OCR PDF: Make Scanned PDFs Searchable, Free
Recognise text in scans and photos, right in your browser
🔒 No upload • No account • No watermark • Runs in your browser
OCR PDF reads the text in scanned pages and photographs and turns it into real, selectable text. You can get a searchable PDF or a plain text file. The recognition engine runs in your browser, so your scan stays on your device.
How to use OCR PDF
- Open the tool and choose your scanned PDF.
- Pick the language of the document.
- Choose searchable PDF or text file, then press the button.
- Wait while each page is read. A progress bar shows how far it has got, and you can cancel at any time.
- Download the result.
Features
- Searchable PDF output: the page looks the same, with an invisible text layer on top so you can search and copy.
- Plain text output for any supported language.
- Works page by page with a progress bar and a Cancel button.
- No upload: the recognition engine runs on your own device.
Good to know
- The first run downloads the recognition engine and language data, so it can take a moment on a slow connection. After that it is cached.
- Accuracy depends on the scan. Clear, straight, well-lit pages work best. Handwriting is not supported.
- Searchable PDF output works for Latin-script languages. For other scripts, use the text file option.
- OCR can make mistakes, so check names, numbers and dates before you rely on them.
Questions and answers
Is my scan uploaded anywhere?
No. The pages are read inside your browser. Only the open-source engine and language data are downloaded.
Why is it slow on my phone?
Reading a page takes real computing power. Long scans are quicker on a laptop.
Can it read Hindi or Tamil?
Yes, choose the language and save as a text file. The searchable-PDF option is for Latin-script languages.
Can I improve accuracy?
Scan at 200 to 300 dpi, keep the page straight, and avoid shadows. Crop PDF can trim dark borders.
Privacy
This tool runs inside your browser. Your file is read into your device’s memory, processed there and handed back as a download. It is not sent to a FirePDF server. You can test this by switching off your internet connection after the page has loaded and running the tool again. Read the Privacy Policy and the Security page for details.