OCR PDF Online: Scanned PDF to Text
Run OCR on a PDF to turn scanned pages into editable text. Every page is rendered and read by the Tesseract OCR engine inside your browser, so confidential scans never leave your device. Photos instead of a PDF? Use JPG to text.
Why use our OCR PDF tool?
- Scanned PDFs cannot be searched or copied
- Retyping long documents takes hours
- OCR makes old documents editable
- Uploading confidential scans to OCR sites is risky
- Hindi documents need Hindi OCR
How to OCR a scanned PDF
- Tap Choose PDF.
- Pick the language printed in the document.
- Tap Run OCR on PDF and keep the page open.
- Check names and numbers in the result.
- Copy the text or download it.
Where people use it
- 🏛️ Old government orders and circulars
- ⚖️ Scanned agreements and court documents
- 📚 Photocopied notes and books
- 🧾 Scanned invoices for accounting
- 🏥 Medical reports
- 📰 Newspaper clippings
Getting the best OCR results
- Scan or photograph pages flat, straight on and in good light.
- Printed text works best; handwriting is usually not recognised reliably.
- Choose the right language. Mixed English and Hindi documents work best with "English + Hindi".
- Always check names, numbers and dates in the result before you use them.
Need Word instead of plain text?
If your pages are photos rather than a PDF, JPG to Word runs the same OCR and saves an editable .docx file.
OCR in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and more
Pick the language printed in your document before you press Run OCR. Besides English and Hindi, the tool reads Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Kannada (each paired with English, since most Indian documents mix both). The first time you use a language its data file downloads once (a few MB), then your browser keeps it. Clear, straight scans at 200–300 DPI give the best accuracy; faint photocopies and handwriting are hard for any OCR.
Text out, not a searchable PDF
This tool gives you the recognised text to copy, edit or save as .txt. It does not add a hidden text layer to the PDF (what some apps call a "searchable PDF"). To keep the text with the document, save the .txt next to the PDF, or paste it into a Word document; JPG to Word builds a .docx straight from page photos.
OCR PDF: this tool vs typical online tools
What changes when the work happens on your own device
| Feature | ✅ jpgtopdf | Typical online tool |
|---|---|---|
| 🔒 Confidential scans | ✅ Processed locally | ❌ Uploaded to a server |
| 🇮🇳 Hindi | ✅ Supported | ❌ Often English only |
| 📄 Page limit | ✅ None | ❌ Few pages free |
| 💧 Watermark | ✅ Never | ❌ Sometimes on free plans |
| 📱 Mobile | ✅ Works in any phone browser | ❌ Varies; some need an app |
| 💰 Cost | ✅ 100% free | ❌ Free with limits or paid |
🏆 Perfect for scanned PDFsSearchable, editable text from paper scans.
OCR PDF FAQs
Is OCR accurate?
On clean printed text, accuracy is typically very high. Blurry photos, low-contrast photocopies, stamps and handwriting reduce accuracy.
How long does it take?
A few seconds per page on a modern phone or laptop. The first run also downloads the OCR engine and language data once.
Can I OCR a password-protected PDF?
Remove the password first with the PDF password remover, then run OCR on the unlocked copy.
Does it make a searchable PDF?
It produces plain text you can copy or save. It does not add a hidden text layer to the PDF.
Is there a free OCR for Hindi PDFs?
Yes. Choose Hindi or English + Hindi and press Run OCR. It is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser.
Can it OCR Marathi or Tamil?
Yes. Choose English + Marathi, English + Tamil, or another Indian language from the list before running OCR.
Does OCR make my PDF searchable?
No. You get the text to copy or download; the original PDF is not changed.
How accurate is OCR on scanned documents?
Very good on clean printed text. Accuracy drops with blurry scans, small fonts, stamps over text and handwriting, so check names and numbers.