PDF Text Extractor
Extract selectable text from PDF files, review it page by page, then copy or download the result as TXT or JSON. Processing happens locally in your browser.
Upload PDF
Drag and drop a PDF here or click to choose a file
Supports text-based PDFs. Scanned image-only PDFs may need OCR.
Extraction options
About PDF Text Extractor
PDF Text Extractor reads the text layer inside a PDF and converts it into editable text. It is built for reports, contracts, invoices, ebooks, research papers, forms, statements, and other documents where the text can be selected in a normal PDF viewer.
The extractor keeps page-by-page results so you can audit where text came from, then copy everything at once or download structured JSON for automation and data processing workflows.
Private PDF text extraction
Your PDF is parsed in your browser with PDF.js. Files are not uploaded to a server, and extracted text stays on your device.
How to Extract Text from a PDF
Upload
Choose a PDF file or drag it into the upload area.
Extract
The tool parses each page and builds editable text in your browser.
Review
Check the combined text or expand individual page results.
Export
Copy the text, download TXT, or save JSON with page-level stats.
Best Uses
Document review
- Extract paragraphs from contracts, policies, and legal documents.
- Pull searchable text from reports, white papers, and PDF guides.
- Copy table-adjacent content before cleaning it in a spreadsheet or editor.
- Save page-by-page JSON for audit trails and downstream processing.
Research and data cleanup
- Convert PDF text into plain text for search, summarization, or notes.
- Prepare extracted content for regex tools, text cleaners, and duplicate removal.
- Count words and characters before publishing or translating content.
- Quickly check whether a PDF has a real text layer or only scanned images.
Notes and Limitations
Scanned PDFs may not contain text
A scanned PDF is often just a set of page images. This extractor reads embedded selectable text, so image-only scans need OCR before text can be extracted.
Layout is approximate
PDFs store text as positioned fragments. The preserve layout option groups fragments into lines, but complex columns, tables, and rotated text may still need cleanup.
Use JSON for automation
JSON export includes page numbers, text, character counts, word counts, and line counts, which makes it easier to feed the output into scripts or document processing pipelines.