PDF to Text — Free, In Browser

Extract selectable text from a PDF to plain text. 100% in your browser — free, no sign-up, no upload.

How to

  1. 1Choose your PDF — it is read in your browser and never uploaded.
  2. 2Click Extract text to pull the selectable text from every page.
  3. 3Copy the text or download it as a .txt file.

What is PDF to text extraction?

It pulls the selectable text out of a PDF and gives it to you as plain text you can copy or save as a .txt file. Instead of retyping a quote, a table, or a whole document, you extract the words directly from the file.

How extraction works in your browser

We read the PDF's text layer with pdf.js and concatenate it page by page, all on your device — nothing is uploaded. This works on 'digital' PDFs that contain real text (exported from Word, web pages, or most generators). Scanned or photographed PDFs are images of text and need OCR, which this tool does not do yet.

When to extract text from a PDF

Copy a passage from a report into an email, pull data out of a PDF for a spreadsheet, feed a document's text to a translator or AI tool, or make a quick searchable .txt backup. It is the fastest way to reuse content trapped in a PDF.

Why extract here

Copy-pasting from a PDF viewer often breaks across columns and pages or drops formatting. This tool extracts the full text in one step, free, with no upload — your document is read entirely in your browser and never leaves your device.

FAQ

Does it work on scanned PDFs?+

Not yet. It extracts the real text layer from digital PDFs. Scanned or photographed PDFs are images of text and need OCR, which this tool does not do yet.

Is my PDF uploaded to extract the text?+

No. The text is read in your browser with pdf.js, so the document never leaves your device.

Can I download the text as a file?+

Yes. Copy the extracted text or save it as a .txt file.

Why is the extracted text better than copy-paste?+

Copy-pasting from a viewer often breaks across columns and pages. This tool extracts the full text in one step, page by page.

Is it free?+

Yes, completely free — no sign-up and no watermark.

Is my data private?+

Yes — this tool runs entirely in your browser. Your files and text are never uploaded.

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