PDF to Text

Pull the text straight out of your PDF—embedded text is read directly, scanned pages are read with OCR. Copy a page at a time, copy everything, or download it all as a text file.

Free to use
Works on any device
Nothing to install

Embedded text read exactly
Scanned pages recognised
Every page in one file
Copy it or download it

PDF

Drag & drop file here

or choose a file from your device

Upload a PDF to extract its text

PDF files only

Document languageAutomatic

We'll work out the language from the document itself.

How it works

PDF to Text in three steps

Upload your PDF

Drag your file onto the upload panel, or click it to pick one from your device. Nothing is sent anywhere until you start the job, and the working copy is deleted the moment it finishes.

Read the text page by page

Each page's text appears beside it. Copy a single page, copy the whole document at once, or download everything as a .txt file with the pages kept in order.

Copy or download

Recognised text is an estimate rather than a transcription, so check anything you intend to rely on — especially numbers.

Step by step

How to extract text from a PDF

Embedded text is read directly. Scanned pages are recognised instead — in any of eight languages, detected automatically.

Upload your PDF
Drag your file onto the upload panel, or click it to pick one from your device. Nothing is sent anywhere until you start the job, and the working copy is deleted the moment it finishes.
Read the text page by page
Each page's text appears beside it. Copy a single page, copy the whole document at once, or download everything as a .txt file with the pages kept in order.
Copy or download
Recognised text is an estimate rather than a transcription, so check anything you intend to rely on — especially numbers.

Frequently asked questions about PDF to Text

Does it work on scanned PDFs?

Yes. Pages with a real text layer are read exactly; pages without one are recognised with OCR. The two are handled automatically in the same document.

Can I copy just one page?

Yes. Every page has its own copy button, and you can also copy the whole document or download it as a .txt file with page numbering preserved.

Is the extracted text exact?

For pages with an embedded text layer, yes — the characters are read directly. For scanned pages it is a recognition estimate and may contain errors.

Is it free?

Yes. Every tool works without paying and without an account. Files can be up to 200 pages and 80 MB, and a run that fails costs you nothing.

Do I need to create an account?

No. All tools work without signing in. An account raises your hourly allowance and lets you see what you have processed.

What happens to my file?

It travels over an encrypted connection into a directory created for that single request, is processed, is returned to you, and the working copy is deleted as the request finishes. We keep a record that an operation ran — never the filename or the contents.