Make a scanned PDF searchable (OCR)
Read the text in scans and add it to the PDF, so you can search and copy it. Your document stays on your device.
- Your files are never uploaded
- Processed on your device
- Works offline
- Free, no sign-up
Drop your PDF files here
PDF files · up to 10 files, 500 MB each
or paste with Ctrl+VLive preview
Settings
Best reads small print more reliably.
How it works
Add your scanned PDF
Scans, photos of documents or faxes.
Start OCR
Each page is read; this takes a few seconds per page.
Download
Search and copy the text in any PDF reader.
How it works
Each page is drawn as a picture and read by Tesseract, a well-known open-source OCR engine. The text it finds is added to the page as an invisible layer, in the right place, so the page looks the same but can be searched and copied.
This version reads English. Clear, straight scans at 300 DPI give the best results; use Deskew PDF first for crooked pages.
Private OCR
Online OCR services upload your documents to their servers. Here, the OCR engine runs inside your browser, so contracts, letters and IDs stay on your device.
Private
Your file is processed inside your browser with Tesseract OCR (tesseract.js, Apache-2.0) and pdf-lib. The first time, the English OCR engine (about 6 MB) is downloaded from this website, not from anyone else, and kept by your browser for offline use. It is never uploaded, and nothing is saved after you close the page.
Questions
Are my files uploaded?
No. The tool runs inside your browser, so your files are opened and changed on your own device. They are never sent to us or to anyone else.
Which languages are supported?
English for now.
Will it change how my pages look?
No. The text layer is invisible; the pages look exactly as before.
How long does it take?
Usually a few seconds per page on a computer, longer on a phone.
Is it free?
Yes. Free to use, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limits.
Related tools
More free tools that run on your device. No uploads