Extract Text from PDF Online Free

How to Extract Text from PDF

Upload your PDF

Drag and drop your PDF file or click to select it. Your file stays in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Text is extracted automatically

The tool reads all text content from every page of your PDF using WebAssembly processing.

Copy or download the text

Copy the extracted text to your clipboard or download it as a plain text file.

Why use FyleTools to extract PDF text?

100% Private

Your PDF never leaves your device. All text extraction happens in your browser using WebAssembly.

Free & Unlimited

No registration, no limits, no ads. Extract text from as many PDFs as you need.

Smart Extraction

Extracts text from all pages, preserving paragraph structure and page separation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my PDF uploaded to a server?

No. All processing happens in your browser. Your PDF never leaves your device.

Does it work with scanned PDFs?

This tool extracts embedded text. Scanned PDFs that contain only images will need OCR processing first.

What languages are supported?

All languages with standard PDF text encoding are supported, including Latin, Cyrillic, and many other scripts.

Is the formatting preserved?

The tool extracts plain text content. Complex formatting like tables and columns is simplified to linear text.

Can I extract text from password-protected PDFs?

You need to unlock the PDF first using our Unlock PDF tool, then extract the text.

Is there a file size limit?

The tool supports PDFs up to 100 MB. Processing happens in your browser so speed depends on your device.

Can I extract text from specific pages?

Currently all pages are extracted at once. The output includes page separators so you can find specific content easily.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The tool runs entirely in your browser on any device — desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

Can I extract text from a scanned PDF?

Only if the PDF has an embedded text layer (from OCR processing). Scanned PDFs that are purely images will return no text, as this tool does not perform OCR.

Is the extracted text formatted the same as the PDF?

The tool extracts plain text content. Complex formatting like tables, columns, and text boxes is simplified to linear text. Bold, italic, and font styles are not preserved.

Can I extract text from specific pages only?

Currently all pages are extracted at once. The output includes page separators to help you locate content from specific pages.

Does text extraction work with non-English PDFs?

Yes. The tool extracts text in any language that is embedded in the PDF, including Latin, Cyrillic, CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), Arabic, and other scripts.

When to Use This Tool

Extract text from a PDF to paste into a document or email

Pull article content from a research paper for citation or notes

Convert a PDF report to plain text for data analysis or search

Extract text from a resume or CV to paste into an online form

Format	Description	Best For
Text-based PDFs	PDFs with selectable text	Full text extraction with paragraph structure
Mixed content PDFs	Text and images combined	Extracting the text layer while ignoring images
Plain text output	TXT file download	Universal compatibility with any text editor

Tips & Best Practices

This tool works on PDFs with embedded text — scanned PDFs without OCR will not yield text

Use the copy button to quickly paste extracted text into another application

Download as TXT for a permanent copy of the extracted text content

For PDFs with complex layouts (tables, columns), the text may be linearized — review and format as needed

How It Works — 100% Private Processing

FyleTools extracts text from your PDF entirely in your browser using WebAssembly and the lopdf library compiled from Rust. The extractor reads the text content streams from each page and assembles them into readable output. Your document never leaves your device — safe for extracting text from contracts, medical records, and personal documents.