PDF tool

PDF OCR Online

Run optical character recognition on a scanned PDF to make its text searchable, selectable, and extractable. Converts image-only PDFs into fully text-indexed documents. Server-processed; files deleted within 60 minutes.

How to use PDF OCR Online

PDF tools guide for pdf ocr online users.

A scanned PDF is essentially a photograph of a document stored inside a PDF container. The text is not machine-readable — you can't select it, search it, or copy it. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) analyses the image and adds an invisible text layer, making the document fully functional.

After OCR, you can search the PDF by keyword (Ctrl+F), copy and paste text from it, convert it to Word using PDF to Word, or extract the raw text using PDF to Text. The OCR process does not change how the PDF looks visually — it only adds the searchable text layer underneath.

OCR accuracy depends on scan quality. A clean, high-resolution scan (300 DPI or higher) achieves 97–99% character accuracy. A low-resolution or tilted scan may produce errors that require manual correction.

What this tool does

Analyses each page of your scanned PDF using OCR and adds a machine-readable text layer. The visual appearance of the PDF is unchanged. Output is a searchable, copyable PDF.

How to use it

Upload your scanned PDF and click Convert. The tool runs OCR on all pages and returns a searchable PDF. For best results, upload scans at 300 DPI or higher.

Best practices

Ensure scans are straight (not tilted), well-lit, and free from shadows across text. Black and white scans at 300 DPI give the best OCR results. Colour scans are fine but produce larger output files.

Quick checklist

Confirm the input file, value, text, or measurement is correct before running the tool.
Use the visible dropdowns and settings to choose the output format, unit, quality, size, or result style.
Check the preview, result text, or downloaded file before using it for important work.
For private or sensitive data, prefer browser-based tools and avoid uploading files unless the tool clearly needs server processing.

Answers

PDF OCR Online FAQs

How do I know if my PDF needs OCR?

Try selecting text on the page. If you can't select any text, or if selecting it gives you garbled characters, the PDF needs OCR.

What languages does OCR support?

English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, and several others. Contact us if you need support for a specific language.

Will OCR work on a handwritten document?

Basic printed handwriting (block capitals) can work. Cursive handwriting has poor accuracy with standard OCR — results will be unreliable.

How accurate is the OCR?

Clean 300 DPI scans of printed documents: 97–99% character accuracy. Low-resolution or noisy scans: 80–90%. Scans with shadows, glare, or tilt: lower.

Can I run OCR on a native digital PDF?

Yes, but it is unnecessary — native PDFs already have a text layer. Running OCR on them does no harm but adds no value.