OCR PDF
Turn scanned documents into searchable PDFs — find any word with Ctrl+F and copy text out, while every page looks the same as before.
- Files never leave your device
- 100% free
- No sign-up
- No watermark
- Works offline after first load
or drag & drop PDFs here — several at once
How to make a scanned PDF searchable
- Select or drop one or more scanned PDFs. Each card shows how many pages have no text yet.
- Pick the document language — and a second one for mixed pages, e.g. Hindi and English. Turn sideways pages upright in the Pages view.
- Click Make searchable and download the searchable PDFs (and the text, if you like).
About OCR PDF
A scanned PDF is just pictures of pages: you can’t search it, select a sentence or copy a number. OCR PDF reads the text on every page and lays it invisibly over the words, so the document looks exactly the same but Ctrl+F, selecting and copying work in any PDF reader.
Choose from 28 languages — including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati and Urdu — and recognise two at once for mixed pages. Pages that already have text are skipped, sideways scans can be turned upright first, and you can also download the text. Recognition runs in your browser, so your documents are never uploaded.
Good for
- Searching old scanned contracts, invoices and letters
- Copying numbers from a scanned bank statement
- Making a scanned book or notes searchable
Tip: To get an editable Word document from a scan, use PDF to Word — it reads tables too.
Frequently asked questions
What does OCR PDF do?
Scanned PDFs are pictures of pages, so you can’t search or copy their text. OCR (optical character recognition) reads the text in each page and adds it as an invisible layer exactly over the words. The page looks the same, but now Ctrl+F, selecting and copying work.
Will the PDF look different?
No. The original pages are kept exactly as they were — same images, same quality. Only an invisible text layer is added, so the file grows by just a few kilobytes per page.
Which languages are supported?
28 languages including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian and the main European languages. You can recognise two languages at once for pages that mix them.
What about pages that already have text?
By default they are left as they are and only scanned pages are read, which is faster. Choose “Read every page” if a PDF has a broken text layer.
How accurate is it?
Clear printed text is read very accurately. Small print reads better at 400 DPI (under More options); sideways pages should be turned upright first in the Pages view. Handwriting is not recognised reliably.
Can I get the text as well?
Yes. Tick “Also download the text (.txt)” to get a plain-text file next to each searchable PDF. To turn a scan into an editable document, use PDF to Word.
Is my scan processed privately?
Yes. OCR runs inside your browser. The engine and language files download the first time, but your PDF never leaves your device.