🔍Drop a scanned PDF hereor click to choose a file. Pages are read on your device.
Your files are ready
What it does. Reads text from scanned PDFs and saves a searchable PDF plus a plain text file. Recognition runs in your browser.
How to make a scanned PDF searchable
- Drop your scanned PDF onto the box.
- Choose the language of the text, the scan quality and the pages to read.
- Press Run OCR. When it finishes, download the searchable PDF or the text file.
Tips for better results
- Pick the right language. Use Hindi plus English for mixed pages.
- Clear, straight scans at good resolution give the best accuracy.
- Process a few pages first to check the quality.
Limits to know about
- The first run downloads language data, which can take some time on a slow connection.
- Recognition is not perfect. Handwriting, small print, stamps and skewed pages often produce mistakes.
- Up to 40 pages are processed at a time, and it is slow on phones.
- Password protected PDFs cannot be opened.
- Tested on generated English and Hindi samples. Real scans vary, so proofread important text.
Privacy
Your PDF is processed on your device and is not uploaded. Language data is downloaded from a public server (tessdata.projectnaptha.com) and the libraries from jsDelivr.
Frequently asked questions
Is OCR PDF free?
Yes, no sign-up.
Which languages work?
English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, French, German and Spanish.
Does it keep the original look?
Yes. The page image stays and an invisible text layer is added on top.
Why are some words wrong?
Scan quality and fonts affect accuracy. Review the text before relying on it.
About this tool
OCR PDF is part of the PDF tools on ToolsRiver, added in November 2026.