OCR a scanned PDF
A scanned PDF holds pictures of pages, so you cannot select or copy its words. This page reads each page with OCR and gives you the text, without uploading the file.
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How it works
Your PDFTyped or scanned
Every page is readNothing is uploaded
Text you can copyOr one .txt for all pages
Step by step
- Choose a PDF, typed or scanned. It stays on your phone or computer.
- Pick the language. Pages that already hold text are copied out at once; scanned pages are read by OCR in your browser.
- Check the text, then copy it or download a .txt file. A one-page PDF, or the first page of a longer one, is free.
More PDF tools
Questions
Is it free?
A one-page PDF is free, and so is the first page of a longer one: copy it or download it as a .txt. To get every page in one .txt with a heading for each page, get a one-time 24-hour image to text pass (US$1.49). The same pass covers images.
How accurate is OCR on a scan?
A clean scan of printed text usually comes out nearly word for word. Faint, skewed or low-resolution scans, handwriting and stamps cause mistakes, so read the text through before you use it.
Which languages work?
English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Indonesian, Hindi, Bengali, Arabic, Russian and simplified Chinese. Pick the main language of the document.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The PDF is opened by pdf.js and read by Tesseract, both running in your browser. They download from jsDelivr the first time. Your file never leaves your device.