PDF to Text
Extract all text from any PDF with one click. OCR support for scanned documents, page range selection, and multiple output formats — all in your browser.
Drop your PDF here
or click to browse — files never leave your browser
Everything you need to extract text from PDF
Professional-grade text extraction with 24 powerful features — all in your browser.
One-Click Text Extraction
Extract all text from any PDF with a single click. Text is pulled directly from the PDF text layer — no OCR needed for digital PDFs.
OCR for Scanned PDFs
Scanned or image-based PDFs are automatically detected. Built-in OCR technology recognizes text from images with 95%+ accuracy on clear documents.
Page Range Selection
Extract text from all pages or select specific pages like 1-5, 8, 10-12. Skip irrelevant sections and get exactly the text you need.
Multiple Output Formats
Download as plain text (.txt), rich text (.rtf), or copy to clipboard. Choose the format that works for your workflow.
Live Text Preview
See extracted text in real-time before downloading. Navigate pages, verify accuracy, and adjust settings with instant feedback.
Word & Character Count
Instantly see the total word count, character count, and page count of your extracted text. Perfect for writers, researchers, and editors.
Reading Order Preservation
Maintains the logical reading order of text — top to bottom, left to right. Multi-column layouts are detected and sequenced correctly.
UTF-8 & Unicode Support
Full Unicode support ensures all characters — including international text, emojis, and special symbols — are extracted correctly.
Searchable Output
The extracted text is fully searchable. Find specific words or phrases instantly in the preview panel before downloading.
Copy to Clipboard
One-click copy of all extracted text to your clipboard. Paste directly into any application — no file download needed.
Batch Extraction
Upload multiple PDF files and extract text from all of them in one session. Download each text file individually or as a ZIP.
Custom Filename
Name your output text file exactly what you want before downloading. No auto-generated or generic filenames.
Layout Mode
Choose between preserving original layout (with line breaks and spacing) or flowing text (continuous paragraphs) for your output.
Text Cleaning Options
Remove extra whitespace, fix hyphenated line breaks, and clean up formatting artifacts. Get clean, ready-to-use text.
Encoding Detection
Automatically detects the original encoding of text in the PDF. Ensures proper character rendering in the output file.
Real-Time Progress
Watch each page process in real-time with a progress bar and per-page status. Know exactly how long is left.
100% Client-Side Privacy
Your PDF never leaves your browser. All extraction happens locally — no uploads, no servers, zero tracking.
Instant Download
Click extract and your text file downloads immediately. No waiting for email, no processing queues, no delays.
No File Size Limits
Extract text from PDFs of any size or page count. No 50MB cap, no page limit, no daily restrictions. Unlimited.
No Watermarks
Clean output with no branding, no ads, no watermarks. Your text file contains only the extracted content.
No Signup Required
Open the page, drop your file, extract, download. Zero friction — no account, no email, no credit card.
Mobile Optimized
Fully responsive — extract text from PDFs on your phone or tablet with the same features and privacy as desktop.
Fast Processing
Text extraction is nearly instant for digital PDFs. Even large documents process in seconds thanks to client-side processing.
Universal Text Editor Compatible
Output .txt files open perfectly in Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, Sublime Text, and any text editor or word processor.
Extract text from PDF in 3 steps
Upload Your PDF
Drag and drop your PDF file or click to browse. Your document stays in your browser — never uploaded to any server.
Extract & Preview
Text is extracted instantly. Preview it page by page, see word counts, and choose your output format and options.
Download or Copy
Download as .txt file or copy to clipboard with one click. Paste into any application or save for later use.
Frequently asked questions
How does PDF to Text extraction work?
PDFly uses pdf.js to read the text layer of your PDF. For digital PDFs (created from Word, Google Docs, etc.), text is extracted directly and instantly. For scanned or image-based PDFs, the tool detects that no text layer exists and applies OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to convert the images to text. Everything happens in your browser.
What is the difference between digital and scanned PDFs?
Digital PDFs contain an embedded text layer — the text was typed in an editor and exported to PDF. These extract perfectly and instantly. Scanned PDFs are images of pages (from a scanner or camera) with no text layer. These require OCR to recognize text from the image, which takes a bit longer but still runs entirely in your browser.
Will the text maintain its original formatting?
In layout mode, the tool preserves line breaks, paragraph spacing, and approximate positioning. In flowing text mode, the text is reflowed into continuous paragraphs for easier editing. You can toggle between modes before downloading.
Can I extract text from specific pages only?
Yes. Use the page range field to specify which pages to extract from, like 1-5, 8, 10-12. This is useful for large documents where you only need text from certain sections.
Is my PDF uploaded to a server?
No. PDF to Text runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your PDF is read locally, text is extracted locally, and the output file is generated on your device. Zero network transfers occur during extraction.
Are there any limits?
No. Extract text from PDFs of any size, any page count, as many times as you want. No file size caps, no daily limits, no page restrictions. Completely free with no watermarks.