A free image to text converter that runs in your browser
This image to text converter uses OCR, short for optical character recognition, to read the letters in a photo, screenshot or scanned page and turn them into text you can edit. It's a quick way to convert a picture to text when retyping would take too long.
Use it for receipts, book pages, whiteboard notes, slides, signs and screenshots. You don't need an account or an app. If you want the full picture on how it works, the Wikipedia page on OCR is a good overview.
Why use this online image to text converter
- No signup. Open the page, add a picture and extract text.
- Your image stays with you. The reading happens in your browser tab.
- No watermark or page limit. The text is yours to copy and keep.
- Six languages. English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian.
- Editable result. Fix OCR mistakes right in the text box before you copy.
- Clean line breaks. Turn on the join option to merge lines that were broken only by the page width.
Planning to save a scan as a document afterward? The JPG to PDF Converter pairs well with this.
Step-by-step: how to convert an image to text
1. Add your image
Drag a file into the box, paste an image from your clipboard, or tap the box to choose a file. A preview confirms you picked the right one. If the picture has a lot of extra background, use the Crop Image tool first so only the text area remains.
2. Choose the language
The reader works best when it knows the language. Pick the language of the words in the image, not the language of your device. A Spanish menu needs Spanish, even if you're reading this page in English.
3. Click Extract text
The first time, the page downloads the OCR engine and the language data, so the progress bar may sit on loading for a bit. Then it reads the image and fills the text box.
4. Check and edit
OCR isn't perfect. Skim the result against your image and fix odd characters, especially numbers, names and punctuation.
5. Copy or download
Click Copy text to paste it elsewhere, or Download TXT to save a plain text file. Click Reset / Start over for the next picture.
Supported formats, languages and limits
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Image files | Common types your browser can open, such as JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF and BMP |
| Maximum file size | 15 MB |
| Images per run | One at a time |
| Languages | English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian |
| Output | Editable text on screen, copy to clipboard, TXT download |
| Engine | Tesseract.js 5.1.1, loaded from jsDelivr when you click Extract text |
| Best input | Sharp, well-lit, printed text on a plain background |
Very large pictures are scaled down, and very small ones are enlarged, before reading. Handwriting, stylized fonts and curved text are much harder for OCR and may come out wrong.
Picture to text: common use cases
- Students copy passages from textbook photos and lecture slides into their notes.
- Office workers pull text out of a screenshot of an email, chat or error message.
- Freelancers and bookkeepers grab totals and dates from receipts and invoices.
- Researchers convert photographed book pages into searchable quotes.
- Travelers read signs, menus and tickets, then paste them into a translator.
- Designers and developers recover text from a flattened mockup or a screenshot of code.
- Families digitize a printed recipe or a typed letter.
Key features and benefits
- OCR in your browser, with a visible progress bar
- Drag and drop, paste or file picker
- Six languages in one dropdown
- Editable text area, with word and character counts
- One-click copy and TXT download
- Friendly messages for empty results, wrong file types and oversized files
- Works on phones, tablets and desktops, with keyboard support
- Light and dark themes that follow your device
Expert tips for better results
- Start with a sharp image. Blur is the top cause of bad OCR. Hold the camera steady and let it focus.
- Shoot straight on. A page photographed at an angle bends the lines. Take the picture from directly above.
- Fix the lighting. Shadows across a page confuse the reader. Even light works best.
- Crop out the extras. Borders, photos and decorations can add junk characters.
- Choose the right language. Using English on a French page gives you accent errors and wrong letters.
- Mind the size. Tiny text benefits from a bigger source image. For oversized files, use the Resize Image tool, then try again.
- Proofread numbers. A zero and the letter O, or a one and a lowercase L, are easy to mix up. Check them before you use the text.
- Count what you got. The Word & Character Counter helps when the text has a length limit.
Privacy and security
When you click Extract text, your browser reads the image and runs OCR on your device. The image is not uploaded to a server, and the text appears only on this page.
One honest detail: the OCR engine (Tesseract.js, including its WebAssembly core) and the language data are downloaded from the jsDelivr CDN when you click Extract text. Only those library files are downloaded. Your image never leaves your device. Your browser may keep the language data in its cache so later scans start faster.
