OCR PDF

Convert scanned PDFs into searchable documents. Select one or more languages present in your file for the best results.

How it works:

  • Extract Text: Uses Tesseract OCR to recognize text from scanned images or PDFs.
  • Searchable Output: Creates a new PDF with an invisible text layer, making your document fully searchable while preserving the original appearance.
  • Character Filtering: Use whitelists to filter out unwanted characters and improve accuracy for specific document types (invoices, forms, etc.).
  • Multi-language Support: Select multiple languages for documents containing mixed language content.

Click to select PDF or drag and drop

Your files never leave your device.

What is OCR PDF?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) PDF is a technology that converts scanned documents or image-based PDFs into searchable and editable text. Unlike standard PDFs that are essentially images of text, OCR-processed PDFs contain a hidden text layer that allows you to:

  • Search for specific words or phrases within the document
  • Copy and paste text from the PDF
  • Edit text content in PDF editors
  • Improve accessibility for screen readers
  • Extract data for analysis or processing
  • Reduce file size compared to image-only PDFs

Key Benefits

  • ✓ Make scanned docs searchable
  • ✓ Extract text for editing
  • ✓ Improve document accessibility
  • ✓ Multi-language support
  • ✓ 100% secure & private
  • ✓ Free forever

How OCR PDF Processing Works

1

Upload PDF

Select your scanned PDF or image-based document. All processing happens locally in your browser - your files never leave your device.

2

Configure OCR Settings

Select languages present in your document, adjust resolution, and use character whitelists for better accuracy. Advanced settings available for specific needs.

3

Download Results

Get your searchable PDF and extracted text. Download the OCR-processed PDF with invisible text layer, or get the plain text for editing.

OCR Best Practices

For Best Results

  • Use high-quality scans (300+ DPI)
  • Select all languages present in document
  • Use character whitelist for forms/invoices
  • Enable binarization for clean documents

Common Issues & Solutions

  • Poor quality scans may require higher resolution setting
  • Handwritten text has lower accuracy than printed text
  • Complex layouts may require post-processing editing

Frequently Asked Questions

Our OCR tool supports over 100 languages including:

  • European languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian
  • Asian languages: Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic
  • Other languages: Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Thai, Vietnamese
  • You can select multiple languages for mixed-language documents
  • Language accuracy varies based on text quality and font

OCR accuracy depends on several factors:

  • High-quality scans: 95-99% accuracy with clean 300+ DPI documents
  • Standard documents: 85-95% accuracy with typical printed materials
  • Poor quality scans: 70-85% accuracy with low-resolution or faxed documents
  • Handwritten text: 50-70% accuracy (depends on handwriting clarity)
  • Use character whitelists and proper language selection to improve accuracy

Your files are 100% secure because:

  • No server upload: All processing happens locally in your browser
  • No internet connection needed after initial page load
  • Files never leave your device - no cloud storage involved
  • No tracking of your document content
  • Open source OCR engine (Tesseract) - transparent processing
  • You can verify this by disconnecting your internet after loading the page

Two output formats serve different purposes:

  • Searchable PDF: Contains the original scanned image with an invisible text layer overlaid. You can search, copy, and select text while seeing the original document appearance.
  • Extracted Text: Plain text file containing only the recognized characters. Useful for editing in word processors, data analysis, or content reuse.
  • File size: Searchable PDFs are larger (keeps images), extracted text is very small
  • Use case: Use searchable PDF for archiving, extracted text for editing

Limits are based on your device's capabilities:

  • No artificial limits - process as large as your device can handle
  • Typical maximum: 100-200 pages depending on image complexity
  • Performance factors: Your device's RAM, processor speed, and browser capabilities
  • Recommendation: Process large documents in batches of 50 pages
  • For very large documents: Use our Split PDF tool first, then OCR each part

Related PDF Tools

PDF Editor

Edit text in OCR-processed PDFs

Compress PDF

Reduce file size after OCR

Split PDF

Divide large documents for OCR