PDF to text converter
Upload PDF- Free, no credits needed
- Reads scanned PDFs too
- Only the text is kept
How to convert a PDF to text
Three steps from upload to text you can paste.
Upload your PDF
Sign in with Google and upload a PDF of up to 20 pages and 14 MiB: a report, an article, a manual, lecture notes or a scanned page.
Read the text
The text appears page by page in reading order, in the language it is written in, with a blank line between pages. Nothing is translated or rewritten.
Copy or download
Copy all the text at once or one line at a time, or download it as a .txt file to paste into a document, an email or a spreadsheet.
Other tools
Every tool opens in the same editor. Edits use credits; reading text is free.
Edit text in image
Change the words in a photo, poster or screenshot while the new text follows the original lettering.
Translate text in image
Turn the words in an image into one of 35 languages, written back in a matching style.
Remove text from image
Erase words from a photo or graphic and rebuild the background behind them.
Add text to photo
Write new words into a photo so they look printed, painted or lit on a surface in the scene.
Image to text
Copy the words out of a photo, screenshot or scan as plain text, at no cost.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a PDF to text?
Sign in with Google and upload the PDF. Its text appears page by page, in reading order. Select Copy all to copy everything at once, copy a single line, or download the text as a .txt file to paste into a document, an email or a spreadsheet.
Is PDF to text free?
Yes. Reading the text in a PDF uses no credits, with or without a plan; you only need to sign in with Google. Credits are only for changing an image: editing, translating or removing its text.
Can it read scanned PDFs?
Yes. It reads each page as it looks, so a scanned page or a photo saved as a PDF works as well as a PDF made on a computer. Sharp, straight pages work best; faint, tiny or handwritten text can come back with mistakes, so compare the text with the PDF.
How long can the PDF be?
Up to 20 pages and 14 MiB. Split a longer document into smaller files and read each one. Pages packed with small text can fill one reading sooner; if that happens, you are asked to split the file.
Does it keep the layout of the PDF?
The text comes back in reading order, one line for each line on the page, with a blank line between pages and between separate blocks such as columns. Each row of a table comes back on one line, with a tab between cells. Fonts, images and formatting are not kept.
Is my PDF stored?
No. The PDF is read when you upload it and is not saved. Only its text is kept, private to your account in My images, so you can open it again later or delete it.