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Free online OCR to extract text from scanned PDFs and images.
Make documents searchable (Ctrl+F works), copy selectable text, and use unlimited OCR with no sign-up.

Online OCR lets you extract real, selectable text from scanned PDFs and images that behave like pictures. If you can’t select words, copy text, or search using Ctrl+F, the file is image-based — and OCR is the only way to fix it.

This free OCR tool works directly in your browser and supports scanned PDFs, photos, screenshots, and image files. It analyzes the visual content, recognizes characters, and creates a hidden text layer so your document becomes searchable, copyable, and reusable — without changing how it looks.

Use OCR when dealing with scanned invoices, receipts, contracts, forms, certificates, books, study material, or archived documents. It’s especially useful when PDFs come from scanners, mobile cameras, or screenshots where text is not machine-readable.

Unlike many online OCR tools, this page is free to use with no sign-up and no usage limits. Files are processed securely and automatically deleted after processing. You can choose the correct language for better accuracy or let the tool auto-detect it.

Once OCR is complete, you can search text inside the document, copy paragraphs, or download a searchable PDF. For best results, use clear scans and select the correct language — especially for accented or non-English text.

If any of these are happening, OCR is the fix

  • Ctrl+F (Cmd+F) doesn’t find words in your PDF
  • You can’t select text (the PDF behaves like a picture)
  • Copy/paste returns blanks or random characters
  • Search works on some pages but not others (mixed scanned + real text pages)
Start OCR nowHow it worksAll OCR pages

Page cap? Split first → OCR only what you need: Split PDF. Need faster uploads? Compress PDF.

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How OCR works (3 steps)

  1. 1) Upload a PDF or image

    Upload a scanned PDF, screenshot, photo, or image document. If the PDF is long, split it first so you OCR only the pages you need.

  2. 2) Choose language for accuracy

    Picking the correct language often improves OCR accuracy—especially accents and special characters.

  3. 3) Get searchable output / copy text

    After OCR, your document becomes searchable/selectable. Download searchable PDF output or copy the extracted text.

Quick checks (confirm OCR worked)

  • Select a single word — if it highlights, OCR created real text.
  • Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) and search a visible word.
  • Copy a paragraph into Notes/TextEdit — it should paste readable text.
  • If it’s wrong: try a cleaner scan + correct language, then rerun OCR.

PDF-specific? Start with Make PDF searchable or OCR PDF.

OCR accuracy playbook (this is what top users do)

OCR is not magic—it's pattern recognition. These are the highest-impact changes that improve results fast.

Scan quality matters more than anything

If your scan is blurry or low resolution, OCR will guess. For documents, ~300 DPI is a common recommendation for clearer OCR on small text.

Scan & OCR tips

Choose the correct language (big accuracy boost)

Selecting the correct language can significantly improve OCR accuracy (especially accents/special characters).

Supported languages

Fix long PDFs by splitting first

If you hit a page cap or only need a few pages, split the PDF and OCR only the relevant pages. Faster, cheaper, cleaner.

Split PDF

Compress before upload (speed boost)

Huge scans upload slowly. Compress the PDF before OCR to speed up processing and reduce failures.

Compress PDF

When OCR usually fails (so you don’t waste time)

  • Heavy handwriting (especially cursive) or very stylized fonts
  • Photos with glare/shadows, curved pages, or strong motion blur
  • Very low resolution scans (tiny text becomes unreadable)
  • Complex layouts where text overlaps background graphics

If the scan itself is unreadable, OCR cannot “guess” correctly. Improve the scan first, then rerun.

OCR use cases (why people come back daily)

OCR is addictive once you realize how much time it saves—especially for scanned PDFs and images you deal with every day.

Invoices & receipts

Extract vendor names, totals, dates, tax IDs, line items.

Contracts & legal PDFs

Search clauses, copy paragraphs, find names and dates fast.

Forms & certificates

Turn printed forms into selectable text for reuse.

Notes, books, study material

Copy text for summaries, flashcards, translation, rewriting.

Screenshots & UI text

Grab text from dashboards, chats, error screens, slides.

Archived scans

Make document archives searchable (massive time saver).

After OCR, need to edit the PDF? Use Edit PDF.

All OCR pages

Pick the exact page that matches your goal (PDF OCR, extract text, screenshots, languages, Word/Excel output).

OCR PDF

Most used

Make scanned PDFs searchable with an invisible text overlay (Ctrl+F works).

Open

Make PDF Searchable

High intent

Fix non-searchable PDFs by adding a text layer (best for scanned PDFs).

Open

PDF to Text

Copy text

Extract text from PDFs (including scanned PDFs via OCR).

Open

Scanned PDF to Word (OCR)

Editable

Convert scanned PDF into an editable Word document.

Open

Scanned PDF to Excel (OCR)

Tables

Convert scanned tables and forms into Excel.

Open

Image to Text

Core tool

Extract text from images instantly (OCR image).

Open

JPG to Text

Format

Extract text from JPG/JPEG images with OCR.

Open

PNG to Text

Format

Extract text from PNG images with OCR.

Open

Photo to Text

Mobile

Extract text from phone photos (receipts, documents, notes).

Open

Screenshot to Text

Fast

Extract text from screenshots (UI, chats, dashboards, slides).

Open

OCR Languages

Accuracy

Supported languages + how to choose the best one for accuracy.

Open

OCR French

Language

French OCR for scanned PDFs and images.

Open

OCR Spanish

Language

Spanish OCR for scanned PDFs and images.

Open

OCR German

Language

German OCR (ä/ö/ü/ß) for scanned PDFs and images.

Open

Related PDF tools (support OCR workflow)

These tools make OCR faster and more successful (split long PDFs, compress scans, convert formats).

FAQs

What is OCR?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts text inside scanned images or scanned PDFs into machine-readable text so you can search, select, and copy it.

Why doesn’t Ctrl+F work in my PDF?

Most of the time it’s a scanned (image-only) PDF with no real text layer. OCR adds a hidden text layer so search works.

How do I know if my PDF is scanned?

Try selecting a word. If nothing highlights and the page behaves like a single image, it’s likely scanned. You can also zoom in—scans often look slightly blurry compared to real text PDFs.

How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?

Run OCR on it. OCR creates an invisible text overlay under the scan so you can search and copy text.

Should I choose a language?

Yes if you can. Choosing the correct language often improves accuracy (especially accents/special characters). For bilingual pages, pick the dominant language.

What if my PDF is too long?

Split the PDF and OCR only the pages you need. This also speeds up processing.

Can OCR convert scanned PDFs to Word or Excel?

Yes. OCR is the recognition step; conversion formats the result for editing (Word) or tables (Excel).

Ready to turn scans into searchable text?

Upload your PDF/image, choose language for accuracy, and get searchable output you can copy and reuse.

Start OCR