PDFora
Free forever · your document never uploaded

OCR PDF

This tool reads the text out of a scanned PDF using OCR, page by page, in your browser. Copy the result or download it as a .txt file. This version extracts text — it does not yet produce a new searchable PDF. Your document is never uploaded; only a one-time recognition-language file is fetched from a public CDN.

  • No signup
  • No watermark
  • No file limit
  • Free at download

Three steps

Read a scanwithout retyping it.

  1. Select your scanned PDF, or drop it onto the page. It opens in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
  2. OCR runs page by page, with a progress bar — this can take a little while on longer documents.
  3. Copy the recognised text, or download it as a .txt file.

Why use this tool

The words in the scan,as actual text.

A free online OCR tool with no app to install. Useful for a scanned letter, a photographed page, or any PDF that is really just a picture of text — turning it into something you can copy, search or edit.

  • Reads scanned textRecognises text in a scanned or photographed page using OCR, right in your browser tab.
  • Page-by-page progressA visible progress bar for every page — no wondering if a long document has stalled.
  • Copy or downloadGrab just the part you need, or the whole document as a .txt file.
  • Honest about scopeThis extracts text — it doesn't yet turn the scan into a new searchable PDF file. Said plainly, not implied.

PDF already has real text, not a scan?

PDF to Text pulls it out instantly — no OCR needed when the text is already there.

The question everybody asks

Is it really free?

Yes. No account, no trial, no watermark, no cap on file size or page count, and no payment step between you and the result.

It is free because OCR runs in your own browser rather than on a server we pay for per page. The one external request is a one-time download of the recognition-language file itself — never your document, and said plainly rather than glossed over.

Why this is free → How files are handled

FAQ

Questions peopleactually ask.

Does this turn my scan into a searchable PDF file?

Not yet — this version recognises the text and gives it to you to copy or download as a .txt file. Producing a new PDF with an invisible, searchable text layer behind the scan is a bigger feature planned for later, not this one.

Is my scanned document uploaded anywhere?

No. Recognition runs entirely in your browser. The one exception: the first time you use this tool, a small recognition-language file is fetched from a public CDN — that is the OCR model, not your document, and it never contains anything from your file.

How accurate is the text it finds?

It depends heavily on scan quality. Clean, well-lit, typed text works best. Handwriting, skewed pages, and low-resolution scans are all read less reliably — that is a limitation of OCR generally, not specific to this tool.

Does it support languages other than English?

This version is English only. Other languages are a reasonable addition later, not a redesign.

How long does it take?

It runs page by page in your browser, with a progress bar — typically a few seconds per page, more for dense or high-resolution pages.

What if it finds no text at all?

The tool says so plainly rather than handing back an empty result and calling it done — try a higher-quality scan if that happens.

Related tools

Reading a scan is one job.Here is the rest.

Dashed cards are in build — they are not links yet.