PDF to Text
Extract all the text from a PDF to copy or save as a .txt file.
or drag and drop here · Ctrl+V to paste
Processing…
Processed on your device. Your files aren't uploaded to any server.
How to use: PDF to Text
- Choose a PDF.
- Click Extract text.
- Copy the text from the box or download the .txt file (with page markers when there’s more than one page).
About this tool
When the results look messy
- Columns: In newspapers, scientific papers, and brochures, the PDF may store text in the order it was laid out rather than the order it should be read, so text from neighboring columns can get mixed together.
- Tables become lines of text without cell divisions. To preserve the structure, try PDF to Word.
- Hyphenation: Words split at the end of a line ("docu-ment") may appear broken up.
- Garbled characters: Some PDFs use fonts without Unicode mapping, which can cause strange symbols to appear in the extracted text. In that case, PDF OCR reads the page as an image and often fixes the issue.
Why extract text?
Copy excerpts from contracts, public notices, and articles to quote or comment on; paste content into a translator; count words with the Word Counter; search long documents for specific terms; or use report data in spreadsheets and other systems. The .txt file is small and opens on any device.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Scanned PDFs are images and don’t contain embedded text. For these files, use the PDF OCR tool to recognize text in the images.
How can I tell if my PDF contains text or is scanned?
Open the PDF and try selecting a word with your mouse. If you can select it, the PDF contains text and this tool will work. If the entire page is selected as one block (an image), it’s scanned and needs OCR.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser: your file is read and processed on your device, and not a single byte is sent over the internet. You can even disconnect from the internet after the page loads.
Is it really free? Is there a daily limit?
It's free with no daily limits. Processing happens on your device, so there's no per-use cost and no need to limit you.
Does it work on phones?
Yes. The site works in any modern browser on Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, and Linux—no installation needed.




