PDF OCR for Scanned and Image-Based Documents

PDF OCR recognizes printed text in scanned documents inside your browser, turning image-based pages into editable, searchable content with Markdown structure.

186,221+
converted 186,221+ files to markdown

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1

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Privacy & Performance: File processing runs entirely in your browser, so files are not uploaded. Processing speed may vary depending on your device and browser environment.

How PDF OCR Works Online

Run PDF OCR in three straightforward steps, then verify the recognized text against the original scan.

1

Upload Your Scanned PDF

Begin a PDF OCR task by selecting one or more documents from your device and checking that the pages are clear and correctly oriented.

2

Select an OCR Mode

Choose Auto to recognize pages without extractable text or All pages to run PDF OCR across the complete document, then start processing.

3

Review and Download Text

Preview the PDF OCR result, verify important names and numbers, and download the recognized content as an editable .md text file.

Why Scanned PDF Text Is Hard to Extract

A scanned PDF stores each page as an image, so ordinary text extraction cannot read its words without PDF OCR.

Even with PDF OCR, recognition quality depends on the source scan, printed text, language, orientation, and page complexity.

Low-Quality Scans
Blur, compression, shadows, faint print, skewed pages, and low resolution can cause PDF OCR to confuse or omit characters.
Complex Page Layouts
Columns, tables, forms, stamps, annotations, and mixed image regions can make PDF OCR reading order less predictable.
Names, Numbers, and Symbols
PDF OCR may misread similar characters, technical notation, unusual fonts, or small print, so critical details always need verification.
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A Controlled PDF OCR Workflow

Markitdown Online runs PDF OCR locally in your browser and lets you preview recognized content before downloading it.

Choose automatic page detection or full-document recognition to match the PDF OCR method to your source file.

Why Use This PDF OCR Tool?

Use PDF OCR to recover editable, searchable text from scanned reports, forms, articles, manuals, receipts, and archived documents.

The output provides a practical starting point for review, research, indexing, migration, and accessibility workflows.

Make Scans Searchable
PDF OCR converts printed words in page images into text you can search, select, quote, organize, and reuse.
Reduce Manual Transcription
Recognize full pages automatically instead of retyping every line, then spend time correcting only the content that needs attention.
Handle Mixed Documents
Auto PDF OCR can combine existing text extraction with recognition for image-only pages in the same document.
Preserve Useful Structure
The PDF OCR workflow organizes recognized paragraphs and attempts to represent table-like content with readable Markdown.
Process Multiple Files
Batch support makes recurring PDF OCR work more efficient for collections of records, reports, papers, and scans.
Keep Output Editable
Download PDF OCR results as .md files that open as plain text in common editors and work naturally in Markdown tools.

PDF OCR FAQ

Clear answers about recognizing text in scanned and image-based PDF documents.