Convert PDF to Text
Extract the readable text from a PDF in your browser, page by page, with no upload. Paragraphs and line breaks are reconstructed from the PDF text layer; if a scanned PDF contains no text, the converter can offer local OCR instead.
Files are converted on your device and never uploaded.
- Price
- Free
- Uploads
- None, it runs on your device
- Sign-up
- Not needed
- Batch
- Unlimited files
- Output
- Text (TXT)
- Install
- Nothing to install
How it works
How to convert PDF to Text
Add your PDF files
Drop PDF files onto the converter, click to choose them, or paste from the clipboard. Add as many as you like.
Check the settings
Text (TXT) is already selected. If the PDF is a scan, the converter offers to read it with OCR.
Download your text files
Each file gets its own download button as soon as it's ready. Download all saves everything in one ZIP file.
The formats
PDF and Text at a glance
What is a PDF file?
PDF is the standard format for sharing documents that should look the same everywhere. It fixes the layout, fonts, and images of every page, which is great for reading and printing but makes editing hard. A PDF can contain real text or only scanned pictures of pages. It opens in every browser, Adobe Acrobat Reader, macOS Preview, Microsoft Edge on Windows, phones, and Google Drive.
What is a TXT file?
A TXT file is plain text: characters only, with no fonts, images, or layout. It's the most universal document format there is, readable by every device and program, and ideal for notes, code, and feeding text into other tools. It opens in every computer and phone, including Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, and any browser or word processor.
Good to know
What changes when you convert PDF to Text
- Lines are joined back into paragraphs, and larger or bold text becomes headings.
- Fonts, colors, and pictures are dropped.
- Multi-column layouts become a single column, and forms, footnotes, and exact positioning are simplified.
- Scanned PDFs have no text to extract, so the converter offers to read them with OCR, which takes longer and can make mistakes.
- Password-protected PDFs ask for the password before converting.
- Complex layouts, like magazines, forms, and multi-column papers, may shift. Simple text documents convert best.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Why does a scanned PDF produce no text?
A scan usually contains only page images. Choose the OCR option when offered so the browser can recognize letters in those images before producing the text file.
Is this PDF to Text converter free?
Yes. It's completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark, and no limit on how many files you convert. It costs Ethical Tube nothing to run, because the conversion happens on your own device rather than on a server.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside your browser with pdf.js and open-source document libraries, so your files never leave your device. Once the page has loaded, it even works offline.
Can it read scanned documents?
Yes. Scans and photos have no text layer, so the text is read with OCR (optical character recognition) in your browser. It handles clear printed text well, makes occasional mistakes, and usually can't read handwriting.
Can I convert several PDF files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like. They're converted one after another, and you can download each TXT file as soon as it's ready or all of them in one ZIP file.
Does it work on iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows?
Yes. It works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari, on computers and phones.
What can open a TXT file?
Every computer and phone, including Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, and any browser or word processor.
Is there a file size limit?
There's no upload limit because nothing is uploaded. The practical limit is your device's memory: everyday files are fine, and most computers handle PDFs with hundreds of pages.
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