Text from scans
Recognizes the words in scanned and photographed pages and returns them as a clean text file you can copy and edit.
OCR PDF
Recognize and extract text from scanned documents — right in your browser.
or drop a file here
Files are processed in your browser and never uploaded.
OCR PDF online — free and private
OCR PDF reads the text inside scanned and image-only PDFs and gives it back to you as plain, copyable text. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is what turns a picture of a page into words you can search, copy and reuse — essential for scanned contracts, receipts, book pages and any document that started life on paper.
Unlike most OCR websites, PDF10x never uploads your document. The recognition runs entirely in your browser using a local OCR engine, so even sensitive paperwork stays on your device. The tool works best on clear, high-contrast scans in English. Need images of the pages instead of text? Use PDF to JPG.
Also known as: ocr pdf · pdf ocr · extract text from pdf · scanned pdf to text · pdf to text · convert scanned pdf to text · image pdf to text · ocr online free · recognize text in pdf
Why use PDF10x to ocr pdf?
Runs on your device
The OCR engine works locally in your browser. Your document is never uploaded — only the one-time engine download comes from the network.
Page by page
Every page is processed in order and combined into a single text file, with clear page markers for multi-page documents.
How to ocr pdf online
- 1
Select or drop the scanned PDF you want to read.
- 2
Click “Extract text” and wait while each page is recognized.
- 3
The recognized text is combined into one downloadable file.
- 4
Download the text file and copy the content wherever you need it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my scanned document uploaded for OCR?
No. The OCR runs locally in your browser. Your PDF is never uploaded — the only network request is a one-time download of the OCR engine and English language data, after which recognition happens entirely on your device.
Why is OCR slower than other tools?
Recognizing text from images is computationally heavy, and it all runs on your own device rather than a powerful server. Expect a few seconds per page — larger scans take longer, but your file never leaves your computer.
What languages are supported?
This version recognizes English text. Clear, high-contrast scans give the best results; faint, skewed or handwritten pages are harder for any OCR engine to read accurately.
Can it read handwriting?
OCR is designed for printed text and struggles with handwriting. For handwritten notes, results will be unreliable — it works best on typed and printed documents.