PDF OCR

Run OCR on a scanned PDF and download a plain-text file with the recognized text.

100% in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.

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Features

  • Six built-in languages (EN, DE, FR, ES, IT, PT)
  • Runs in your browser — no upload
  • Per-page progress display
  • Plain-text output (.txt)
  • Cached language models on repeat use
  • Searchable-PDF output in the native app

About this tool

Tesseract.js runs entirely in your browser (loaded on demand — never on idle pageviews). Pick a language, drop a scanned PDF, and the tool produces a clean .txt file you can paste into Word, Notes or anywhere else. The native app produces searchable-PDF output with embedded text layers.

How to OCR a PDF

  1. Pick a language

    Choose the dominant language of the document.

  2. Drop your PDF

    Best results on scans at ≥ 200 DPI.

  3. Wait for recognition

    A progress bar shows per-page progress.

  4. Download the text

    A .txt file with one section per page is saved.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the first run slow?

The language data (~10 MB) is downloaded once and cached for next time.

How accurate is it?

Tesseract 5 reaches 95%+ on clean modern scans. Handwriting is poor.

Can I get a searchable PDF?

Searchable-PDF output (text layer over images) is in the native app.

Is my scan uploaded?

No — OCR runs entirely in your browser.

Free?

Yes.