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Extract Text from PDF
A PDF text extractor reads the embedded text layer of a PDF and outputs it as plain text, page by page, running in the browser so the document is never uploaded.
Drop a file here, or
A PDF that contains selectable text
About Extract Text from PDF
Open a PDF and the tool walks its text layer with pdf.js, returning the text for each page to copy or download as a .txt file. It works on PDFs that contain real text (most exports and digital documents); scanned image-only PDFs have no text layer to extract without OCR. All processing is local, so even confidential documents stay on your device.
What Extract Text from PDF does
- Extract the text layer from every page
- Copy to clipboard or download as .txt
- Per-page output with page markers
- Self-hosted pdf.js — nothing uploaded
- Runs entirely in your browser
When to reach for Extract Text from PDF
- Quoting a paragraph from a report without retyping
- Pulling text out of a contract to search or translate
- Getting raw text from a PDF to feed another tool
- Saving a PDF's content as a plain-text file
How to use Extract Text from PDF
- 01
Open a PDF
Drop a PDF that contains selectable text.
- 02
Extract
The tool reads each page's text layer locally.
- 03
Copy or save
Copy the text or download it as a .txt file.
When to use Extract Text from PDF vs alternatives
| Alternative | Use Extract Text from PDF when… | Use the alternative when… |
|---|---|---|
| Copy-paste from a PDF viewer | you want all pages at once as clean text or a .txt file. | you only need a sentence or two. |
| Online PDF-to-text / OCR sites | the PDF already has a text layer and is confidential. | the PDF is a scan that needs OCR. |
Frequently asked questions
Does it work on scanned PDFs?
Only if the scan has been OCR'd and has a text layer. A plain image scan has no text to extract — this tool reads existing text, it does not run OCR.
Is my document uploaded?
No. Text is extracted by pdf.js in your browser; the Network tab shows zero requests.
Why is some spacing or layout lost?
PDFs store text as positioned glyphs, not paragraphs. We reconstruct line breaks from the text layer, but complex multi-column layouts may not preserve exact structure.
Can I get the text per page?
Yes. Output is separated by page so you can find or copy a specific page's content.