Extract Text
Pull text out of a PDF — with OCR for scanned pages, all in your browser.
How to extract text from a PDF
Pull the text out of a PDF — including OCR for scanned pages and photos — and copy it or save it as a .txt file. Free and fully in-browser.
When a PDF holds text you want to reuse — a quote, a table of data, a whole document to edit elsewhere — this tool reads it out. For digital PDFs it takes the real text layer instantly; for scans and photos it runs OCR (optical character recognition) to recognise the characters in the image.
OCR runs locally as WebAssembly and supports many languages. Clear, straight scans give the best results.
The file is processed on your own device and never uploaded to a server. For an editable Word document rather than plain text, use PDF to Word.
Steps
- Add your PDF to the Extract Text tool.
- For scanned documents, turn on OCR and pick the language.
- Review the extracted text.
- Copy it, or download it as a text file.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy text from a scanned PDF?
Turn on OCR and choose the language. The tool recognises the characters in the scanned image and gives you selectable text.
Does it work on photos of documents?
Yes — image files run through the same OCR engine as scanned PDF pages.
Is my PDF sent to a server for OCR?
No. The OCR engine runs locally as WebAssembly.
What languages does the OCR support?
Many, including English and major Indian and European languages — pick the closest match for best accuracy.
Related tools
- PDF to Word — get an editable .docx instead of plain text
- PDF to Text — the same extraction with a .txt-first flow
- Document Scanner — clean up photos of pages before OCR