What languages does the OCR support?

The OCR engine supports major Latin-alphabet languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and more. Support for other scripts varies—check the language selector when you upload your document. For best results, select the correct language before processing, as this helps the recognition engine optimize for language-specific patterns and characters.

How accurate is the text recognition?

Accuracy depends primarily on scan quality. Clear, high-resolution scans (300 DPI or higher) with standard fonts typically achieve 95-99% accuracy. Factors that reduce accuracy include: low resolution scans, unusual or decorative fonts, poor image quality, skewed pages, and noise or artifacts. Handwritten text is not reliably recognized—OCR works best with printed or typed text. You can review results by trying to search or select text in the processed document.

Will OCR change how my document looks?

No. The original scanned images remain exactly as they are. OCR adds an invisible text layer positioned precisely over the corresponding text in the image. When you view the document, you see the original scan. When you search or select text, you're interacting with the invisible layer. This approach preserves the authentic appearance of scanned documents while adding functionality.

Can OCR recognize text in photographs or complex images?

OCR is optimized for document text—printed or typed words on relatively uniform backgrounds. It works well with scanned documents, photographed documents (if sharp and well-lit), and screenshots. It's less effective at recognizing text embedded in photographs, artistic typography, or heavily stylized graphics. Text should be horizontal; rotated or curved text recognition is limited.

OCR PDF

Transform scanned PDFs and image-based documents into fully searchable files using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). When you scan paper documents, the resulting PDF contains only images—you can't search for text, select words, or copy content. Our OCR tool analyzes these images, recognizes the text within them, and adds an invisible searchable text layer while keeping the original appearance unchanged. Perfect for digitizing archives, making scanned contracts searchable, or preparing documents for text extraction. The entire OCR process runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly, so your confidential scanned documents never leave your device.

Requires OCR server

How To OCR PDF Online for Free

Upload Your Scanned PDF

Drag and drop your image-based PDF or browse to select it. The tool detects pages that need OCR processing.

Select Language and Run OCR

Choose the document's language for optimal recognition. Click process to run text recognition on all pages.

Download Searchable PDF

Get your document with searchable, selectable text. Same appearance, new functionality. Search, copy, and extract text freely.

Everything You Need in a OCR PDF

Recognizes printed text

Recognizes printed text in scanned documents and images

Creates an invisible

Creates an invisible searchable text layer over original content

Supports multiple languages

Supports multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, German, and more

Preserves original document

Preserves original document appearance exactly—OCR is invisible

Enables Ctrl+F search,

Enables Ctrl+F search, text selection, and copy/paste after processing

Works with any

Works with any image-based PDF regardless of how it was created

Frequently Asked Questions

Document Work Made Easy

Process your PDFs with our collection of free, privacy-first tools. No uploads to servers, no registration required. Everything runs directly in your browser.