or drop an image or a scanned PDF here · up to 95 MB
Files are deleted as soon as the text is read
Your searchable PDF is ready
How to convert an image to text
- Upload an image. Click Select file or drop a photo, screenshot or scan. Photos of documents work best when the page fills the picture and is in focus.
- Choose the language. English is selected; pick Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese or Dutch for text in those languages.
- Copy or download the text. The text appears in the box. Copy it with one click or download it as a TXT file. For a scanned PDF you can also get a searchable PDF.
Popular uses for Image to Text (OCR)
- Copy text from a screenshot, a slide or a photo of a whiteboard.
- Turn a photo of a receipt or invoice into text for an expense report.
- Get quotes from a book page or a printed article without retyping them.
- Copy the details from a photo of a business card or a letter.
What you can do with image to text
- Copy the text out of a screenshot, a slide or a photo of a whiteboard.
- Turn a photo of a printed letter, receipt or recipe into text you can edit.
- Get quotes and notes out of book pages without typing them.
- Make scanned documents searchable with OCR PDF.
Tips for the most accurate text
- Use a sharp photo taken straight on, with the page flat and evenly lit.
- Crop away the background so the text fills most of the picture.
- Choose the language the text is written in.
- Printed text gives the best results. Handwriting is often read poorly; neat block capitals work better than joined-up writing.
How OCR works
OCR (optical character recognition) looks at the shapes in the picture and turns them into letters and words. We use Tesseract, the open-source OCR engine first developed at HP and later improved by Google. Each image is read on our server over an encrypted connection and deleted as soon as the text is ready; it is never kept or shared.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an image to text?
Upload the image here, choose the language and the text appears in a few seconds. Copy it or download it as a TXT file.
Is this image to text converter free?
Yes. It is free with no sign-up, no email and no watermark.
Which image types work?
JPG, JPEG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC (iPhone), TIFF, BMP and GIF images, and scanned PDF files.
Can it read handwriting?
Neat printed handwriting can work, but joined-up handwriting is often read poorly. Typed and printed text gives the best results.
Can I extract text from a screenshot?
Yes. Screenshots are usually read very accurately because the text is sharp.
Are my images kept?
No. The image is used only to read the text and is deleted from the server right after.
Which languages are supported?
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch.