PDF to Text Converter & PDF OCR
PDF to text conversion reads the words in a PDF. Extract existing digital text free on this device, then copy it or download a TXT file without signing up. For scans or unreadable text, choose online OCR separately to get recognized text, Word or a searchable PDF.
Selectable text is free below. Scanned pages and broken text layers need online OCR.
Extract digital text for free
Read the text already inside your PDF. Runs on this device, with no upload or sign-up. Scanned pictures need OCR.
Drop a PDF here, or choose one
Local extraction never uploads your PDF. The separate OCR option below uploads only after you choose it.
Online OCR for scanned PDFs
Read text inside page images, repair unreadable text, or create a searchable PDF. This separate service uploads your file to FastOCR and uses your account’s OCR allowance. See pricing.
Drop your file here
PDF, PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, HEIC
PDF up to 1 GB · images up to 20 MB
Tips for a clear photo
- Lay the page flat.
- Use even light, with no shadows.
- Turn off the flash to avoid glare.
- Fill the frame with the page.
What is PDF OCR and How Does it Work?
PDF OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is an automated machine vision process that converts scanned paper documents, smartphone photos, and non-selectable PDF pages into editable, machine-searchable text. While native digital PDFs store text as accessible character codes, scanned PDFs contain only static raster images. FastOCR reads text with AI-powered OCR across 100+ languages—including complex cursive scripts like Arabic, Urdu Nastaliq, and Devanagari. When processing multi-page scanned PDFs up to 1GB, the system extracts the text and embeds an invisible, searchable text layer directly behind the original page images. This produces a searchable PDF that keeps the original page images, fonts, tables, and signatures as scanned while enabling full-text keyword search, clipboard copying, and vector embeddings for AI/RAG context pipelines.
How online OCR works
Upload your PDF
Drop any PDF — scanned documents, native files, or mixed. Up to 1GB.
AI processes each page
Pages are processed in parallel. Large PDFs are chunked for speed.
Get your text
Download a searchable PDF, plain text, or a Word (.docx) file.
Searchable PDF output
Adds an invisible text layer to your scanned PDF. Search, select, and copy text without changing the original appearance.
Multi-page & batch
Process documents with hundreds of pages. Upload several PDFs at once.
100+ languages
Arabic, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and all European languages. RTL text direction is preserved.
Parallel processing
Large PDFs are split into chunks and processed concurrently for faster results.
Auto-deleted in 30 days
Uploaded files and results are encrypted at rest and permanently deleted after 30 days.
Text, Word or PDF
Download plain text (.txt), a Word (.docx) file, or the searchable PDF.
How Dual-Layer Searchable PDFs Work
FastOCR keeps the original high-resolution scan intact while overlaying an invisible, selectable text layer behind it.
Original Scanned Raster
Preserves paper texture, stamps, historical fonts, signatures, and photographic fidelity.
OCR Text Overlay
Exact bounding-box coordinates for each word, enabling Ctrl+F find, selection, and copy.
Searchable PDF
Full-text search, indexing, and copy-paste, with the page looking exactly as scanned.
PDF processing
Digital PDF text extraction is free on this device without an account. Online PDF OCR uses your account’s allowance. See current plans for OCR limits, batch upload and other options.
View current plans and pricing →Prefer to keep files on your computer? Get the free offline app for Mac or Windows.
PDF OCR for ChatGPT, Claude, and RAG Pipelines
Clean text extraction structured for LLM context windows and vector databases
OCR errors can change names, numbers and wording. Inspect the extracted text before using it for retrieval or AI-generated answers. FastOCR extracts clean raw text, or a Markdown file of paragraphs, from complex multi-column layouts, financial tables, and non-Latin scripts.
Prompt-Ready LLM Context
Extract high-fidelity text ready to paste directly into ChatGPT, Claude, or DeepSeek without manual layout cleanup.
Vector Database Chunking
Preserve reading order across headers, footers, and sidebars for seamless LangChain or LlamaIndex semantic chunking.
Frequently asked questions
Is PDF to text free and private?
Digital PDF text extraction is free, runs on your device and needs no sign-up. The local extractor never uploads your file. Online OCR is a separate option for scanned or unreadable pages and follows FastOCR pricing and account limits.
Can I extract text from a scanned PDF locally?
The free extractor reads existing digital text only. Scanned, empty and unreadable pages are omitted and clearly listed. A PDF with text and pictures includes only its existing text. Choose online OCR explicitly to read text inside page images.
What if my PDF is too large for local extraction?
Local extraction has browser memory and page safety limits. If your file exceeds them, use a smaller PDF or choose the separate online OCR option below. Browser limits do not change your online OCR allowance.
Does it work with non-English documents?
Local extraction preserves Unicode text already encoded in the PDF, including non-Latin scripts. It cannot repair missing or garbled character mappings. Online OCR supports more than 100 languages for scanned documents.
What is a searchable PDF?
A searchable PDF keeps the original scanned image intact but adds an invisible text layer on top. This lets you press Ctrl+F to find words, select and copy text, and index the document — without changing how it looks.
Can I get the text as a Word file?
The free local extractor provides plain text (.txt) and Copy text, with page separators and available line breaks. It does not rebuild columns or tables. After online OCR, you can also download Word (.docx) or a searchable PDF.
Want a Word file? See PDF to Word. Working from a photo instead? Use Image to Text.
For scanned PDFs. Local digital text extraction above needs no account.