PDF OCR Online
Extract text from any PDF file using free, browser-based OCR. Works on scanned PDFs (where text is embedded as an image) and digital PDFs (with a native text layer). Everything runs locally — no upload to any server, no account needed.
The Private Alternative to Cloud PDF OCR
Most PDF OCR services upload your files to remote servers. This tool runs the entire OCR engine inside your browser using WebAssembly — your PDF never leaves your device. Scanned pages are OCR-processed locally; digital pages with native text are extracted instantly without any OCR at all.
How to Use PDF OCR Online
- 1 Open the tool and drop your PDF
No signup or install needed. Just drag your PDF into the browser tab.
- 2 Processing happens locally
Digital pages are extracted instantly. Scanned pages are OCR-processed one at a time with live progress.
- 3 Copy or download your text
All pages are combined into one result — copy everything in one click.
What You Can Do with PDF OCR
Extract from Scanned PDFs
OCR-process image-only PDFs to get selectable, copyable text.
Copy from Digital PDFs
Native text layers are extracted instantly — no OCR processing time.
Private Documents
Legal, medical, and financial PDFs stay on your device.
Multi-Page Documents
Process long PDFs with live page-by-page progress tracking.
PDF OCR Tips
- Check if your PDF is scanned: Try selecting text in your PDF reader — if you cannot, it is a scanned PDF
- 300 DPI minimum: Scanned pages at higher resolution produce more accurate OCR
- Flat, aligned pages: Avoid skewed or folded pages for best accuracy
- One language per PDF: Mixed-language documents may have lower accuracy on non-primary language pages
Ready to run PDF OCR in your browser?
Open the OCR Tool →