Still, treat extracted text with care. If an image shows passwords, ID numbers or private documents, handle the text as you would the original.
This tool vs. alternatives
| This browser tool | Desktop OCR software | Server-based online OCR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install needed | No | Yes | No |
| Account needed | No | Sometimes | Varies |
| Where the image is processed | Your browser | Your computer | Their server |
| Best for | Quick single images | Large batches, complex layouts | Varies by site |
Desktop OCR software handles multi-page documents and complex tables better. This image to text converter is for the quick job: one picture, one result, no setup.
Troubleshooting
"No text found" message
The image may be too blurry, too dark or too small. Use a sharper, brighter version, crop to the text, and pick the right language.
The result is full of strange characters
Usually the wrong language is selected, or the image has a busy background. Switch the language and crop away decoration.
Words are merged or split
Low resolution causes this. Use a larger source image, or retake the photo closer to the text.
It's stuck on "loading"
The first run downloads the OCR files. Wait a bit on slow connections. If it fails, check your network and any blocker that stops jsDelivr, then click Extract text again.
My file won't open
Some formats, like HEIC from iPhones, don't open in every browser. Convert the photo with our HEIC to JPG Converter and try again.
Line breaks look wrong
Turn on "Join broken lines into paragraphs" to merge lines inside a paragraph, then click Extract text again. Turn it off to keep the original line breaks.
Handwriting isn't read correctly
OCR is built for printed text. Neat block capitals sometimes work, but cursive handwriting usually doesn't. Type those parts yourself.
Glossary
- OCR: optical character recognition, the technology that reads letters from images.
- Tesseract: an open-source OCR engine. See the Tesseract project.
- Language data: a trained file that tells the engine what letters and words look like in a language.
- DPI: dots per inch, a measure of image sharpness for scans.
- Binarization: turning an image into black and white to separate text from background.
- Confidence: the engine's own estimate of how sure it is about the text it read.
Image to text FAQ
Is this image to text converter really free?
Yes. This free online image to text converter has no trial, paywall, watermark or page limit. You can convert as many pictures as you like. You don't need an account or an email address, and there's nothing to install. Just open the page and use it.
Do I need to sign up or install anything?
No. Open the page in a modern browser, add an image and click Extract text. There's no registration and no app. It works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS wherever your browser can pick or paste an image and run JavaScript.
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The OCR runs inside your browser, so your picture isn't uploaded and the text stays on this page. The only downloads are the OCR engine and language data files from a CDN, which load when you click Extract text.
How do I extract text from an image on my phone?
Open this page on your phone, tap the box, and choose a photo or take a new one. Pick the language, tap Extract text, then copy the result. For best results, take the picture straight on, in good light, with the text in focus.
How accurate is the picture to text result?
It depends on the image. Clear, printed text on a plain background usually reads well. Blurry photos, low light, small type, unusual fonts and busy backgrounds cause mistakes. Always proofread the output, especially numbers, names and punctuation, before you rely on it.
Can it read handwriting?
Not reliably. The OCR engine is designed for printed text, so neat block letters might partly work, while cursive and messy handwriting usually comes out wrong. For handwritten notes, expect to retype much of the text yourself, or use a clearer, printed source.
Which languages does it support?
You can choose English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese or Italian. Select the language of the text in your image, not your device language. If an image mixes languages, pick the main one and check the result carefully for accent and spelling errors.
Does it work offline?
Not on first use. The OCR engine and language data have to download from a CDN when you click Extract text, so you need a connection. Your browser may cache the language file, but you still need to be online to open the page.
Will it lose quality or change my image?
No. The tool only reads your image and never changes the original file. For reading, it works on a temporary copy that may be scaled up or down in memory. The text you get is a separate result that you can edit, copy or save.
Why is the extracted text wrong or empty?
Usually the image is blurry, dark, tiny or cropped badly, or the wrong language is selected. Try a sharper image, crop to just the text, choose the right language and retake photos straight on in even light. Handwriting and decorative fonts are common causes too.
Convert your image to text now
You don't need special software to extract text from an image. Scroll up, add your picture, choose the language and click Extract text. Bookmark this free image to text converter for the next screenshot, receipt or book page. If the code in a picture is a QR code, try our QR Code Scanner instead.