How to use Image to Text
- Choose the language of the text in your image.
- Select or drag a JPG, PNG or WebP image.
- Wait a few seconds, then copy the text or download it as a .txt file.
What is OCR?
OCR (optical character recognition) reads letters in an image and converts them into real text you can edit, search and copy. This tool uses the open-source Tesseract engine running directly in your browser.
Tips for best results
Use a sharp, well-lit image with the text straight and in focus. Crop away unrelated parts of the photo. Printed text works much better than handwriting.
Popular uses
Copy text from screenshots and photos of notes, digitize printed documents and receipts, grab quotes from book pages, translate signs and menus by pasting the text into a translator, and make scanned text searchable.
Frequently asked questions
Can I extract text from a PDF?
Convert the PDF pages to images with PDF to JPG, then run each page through Image to Text.
Why is the first scan slower?
The first time you use a language, its recognition data (a few megabytes) is downloaded. After that it is cached and later scans are much faster.
Is my image uploaded?
No. Text recognition runs in your browser. Only the language data is downloaded; your image never leaves your device.
Can it read handwriting?
It can read neat handwriting sometimes, but accuracy is much higher for printed or typed text.
Is this tool really free?
Yes. It is 100% free with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many times you use it.
Last updated: · Free to use, no sign-up.