PDF to Text Converter – Extract Text from PDF Online Free

PDF to Text Converter

Extract clean, copyable text from any PDF — a fast, private PDF text extractor that preserves layout, searches results, and exports as TXT, Markdown, or JSON. Now auto-OCRs scanned pages, so image-only PDFs return text too.

🔒 Your PDF is processed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.

How to Use the PDF to Text Converter

  1. Upload your PDF — Drag & drop or click to browse.
  2. Pick a page range — Extract everything or just pages like 1-5, 8.
  3. Choose output mode — Plain text, page-by-page, Markdown, or structured JSON.
  4. Fine-tune options — Preserve layout, de-hyphenate broken words, include metadata, and set the OCR language for any scanned pages.
  5. Extract — Click the button. Pages with real text come out instantly; scanned pages are OCR'd automatically.
  6. Search, copy, or download — Use inline search with next/prev navigation, copy to clipboard, or save as TXT/MD/JSON.

What is PDF to Text Extraction?

PDF to text extraction pulls the raw text content out of a PDF document into a plain-text format you can edit, search, or feed into another tool. PDFs are designed to look identical everywhere — which means their text is locked into visual positions and isn't always easy to grab. This PDF text extractor unpacks that text intelligently: it preserves paragraph structure, fixes hyphenated line breaks, and lets you choose how page boundaries are handled. Everything runs locally in your browser via PDF.js, so your document never leaves your device.

Scanned PDFs are handled too. A scanned PDF is just images with no text layer, so a plain extractor returns nothing. With Auto-OCR enabled (on by default), this tool detects those image-only pages and reads them with optical character recognition in the language you select, so you still get usable text. For photos, screenshots, or more advanced OCR controls and 35+ languages, use our dedicated OCR tool.

Common Use Cases

📝 Quote & citeGrab passages from research papers, ebooks, or reports for citations.
🔍 Search & analyzeFeed PDF content into search tools, spreadsheets, or AI assistants.
🌐 TranslateExtract text first, then paste into a translation tool.
📋 Reformat contentPull text out, restructure it, and rebuild in Word or Markdown.
🧾 Data extractionGet text from invoices, statements, or receipts — even scanned ones.
♿ AccessibilityConvert PDFs into plain text for screen readers or e-readers.

Why Choose Our PDF to Text Tool?

  • ✅ 100% private — files never leave your device
  • ✅ Auto-OCR for scanned pages — image-only PDFs still return text
  • ✅ 20+ OCR languages — English, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi, Chinese & more
  • ✅ 4 output formats — Plain, Page-by-page, Markdown, JSON
  • ✅ Smart layout handling — paragraph detection & layout preservation
  • ✅ De-hyphenation — automatically rejoins broken words
  • ✅ Page range selection — extract only what you need
  • ✅ Inline search with next/prev — jump between matches
  • ✅ Live counters — words, characters, lines, pages & read time
  • ✅ Metadata extraction — title, author, dates
  • ✅ Dark mode & fullscreen
  • ✅ No signup, no watermarks, no limits

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this PDF to Text converter free?

Yes — completely free, no signup, no daily limit, no watermarks.

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. Extraction and OCR happen entirely in your browser using PDF.js and Tesseract.js. Your file never leaves your device.

Does this work on scanned PDFs?

Yes. With Auto-OCR scanned pages enabled (the default), any page that has no selectable text is rendered and read with OCR in the language you choose, so you still get text from scanned documents.

Why is OCR slower than normal extraction?

Pages with a real text layer come out instantly. Scanned pages must be recognized image-by-image, and the OCR engine (about 5–10 MB) downloads once on first use, then is cached. A long fully-scanned PDF therefore takes longer.

Which OCR language should I pick?

Choose the language the scanned text is written in — it only affects scanned pages. The wrong language produces inaccurate results. For mixed scripts or images, our dedicated OCR tool offers more options.

What's the difference between Plain, Page-by-page, Markdown, and JSON?

Plain: one continuous block. Page-by-page: clear page markers between sections. Markdown: pages become H2 headings, ideal for docs/wikis. JSON: structured object with page numbers, ideal for developers.

What does "De-hyphenate line breaks" do?

PDFs often split long words across lines with hyphens (e.g., "infor-mation"). This option detects and rejoins them into clean words.

Can I search the extracted text?

Yes. The inline search box counts every match and the next/prev arrows let you jump between them right inside the result box.

Can I extract only certain pages?

Yes. Use the Page Range field with a comma-separated list like 1-5, 8, 10-12.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The interface is fully responsive and works on iOS, Android, and tablets, though OCR is slower on phones.

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