OCR PDF
Extract text from scanned PDFs and images, then translate to your chosen language
Drop a file here
Supports PDF, JPG, PNG, and WebP
Why use OCR on PDFs?
Make Scans Searchable
Convert scanned documents into searchable text, making content findable with Ctrl+F.
Extract Text
Copy text from scanned invoices, receipts, contracts, and books for further processing.
Multi-Language
OCR works across 6 languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
How it works
Upload PDF
Drop your scanned PDF or image-based PDF into the upload area.
Select Language
Choose the primary language of your document for better OCR accuracy.
Extract
Click "Extract Text" to begin processing. The tool extracts embedded text first; AI OCR handles scans.
Download
Copy the extracted text or download it as a .txt file.
Who uses this tool?
Office
Extract text from scanned contracts, invoices, and reports for editing and search.
Research
Convert scanned academic papers and books into searchable, citable text.
Legal
Extract text from scanned depositions, court records, and archived documents.
Finance
Process scanned invoices, receipts, and bank statements for data entry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between free and Pro OCR?
Free tier extracts embedded text from digital PDFs. Pro uses AI-powered Tesseract OCR to recognize text from scanned images and handwriting.
Why is the extracted text empty?
Your PDF is likely image-only (scanned). The free tier cannot read images — upgrade to Pro for full AI OCR capability.
What languages are supported?
Free: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese. Pro adds 50+ additional languages including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and more.
Can it read handwriting?
Handwriting recognition is available in the Pro plan with AI OCR. The free tier handles only printed text.
About this tool
VisualDocs's OCR tool uses PDF.js to extract embedded text from digital PDFs client-side. Upgrade to Pro for server-side AI OCR powered by Tesseract on scanned documents.