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Extract text from PDF

Reads the text layer of a PDF and gives you plain text, page by page. This works on digital PDFs. A scan with no text layer needs OCR, which is a separate tool.

Choose your file

Drop your file here

PDF files. Nothing is uploaded — your file stays on this device.

Settings

Inserts a "— Page n —" line between pages.

Add a file to continue.

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About Extract text from PDF

What does Extract text from PDF do?
Reads the text layer of a PDF and gives you plain text, page by page. This works on digital PDFs. A scan with no text layer needs OCR, which is a separate tool.
Who is it for?
Students handing in work, professionals sending contracts and reports, administrators preparing submissions, and anyone who has hit an email attachment limit. No technical knowledge is needed.
Is it free?
Yes. Extract text from PDF is free with no account, no watermark on your output, no daily cap and no trial period. Because it runs on your own device it costs us nothing to run, which is why there is no catch.
Is it safe to use with confidential files?
Yes, and not because we promise to behave. Extract text from PDF never sends your file anywhere — the work happens in your browser. There is no upload, so there is no copy of your document in our systems at any point.
What file formats are supported?
Input: PDF. Output: TXT.
Why did I get no text back?
Your PDF is almost certainly a scan — an image of a page with no text layer. That needs optical character recognition. This tool reports when it finds no text rather than handing you an empty file and calling it a success.
Is the layout preserved?
Line breaks and page boundaries are kept. Multi-column layouts and tables come out in reading order, which may not match the visual layout.

How to use it

  1. 1

    Add your file

    Drag it onto the box above, or use Browse files. On a phone you can also take a photo or pick from your camera roll.

  2. 2

    Check the settings

    Sensible defaults are already chosen. Most people never need to change them.

  3. 3

    Run it

    The progress bar shows real progress, not a decorative animation. Everything happens on your device.

  4. 4

    Preview the result

    Look at the output before you download. If it is not right, adjust a setting and run it again — nothing has been saved anywhere.

  5. 5

    Download

    Save the file. Closing this tab discards it from memory, so download anything you want to keep.