OCR PDF

How this tool actually works

This isn't traditional pattern-matching OCR software. Each page of your PDF is converted to an image and sent to an AI vision model (Google's Gemini) that reads the page the way it would read any picture, and returns what it sees as plain text.

• Convert: Each page of your PDF is rendered as an image in your browser.
• Read: The image is sent to an AI vision model, which reads the text on the page.
• Return: The model sends back the text it found, which is displayed on the page.
• Copy: You can copy the extracted text from the results panel.

There's no new PDF produced at the end of this. There's no hidden text layer placed behind your scan. The output is a text file — nothing more, nothing less. If what you actually need is a PDF that looks like the original scan but has selectable text behind it, this tool doesn't produce that.

Limitations, upfront

• 6-page limit: Only PDFs of 6 pages or fewer are accepted. If your PDF is longer, the tool blocks the upload and tells you to split it first — it does not process just the first 6 pages.
• Text output only: The result is plain text shown on the page, with a Copy button — not a searchable PDF, and not a downloadable file.
• No language selector: There's nothing to set manually — the model reads whatever language is on the page.
• The combined page-image data for one request is capped at about 2.2 MB of binary image data. Very large or high-resolution pages may be rejected.

What affects accuracy

• Scan quality: Clear, high-resolution scans work best. Low-resolution or blurry scans produce more errors.
• Language: There's no language setting to configure — the model reads whatever language appears on the page — but results are generally strongest for widely-used languages and scripts.
• Fonts: Standard printed fonts are easier to read than handwritten or heavily decorative ones. Unusual fonts can cause recognition errors.
• Noise: Background noise or artifacts can reduce accuracy. This includes coffee stains, watermarks, or poorly erased pencil marks.

There's also a difference between printed text and handwriting. Clear printed text is generally easier to recognize than handwriting, and handwriting results can be less reliable. If you need to digitize handwritten documents, you'll need specialized software designed for that purpose.

Troubleshooting

• "This PDF has X pages — OCR PDF supports up to 6 pages": Split the document first with Split PDF, then run OCR on each smaller piece separately.
• "Could not process this PDF. It may be corrupted or password-protected": Try Unlock PDF or Repair PDF on the original, then re-upload.
• "Something went wrong. Please try again": This usually means the AI service was briefly unavailable or busy. Wait a moment and retry — if it keeps happening, the shared daily AI capacity may have been reached for the day.
• The extracted text has obvious mistakes: Accuracy depends on scan quality — a sharper, higher-resolution scan of the original will usually produce noticeably cleaner results.

Need to make a scanned PDF searchable?

OCR your PDF without signup; processing is handled through the service used by the tool.