automatically.
Tips for scanned PDFs
Scans at 200–300 DPI give the best results; blurry phone photos of pages are read less reliably.
Tables come out as lines of text here; to keep rows and columns, use PDF to Excel.
Need images of the pages instead? Use PDF to JPG. Text in a single picture? Use Image to Text.
Working with the extracted text
Paste the text into the Word Counter to see how many words and characters a PDF has, or into the Case Converter to fix headings set in capitals. To keep the layout and edit the document instead, use PDF to Word.
Private by design
Your PDF is read on your own device and never uploaded. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The PDF is opened and read in your browser, including the OCR step. Contracts, statements and medical letters stay on your device.
What is a scanned PDF and why can't I copy its text?
A scanned PDF holds a picture of each page, not the letters themselves, so selecting text does nothing. This tool recognises the text in those pictures (OCR) and turns it into real text.
How do I convert a scanned PDF to text?
Choose the PDF. Pages that already contain text are read directly; scanned pages are recognised automatically. When it says Done, click Copy text or Download .txt.
How long does it take?
Pages with a text layer are instant. A scanned page takes a few seconds; the first time, the recognition engine (about 15 MB) is downloaded and then cached. You can stop at any time and keep the pages read so far.
Which languages are supported for scanned pages?
Pages that already contain text are extracted in any language. For scanned pages: Choose under Text language. Auto reads English, about 45 other languages written in the Latin alphabet (French, German, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Vietnamese and more), Chinese and Japanese; Chinese and Japanese are switched to a larger model automatically (about 18 MB, once). Korean, Russian and other Cyrillic languages, Arabic, Persian and Urdu, Hindi and other Devanagari languages, Thai, Greek, Tamil and Telugu each have their own model (about 7 MB, downloaded once when you pick it). Handwriting is not recognised reliably. The searchable PDF works in all of them.
Can I make a scanned PDF searchable?
Yes. After a scanned PDF is read, click Download searchable PDF. You get the same pages, looking exactly as before, with the recognised text hidden behind them, so you can search (Ctrl+F), select and copy in any PDF reader.
The copied text is garbled. What can I do?
Some PDFs contain a broken text layer. Tick "Recognise every page as an image" to ignore it and read the page images instead.