OCR PDF — Extract Text from Scanned Pages
Turn scanned and image-only PDFs into searchable, selectable text. Recognize 10 languages, extract text to a .txt file, or create a searchable PDF with an invisible text layer. Everything runs in your browser.
Key Features
10+ Languages
Recognize English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Arabic — or combine several at once.
Searchable PDF
Create a PDF with an invisible text layer, so scanned pages become searchable and selectable in any reader.
Text Extraction
Extract the recognized text to a plain .txt file, with page separators, ready to edit or copy.
Full Control
Choose the output format, OCR quality, and a specific page range — no need to process the whole document.
100% Private
All processing happens locally in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to any server.
No Install, Free
Works on any device with a browser. No sign-up, no watermarks, and completely free.
What Is PDF OCR?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts images of text into machine-readable text. Scanned PDFs are effectively pictures of pages — the words cannot be searched, copied, or selected. This tool renders each page and recognizes the text with a neural-network OCR engine, then lets you either export the recognized text or write it back into the PDF as an invisible text layer. The result is a document where you can search for words, select and copy sentences, and index the content automatically. All processing happens locally in your browser, so your documents never leave your device.
How to OCR a PDF
Running OCR takes just a few steps. Everything happens in your browser.
Upload the scanned PDF
Drag and drop a scanned or image-only PDF, or click the upload area to select it.
Choose your options
Select the language(s), output format (text or searchable PDF), quality, and an optional page range. The defaults work for most documents.
Start OCR
Click Start OCR. Each selected page is rendered and recognized automatically.
Download the result
Download the extracted .txt file or the searchable PDF. For text output, a preview shows the recognized content.
Good to Know
For the best results, use clear, high-resolution scans and select the correct language(s). Very small, blurry, or heavily stylized text may be recognized with lower accuracy. Password-protected PDFs must be unlocked before OCR. The first OCR run loads the recognition engine and language data, which can take a few seconds; later runs are faster. Higher quality settings improve accuracy but slow down processing. Arabic and some scripts are recognized best when their language is selected alone.