iLovePDF OCR: what the tool does, and when you want a Word file

How to use the iLovePDF OCR tool

1. Open OCR PDF on iLovePDF. Upload a PDF from your computer, or pick one from Google Drive or Dropbox.
2. Pick the OCR mode. Standard suits most scanned documents. Advanced is for difficult scans and photographed or warped pages.
3. Choose the document languages. Selecting the right language improves recognition.
4. Set the clean-up options and run it. Auto rotate, deskew and dewarp fix tilted or curved pages before the text is read.

These options come from iLovePDF's own tool page[1]. The result is a PDF where the text can be searched and selected. The language list runs past 100 entries, including historical ones such as Middle English and Ancient Greek, and Advanced mode, marked Premium, supports more than 50 languages[1].

What is free and what needs Premium

OCR PDF, standard

Free, 1 file per task, up to 15 MB[2]

OCR PDF, advanced

Premium only[2]

PDF to Word with OCR

Premium only[2]

Translate PDF

Premium only, Advanced AI uses AI credits[2]

Premium OCR limits

Up to 10 files per task and 4 GB per file[2]

Can iLovePDF translate a scanned PDF?

iLovePDF has a separate Translate PDF tool. It translates into 28 target languages and offers two layouts, Keep layout, which returns a PDF close to the original, and Only text, for copying[3]. Its pricing page lists translation as a Premium feature[2]. The tool page does not say whether it reads scans, and iLovePDF lists OCR as its own tool.

LoreAI does the reading and the translation in one job. It reads the scan with OCR, including stamps and handwriting, translates it into any of 105 languages, and rebuilds headings, lists and tables in Word. Names, dates and numbers stay exactly as written.

iLovePDF OCR and LoreAI side by side

Which one fits your document?

• To search or copy text from a scanned PDF in its own language, use iLovePDF's free standard OCR[2].
• To fix a curved or photographed page and keep it a PDF, use iLovePDF's Advanced mode with Premium[1].
• To get a scan or phone photo as an editable Word file in another language, use LoreAI.
• For other online OCR tools, see the Smallpdf OCR and PDF24 OCR pages, or the OCR software comparison.

If you only need the text, PDF to text covers that. For a Word file in the same language, see scanned PDF to Word.

Neither one certifies a translation

LoreAI is not a certified translation service, and neither is iLovePDF. When an authority asks for a certified translation, a translator signs a statement about it. The guide to getting a certified translation explains how.

Questions people ask