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PDF to Text

Extract text from PDF. Copies all text from the PDF document and extracts it to a separate text file

or drop a PDF here

No file selected

Files stay private. Automatically deleted after 2 hours.

Step by step

How To Extract Text From a PDF

Pull the words out of a PDF as plain text — the whole document, page after page, ready to paste anywhere.

  1. 1

    Upload your PDF

    Drop in the document. The screen is deliberately minimal — nothing to configure before or after. Files are deleted after 2 hours.

  2. 2

    Press Extract text

    One button: every page is read in order and written out as plain text. Real text comes out as-is; scanned pages are pictures with no text layer, so they have nothing to read.

    Selected: wm-demo.pdf above the blue Extract text button
  3. 3

    Download the .txt

    The ready page hands back a plain text file — in our test the four-page document arrived as a 9.1 KB .txt that opens in any editor on any system.

    The ready page showing wm-demo.txt — 9.1 KB · deleted automatically after two hours — above the Download button
  • Plain .txt back

    The whole document written out as a text file you can paste anywhere.

  • Page by page, in order

    Pages are written one after another, following the reading order.

  • Copy-paste ready

    Text arrives as plain paragraphs — no markup, no wrappers.

  • Honest about scans

    Scanned pages are images of text — the conversion has nothing to read and says so.

  • Opens anywhere

    .txt reads in every editor on every system, forever.

  • Private by default

    No account, no watermark — and every file is automatically deleted after 2 hours.

PDF to Text — frequently asked questions

Does the text keep its layout?

The words come back in reading order — perfect for quotes, searching and scripts. Tables built from real table text keep their structure; scanned pages need OCR first.

My PDF has no selectable text — now what?

That's a scan: the pages are pictures with no text layer. Run OCR first (in-browser, nothing uploaded for it) and the words become selectable — then extract again.

Is PDF to Text free?

Yes — PDF to Text is free right here in your browser, with no watermark and no sign-up. Every tool on the site works the same way.

Do I need an account to use PDF to Text?

No. Accounts are optional — they keep your credits, API keys and settings together. The tools work signed-out.

What happens to my file?

Every upload is stored under an unguessable id and deleted automatically after 2 hours. Nothing is listed, shared or emailed anywhere.

Can I run PDF to Text from the API?

Yes — every tool has a REST endpoint. An API call for this tool costs 10 credits per file; browser use stays free. See the Plans & pricing page for plans and the API page for the endpoint list.

More answers on the Help page. Building with the API? Plans & pricing.