# PDF to text, for scanned PDFs too

To turn a PDF to text, you either copy the text layer out of the file or, for a scanned PDF where every page is a picture, read it with OCR. The tool below does the OCR on the first page of any PDF up to 5 MB. Sign up free with your email to copy all the text or download it as .txt or Word.

## Is your PDF scanned or digital?

Open the PDF and try to select one word with the cursor. If the word highlights, the PDF has a text layer: you can select all, copy and paste, and you may not need a converter at all. If the whole page highlights like a photo, or nothing highlights, the page is an image. That is a scanned PDF, and only OCR gets the words out.

- **Digital PDF**: Made from Word, a browser or an app. Text can be selected and copied.
- **Scanned PDF**: Made by a scanner or a phone scan app. Each page is a picture of the paper.
- **Mixed PDF**: A digital file with scanned pages or stamps added. The scanned parts need OCR.

## How to convert a PDF to text

1. **Choose the PDF.** Any PDF up to 5 MB. For a file with more pages, the tool reads page 1 and says how many pages the file has.
2. **Press Get the text.** The page goes through OCR, so a scan works the same as a digital file.
3. **Check the first lines.** They appear before you sign up, so you see whether the scan was readable.
4. **Enter your email and the code.** The 6-digit code we send opens the full text and creates a free account if you have none.
5. **Copy it or download it.** Copy the text, or download a .txt file or a Word document with headings and tables rebuilt.

## Scanned PDF to text: what comes out

OCR reads the page in reading order. Headings, paragraphs and lists come back as lines of text. Tables come back as rows, one line per row with a tab between the cells, which pastes into a spreadsheet as columns. The Word download keeps the same table as a real Word table.

Clear print on a straight scan comes back close to word for word. Handwriting, faint stamps, signatures and low-resolution scans come back with errors or not at all. Check names, amounts and long numbers against the page before you use them.

## Other ways to get text out of a PDF

*PDF to text options, checked on November 2, 2026*

| Option | Scanned pages | Limits | Tables |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Copy and paste from a PDF reader | Nothing to copy, the page is an image | None for digital PDFs | Cells often run together |
| Microsoft Word, opening the PDF | A page of mostly graphics may show up as an image that can't be edited[1] | Works best with files that are mostly text[1] | Word guesses tables from lines[1] |
| Google Drive, Open with Google Docs | Read with OCR | 2 MB or smaller[2] | Not likely to be detected[2] |
| LoreAI PDF to text | Read with OCR | Page 1 of a PDF up to 5 MB, 10 a day with a free account | Rows in the .txt file, a Word table in the .docx |

For a whole scanned document, every page and not only the first, the [LoreAI app](https://www.loreai.org/app) reads all of it and returns an editable Word file, translated if you want. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages. See [how to translate a scanned PDF](https://www.loreai.org/translate-scanned-pdf) for that route.

## Getting a cleaner result from a scan

- Scan at a normal office setting rather than the smallest file size, so small print stays sharp.
- Rotate pages right side up before you upload. Google gives the same advice for its converter[2].
- Split a long file and upload the page you need, since the free tool reads page 1.
- Remove the password from a protected PDF first. The tool can't open it.

## Privacy

The PDF is sent to LoreAI's OCR provider, read once and deleted there right after. The text stays on LoreAI's server for 1 hour so you can open it after you sign up, then it is deleted.

## Questions people ask

### Is PDF to text free?

Yes, free with a free account. The first lines show before you sign up, and the account gives you 10 runs a day without touching your free document.

### Can I convert a multi-page PDF to text?

The free tool reads page 1. To convert every page, upload the whole file in the app, where the first document is free up to 3 pages.

### Does it keep the formatting?

The .txt file is plain text with tables as tab-separated rows. The Word download keeps headings, lists and tables.

### Can it read a password-protected PDF?

No. Remove the password in your PDF reader, save a copy and upload that.

## Sources

1. [Microsoft Support: Opening PDFs in Word](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/opening-pdfs-in-word), accessed November 2, 2026
2. [Google Drive Help: Convert PDF and photo files to text](https://support.google.com/drive/answer/176692?hl=en), accessed November 2, 2026

By Matt Mountain · Updated November 2, 2026