PDF to Text Online – Free OCR for Scanned PDFs

PDF to Text Online – Free OCR Converter

Upload a PDF and get clean, editable text in seconds — including scanned and image-based files.

Upload Your PDF

Drop a PDF here or click to choose a file. Works with scanned and digital PDFs.

How to Convert a PDF to Text

Need to convert a PDF to text without installing software? Upload your file, run OCR, and copy the extracted text. This works especially well for scanned PDFs where you cannot simply select the text.

The converter runs in your browser. Guests can use it within the daily free page limit; register for a higher allowance or buy credits when you need more.

Scanned PDF OCR vs Digital PDFs

Digital PDFs already contain a text layer, but many files are just images of pages. Our PDF OCR detects characters on each page and turns them into editable text you can paste into Word, Google Docs, or email.

For best results, upload a clear scan at 200–300 DPI. Straight pages and good contrast improve accuracy on tables, stamps, and small fonts.

When to Use PDF to Text

Use this page when your goal is specifically PDF extraction — not screenshots or phone photos. Common jobs include:

✔ Extract text from scanned contracts and agreements

✔ Convert invoice PDFs into editable notes

✔ Digitize reports that were scanned from paper

✔ Copy text from image-based PDF pages for translation

FAQ: PDF to Text

Can I convert a scanned PDF to text?

Yes. Upload the scanned PDF and our OCR engine will extract the text from each page.

Is PDF to text free?

Yes. Guests get 10 free OCR pages per day. Registered users get 20. Credits are available if you need more.

Do you keep my PDF files?

Uploaded PDFs are processed for extraction and are not stored permanently.

What PDF types are supported?

You can upload scanned PDFs, image-based PDFs, and standard PDF documents for OCR text extraction.

Related OCR Tools

Same upload widget, different focus for each search intent.