OCR PDF
A scanned PDF looks like text but behaves like a photo: you cannot search it, select a sentence or have a screen reader read it aloud. OCR adds the missing text behind each page, so the file becomes searchable while it still looks exactly like the scan.
Image to Text
or drop PDF, JPG, JPEG … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
For pages that mix two languages, e.g. Hindi with English words. Leave on none otherwise; an extra language slightly lowers accuracy.
Preserve keeps columns, paragraphs and tables where they were. Plain outputs one continuous block of text, easier to paste into forms.
PDF and multi-page TIFF input: read every page, only the first, or a range.
Pages to read, e.g. 1-3, 5, 8-10.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the scanned PDF
Drop in up to 20 PDFs, each up to 95 MB. Image files such as JPG or TIFF work too.
- 2
Pick language and pages
Output is set to Searchable PDF. Choose the Document language, and under Pages pick Page range if you only need part of a long file.
- 3
Recognize and search
Press Recognize text, download the PDF and try Ctrl+F, or Cmd+F on a Mac, in any PDF viewer.
OCR on a PDF can mean two different jobs: keeping the scan and adding a hidden text layer, or taking the text out into a new document. This page does the first by default, and the second with one setting.
What a searchable PDF actually contains
A searchable PDF, sometimes called image plus text, stores two things per page: the original scan as a picture, and an invisible layer of recognized text placed exactly over the printed words. Viewers draw the picture and use the text for search, selection, copying and screen readers. Nothing about the appearance changes, which is why archives, law offices and records departments prefer it for scanned paper.
PDF became the open standard ISO 32000 in 2008, and PDF/A, the archival profile defined in ISO 19005, is widely used for scanned records that must stay readable for decades. Adobe Acrobat offers the same job as its Scan & OCR tool, and many office scanners have a "searchable PDF" output; the result here is an ordinary PDF that opens in any viewer.
Add a text layer or extract the text
Searchable PDF
Keeps every page as scanned and adds invisible text behind it.
- Looks identical to the original
- Search, select and copy in any viewer
- Signatures, stamps and photos untouched
Word (.docx)
Rebuilds the recognized text as paragraphs and tables in a new document.
- Fully editable
- Layout approximated, not copied
- Photos kept with Keep pictures
Plain text or Markdown
Only the words, in reading order.
- Smallest output
- Pastes into forms, notes and code
- No layout to clean up
Searchable PDF is the right choice when the scan itself is the record: a signed agreement, a deed, a medical report. The other outputs create a new document from the recognized words, which is useful when you will edit, but the copy is only as good as the recognition. To get Word from a PDF that already has real text, use PDF to Word, which reads the existing text without OCR; for words only, scanned PDF to text is set up for that.
A text layer adds little to the file size, since text is tiny compared with page images. If the scan was already too big for an upload form, run OCR first and then compress the PDF to the size the form allows.
OCR PDF online: languages, pages and limits
- recognition languages, right-to-left scripts included
- 34
- PDFs or images per batch
- 20
- maximum per file
- 95 MB
- until uploads and results are deleted
- 30 min
OCR PDF questions
How do I know if a PDF needs OCR?
Open it and try to select a word, or search for one with Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac). If nothing highlights, the page is an image and needs OCR. Mixed files are common: a contract typed in Word with signed pages scanned and appended at the end.
Does OCR change how my PDF looks?
Not with Searchable PDF output. The page image stays in place and the recognized text is invisible, so printing and viewing look the same. Straighten pages and Auto rotate may turn a crooked or sideways page upright, which is usually what you want.
Can I OCR only some pages of a long PDF?
Yes. Set Pages to Page range and type the pages, for example 1-5, 12, 20-24. Recognizing only the pages you need is noticeably faster on a long scan.
Can a screen reader read a PDF after OCR?
It can read the text, which it cannot do with an image-only scan. Full accessibility also needs tags for headings, reading order and alt text, which OCR does not add, so check documents that must meet accessibility rules with an accessibility checker afterwards.
How well does OCR handle old or faded documents?
Less well than clean scans. Turn on Enhance contrast for faded type, and rescan at 300 DPI if you can. Carbon copies and photocopies of photocopies always need proofreading.
Is OCR PDF free here?
Yes, there is no account or payment step. Files are deleted 30 minutes after processing, and how it works describes what happens in between.
- Scanned PDF to Text ConverterExtract text from a scanned PDF that will not let you select or search anything. OCR reads each page image and returns plain text, page range optional.
- PDF to Word ConverterConvert PDF to Word you can actually edit. Text reflows into normal paragraphs, scanned pages go through OCR in 34 languages, up to 20 files at a time.
- Online OCRFree online OCR for photos, screenshots and scanned PDFs. Copy the text, or save Word, searchable PDF or Markdown. What OCR reads well and what it cannot.
- Image to Word ConverterConvert screenshots, scans and photos to an editable Word document. Reads 34 languages, mixed-language pages and neat handwriting. Free, no sign-up.
- PDF to Text ConverterExtract the words from any PDF as a clean UTF-8 text file. Scans are read with OCR, page ranges are optional, and nothing but the text is kept.
- Compress PDF to 900 KBCompress a PDF to 900 KB so it clears 1 MB upload fields in Google Forms, school portals and web apps, with about 100 KB to spare. Free, up to 20 files.
