PDF OCR: make a scanned PDF searchable online
Convertavo's PDF OCR turns a scanned PDF into a searchable PDF. Upload your file, pick the language, and download a copy you can search, select and copy from.
Your files stay private
Uploads are deleted from our servers one hour after processing. Nothing is read or reused, and nothing is kept unless you save it to your account.
No account required
20 free credits a day, with no email address and no watermarks on the output.
Runs on any device
Works in any modern browser on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
How to OCR a PDF online
Three steps, nothing to install, no account needed.
- STEP 01
Upload your scanned PDF
Drag it into the box or click to choose it. Up to 25 MB without an account.
- STEP 02
Pick the language and pages
Choose the language the PDF is written in, and a page range if you only need some pages.
- STEP 03
Run OCR and download
Open the searchable PDF in any reader and press Ctrl+F to test it.
What the PDF OCR tool does
Same look, new layer
Each page keeps the look of your scan. The recognised text sits in an invisible layer right behind the words.
English, Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, Chinese
Set the language for the best accuracy, or leave it on auto-detect for mixed documents.
Text file as well
Choose "Searchable PDF + text file" to also download the recognised text as a .txt file.
What is PDF OCR?
OCR stands for optical character recognition. It's software that looks at a picture of text and works out which letters are on it.
A scanned PDF is really a set of photos saved in one file. You can read the words, but your computer only sees pixels. That's why search finds nothing, and you can't copy a single line.
PDF OCR fixes this. It reads each page and adds a hidden text layer, lined up under the words you see. The page still looks like the original scan, but now the text can be searched and copied.
What goes in and what comes out
| You upload | You get back |
|---|---|
| A scanned or image-only PDF | A searchable PDF that looks the same |
| A PDF made from phone photos of paper | The same pages, with text you can select and copy |
| Any PDF, with "Searchable PDF + text file" chosen | The searchable PDF plus the text as a .txt file |
Why make a scanned PDF searchable?
A scan is just a picture of paper. After OCR, it's a document you can actually work with.
- Search inside it: find one name, date or invoice number in a long scan in seconds
- Copy text out: paste a paragraph into an email or report instead of typing it again
- Find files later: Windows search, Mac Spotlight and Google Drive can look inside the file, not just at its name
- Make it accessible: screen readers, the apps that read text out loud, need real text to work
Who uses an OCR tool for PDF documents?
- Students turning scanned book pages and class notes into text they can search
- Office teams working with old contracts, invoices and signed letters
- Researchers and librarians handling scanned papers and archives
- Anyone who scans receipts, bills or tax papers and needs to find them later
Searchable PDF vs editable document: what's the difference?
People mix these up a lot. They solve different problems.
| Searchable PDF (after OCR) | Editable Word file | |
|---|---|---|
| Find words with Ctrl+F | Yes | Yes |
| Select and copy text | Yes | Yes |
| Rewrite the text | No | Yes |
| Looks like the original scan | Yes | Layout may shift |
| File type | DOCX |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Need to turn a scanned PDF into an editable document? Use our PDF to Word converter instead. It runs OCR on scanned pages automatically and gives you a DOCX you can rewrite.
How to get accurate OCR results
OCR accuracy depends mostly on your scan. A clean, straight, sharp page gives you the best text.
- Pick the right language. The wrong one is the most common reason for strange symbols
- Scan at 300 DPI. DPI, or dots per inch, measures how sharp a scan is, and 300 works for most printed pages
- Keep pages flat and straight. Tilted or curled lines are much harder to read
- Use even light. For phone photos, avoid shadows and glare across the words
- Skip heavy compression. Squeezing a scan too hard blurs small letters before OCR can read them
Common OCR problems and how to fix them
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Text comes out as odd symbols | Wrong language picked | Run OCR again with the right language |
| Some words are wrong or missing | Blurry or low-resolution scan | Scan the page again at 300 DPI |
| Lines come out jumbled | Page is tilted or curved | Lay the page flat and scan it again |
| Search finds nothing on some pages | Those pages were outside your page range | Check the range and run OCR again |
| File won't upload | File is over your size limit (25 MB without an account) | Make it smaller with Compress PDF or cut it up with Split PDF |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Does my PDF even need OCR?
Open the PDF and try to highlight one sentence. If the words highlight, the file already has text, and you don't need OCR. PDFs made in Word or Google Docs always do.
If you can only drag a box over the page, it's a scan. That's exactly the kind of file this tool is for.
What about photos and screenshots?
This tool works on PDF files only. To turn a JPG, PNG or screenshot scan to text, use Image to Text. It pulls the words out directly and has a handwriting mode.
Took several phone photos of one document? Combine them into a single file with JPG to PDF, then run OCR on it.
Is Convertavo PDF OCR free and safe to use?
Is it free?
Yes. It's a free OCR tool with no signup and no watermark. Without an account you get 20 credits a day and each PDF uses 10, so you can make 2 PDFs searchable a day. A free account raises the daily credits and the file size limit, and paid plans go further.
Is my file safe?
Your files are deleted from our servers one hour after processing. Nothing is stored, read or reused. The privacy policy has the details.
Do I need to install anything?
No. This free online OCR runs in your web browser, so it works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone.
PDF OCR — frequently asked questions
Short, straight answers to what people ask most.
How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?
Upload the PDF, choose the language of the text and click Run OCR. Download the new file and press Ctrl+F to check that search works.
Will OCR change how my PDF looks?
No. Each page keeps the look of the original scan, and the text is added as an invisible layer underneath it.
Can I convert a PDF into text?
Yes. Set Output to "Searchable PDF + text file" and you also get the text as a .txt file. You can also select and copy text from the searchable PDF in any reader.
What's the difference between PDF OCR and PDF to Word?
OCR keeps your file as a PDF and makes the text searchable. PDF to Word gives you a DOCX file you can edit. Use OCR to search and copy, and Word when you need to rewrite.
Do I need Adobe Acrobat to OCR a PDF?
No. Adobe Acrobat Pro has OCR built in, but it's paid desktop software. Convertavo PDF OCR is an online tool that works in your browser and doesn't require any installation.
Can OCR read handwriting?
Not reliably. PDF OCR is built for printed and typed text, so handwriting will come out with many mistakes. For handwritten notes, use Image to Text, which has a handwriting mode.
More OCR and PDF tools
Every tool on this site is free and works the same way.