How it works
- Add your PDF. For a scan or a photo of pages, leave "Read scanned pages" ticked and choose the language.
- Choose whether to mark where each page starts.
- Press Extract text and download the .txt file.
Extract the text from a PDF
Copy-pasting from a PDF often scrambles the lines. This reads the text in order, keeps paragraphs and table columns apart, and saves it as a plain text file you can open anywhere. It is done in your browser.
Files stay on your device. Free, with no sign-up.
PDF to Text tool
- 1Add a PDF with text
- 2Adjust
- 3Download
Files
Done
Nothing left your device.
Plain text, Word or Excel?
Plain text is for reading, searching or pasting the words somewhere else. If you want to keep headings, lists and layout so you can edit the document, use PDF to Word. For tables of numbers, use PDF to Excel.
Frequently asked questions
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything happens inside your browser, on your own device. Your files are never sent to a server, and you can confirm that in your browser's network tab. Close the tab and they're gone.
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. With "Read scanned pages" ticked (it is by default), pages that are only pictures are read with OCR first, in the language you choose, and their words are saved. Pages that already have text are used as they are, so an ordinary PDF is not slowed down. For a scan you want to keep as a PDF but make searchable, use OCR PDF.
Will Hindi and other languages come out right?
Yes when the PDF stores its letters properly, which most do. The text is saved as UTF-8, which Notepad, Word and every modern app read correctly. A few PDFs store only the shapes of Hindi letters, and the result says when text could not be read.
What happens to tables and columns?
Pieces of a line that were spaced apart (the cells of a table row) are kept apart by spaces, and each row is a line. For a real spreadsheet use PDF to Excel instead.
Can I use a password-protected PDF?
Not directly. Use Unlock PDF on this site to remove the password (you need to know it), then add the unlocked copy here.
Is there a file size limit?
Each file can be up to 100 MB, and up to 300 MB in total. Because the work happens on your device, very large files depend on your available memory. A desktop browser handles them best.