AfroTools / Tools / PDF OCR

PDF OCR Text Extraction

Extract text from scanned PDFs and images using OCR. Supports English, French, Arabic, Swahili, and Portuguese. Everything runs in your browser.

No Upload 100% Client-Side 5 Languages PDF + Images
Upload File
OCR Settings
Preparing...
Extracted Text
How It Works
  • Upload a scanned PDF or image
  • Select the document language
  • Each PDF page is rendered as an image
  • Tesseract.js OCR extracts text
  • Copy or download the result
Supported Formats
  • PDF -- scanned or image-based
  • PNG, JPG, JPEG -- photos of documents
  • WEBP, BMP, TIFF -- other image formats
Note: OCR on large PDFs can take several minutes. The first run downloads language data (~2-5 MB). Processing happens entirely in your browser -- your files are never uploaded.
Tips for Better Results
  • Use high-resolution scans (300+ DPI)
  • Ensure text is not rotated or skewed
  • Select the correct language
  • Clean, high-contrast documents work best

Free PDF OCR Tool -- Extract Text from Scanned Documents

AfroTools PDF OCR is a free, browser-based tool that extracts text from scanned PDFs and images. Powered by Tesseract.js, it performs Optical Character Recognition directly in your browser with zero server uploads. Your documents remain 100% private.

What is PDF OCR?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) converts images of text into machine-readable text. When you scan a document, the resulting PDF contains images rather than selectable text. This tool analyzes those images and reconstructs the text content, making it searchable, copyable, and editable.

Multi-Language Support

Built for a global audience, this tool supports five languages: English, French, Arabic, Swahili, and Portuguese. Select the matching language before extraction for the most accurate results.

Privacy First

Unlike most online OCR tools that upload your files to remote servers, AfroTools PDF OCR processes everything locally in your browser using WebAssembly-powered Tesseract.js. Your sensitive documents never leave your device.