Make a scanned PDF searchable, with an invisible text layer read in your browser
Processed in your browser. Nothing is uploaded. Checked against sources on 22 Oct 2026.OCR PDF reads each page of a scanned PDF, or up to 50 page photos, with Tesseract in your browser and lays an invisible text layer over the unchanged pages, so the file can be searched and its text copied. English and Hindi are read; accuracy depends on the scan, and nothing is uploaded.
Press Select files and pick a scanned PDF, or photos of the pages; nothing is uploaded.
Choose the language of the text: English, Hindi, or both.
Press Make searchable; each page is read in turn, with the page number shown as it goes.
Download the searchable PDF; it looks the same, and its text can now be found, selected and copied.
A scanned PDF is a stack of pictures. It looks like a document, but nothing in it is text, so Ctrl+F finds nothing, a document system cannot index it, and copying a sentence copies nothing at all. OCR PDF fixes that without changing how the pages look.
How it works. Each page is drawn at 300 DPI and read by Tesseract, the open-source OCR engine, running in your browser. Tesseract returns the words it found with their positions, and the page writes them back into the PDF as invisible text, exactly where each word sits in the picture. That is the same thing a scanner's searchable PDF setting does. The original page, its image and its quality are kept as they were.
What it reads. English, Hindi in Devanagari, or both on the same page, using the same language data as Image to Text. Rotated pages are read the way they are displayed, so a landscape page saved sideways still lines up. Pages that already contain text are left alone by default, so a mixed file does not end up with every typed word twice.
Photos of pages. Instead of a PDF, add up to 50 page photos or scans as JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP or GIF. Each becomes one page, sized to A4 on its long side, in the order you added them.
Be honest with yourself about the scan. Accuracy depends on it. Clear, straight pages at 300 DPI read well; faint copies, skewed photos, coloured backgrounds and small print read worse, and handwriting is mostly not read. The result names any page that was hard to read and gives an overall confidence, so you know where a search may miss words.
Limits. One PDF of up to 200 MB and 100 pages, or 50 images of up to 25 MB each. Each page takes a few seconds to read. Password-protected PDFs need unlocking first.
Everything happens on your device; the file is never uploaded.
Select the scanned PDF on OCR PDF, choose the language and press Make searchable. Each page is read by Tesseract in your browser, and an invisible layer with the words it found is laid over the page. The result looks the same, but Ctrl+F finds words and you can select and copy them.
No. The original pages are kept exactly as they were, images and all; only an invisible text layer is added on top, the way a scanner's searchable PDF option works. Pages that already had text, such as typed pages in a mixed file, are left alone by default so searches do not find every word twice.
Accuracy depends on the scan. Clear, straight pages scanned at 300 DPI read well; faint, skewed or angled photos read worse, and handwriting is mostly not read. The page reports a confidence for the file and names any page that was hard to read, so you know where searching may miss words.
English, Hindi in Devanagari, or both together on one page. These are the same languages as Image to Text, using the same language data, which is downloaded once (about 4 MB with the reader) and then kept by your browser. Other scripts, such as Tamil or Arabic, are not read yet.
Yes. Add up to 50 JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP or GIF images instead of a PDF. Each becomes one page, in the order added, sized to A4 on its long side, with the text layer over it. HEIC photos from an iPhone need converting with HEIC to JPG first.
No. The PDF is opened, each page is drawn and read, and the new file is built entirely in your browser on your own device. Nothing is sent to a server, which matters for contracts, bank statements and ID documents. Very large files need a computer with free memory.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
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Same job, other tools: Compress PDF to 500 KB – Fit a multi-page scan under 500 KB with its text still readable · HEIC to PDF – Convert iPhone HEIC photos straight into a PDF · JPG to PDF – Convert JPG photos into a single PDF, in the order you choose · Compress PDF to 50 KB – Get a one-page scan under 50 KB for strict document uploads · Resume Word to PDF – Send your resume as a PDF so the formatting holds · Extract PDF Pages – Pick the pages you need and save them as a new PDF.