Image to Text - OCR

Extract text from photos, scanned documents, screenshots, and PDFs. Fast, accurate, and private.

50+ input formats · 100+ languages · Download as .txt · Files deleted in 24 h

Drop an image here or

JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, PDF - up to 10 MB

How It Works

1

Upload your image

Drop any photo, scanned document, screenshot, or PDF. Supported formats include JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, TIFF, and PDF. Files up to 10 MB. Need to convert to PDF first? We've got that too.

2

OCR processes it

The engine analyses the image and extracts all visible text, preserving line breaks and structure. For difficult images - Handwriting, poor scans, tables - Upgrade to AI-powered extraction. You can also use the Photo Editor to crop or clean up your image before uploading.

3

Copy or download

The extracted text appears immediately. Copy it to your clipboard or download as a .txt file. Edit it directly in the text box before downloading.

What Is OCR?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is the technology that converts images of text into machine-readable, editable text. It works by analysing the shapes, patterns, and spatial relationships of characters in an image and mapping them to known character codes.

Modern OCR combines classical computer vision (binarisation, deskew, segmentation) with neural networks trained on millions of text samples. Our engine supports over 100 languages and handles a wide range of document types. If you need to work with the image itself before extracting text, try our Photo Editor to adjust contrast or crop the area you need - Or use the Background Remover to isolate text from noisy backgrounds.

Standard vs AI-Powered Extraction

Image typeStandard (free)AI-powered
Clean printed text, typed documentsExcellentExcellent
Scanned books and formsGoodExcellent
Screenshots, UI textGoodExcellent
Complex multi-column layoutsFairExcellent
Tables and structured dataFairExcellent
HandwritingPoorGood
Stylised / decorative fontsPoorGood
Non-Latin scripts (Arabic, CJK)Good (with language pack)Excellent

Tips for Best Results

Use high resolution

300 DPI or higher gives the engine the detail it needs for accurate character recognition. Avoid compressed or heavily pixelated images - If your file is too large, compress it first without losing legibility.

Keep it straight

The engine handles slight rotation but performs best on level, upright text. Severely skewed or rotated pages should be corrected before uploading - Use the Photo Editor to straighten and crop your image first.

High contrast helps

Dark text on a light background gives the clearest signal. Low-contrast or coloured backgrounds can reduce accuracy - consider using the Photo Editor to adjust contrast before extracting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Upload your image to jpg.now's Image to Text tool and click Extract. The OCR engine scans your image and returns editable, selectable text in seconds. It works with JPG, PNG, WebP, and PDF files. You can then copy the text directly or download it as a .txt file. No account is needed. Read full guide →
ChatGPT (with vision enabled) can read and describe text in images, but it is not a reliable OCR tool - It often paraphrases instead of extracting verbatim, and it requires a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription. jpg.now's Image to Text tool uses dedicated OCR and returns the exact characters in your image, preserving formatting and layout. It's free and needs no account. Read full guide →
jpg.now is among the best free image to text converters because it supports 60+ languages, handles handwriting and printed text, and requires no account or installation. Unlike Google Docs OCR (which requires a Google account and Drive upload) or Adobe Acrobat (paid), jpg.now processes your image directly in the browser with results in seconds. Read full guide →
Go to the Image to Text page, drag and drop your photo, and click Extract Text. The tool uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to identify every character in the image and returns the text to a box you can copy from. Works on photos of documents, receipts, signs, whiteboards, and handwritten notes. Read full guide →
ChatGPT can interpret and describe text in images using its vision feature, but it is not designed for accurate verbatim transcription - It may miss characters, rephrase sentences, or omit sections. For reliable text extraction where every character matters (invoices, contracts, code), use a dedicated OCR tool like jpg.now's Image to Text, which processes the image purely for character recognition. Read full guide →
Yes - Jpg.now's Image to Text tool works fully in the iPhone's Safari browser. Tap the upload area, select a photo from your camera roll (or take a new one), and tap Extract. The extracted text appears on screen and can be copied to your clipboard. No app installation is needed. iPhones with iOS 16+ also have a built-in Live Text feature that can copy text directly from the Photos app for simple use cases. Read full guide →
Upload your photo to the Image to Text tool and extract the text. Once the text appears, click Download .txt to save it as a text document. For a formatted Word document, copy the text and paste it into a word processor. Premium users can use the AI OCR mode for better accuracy on handwritten or low-quality scans. Read full guide →
PDFs that contain scanned pages (image-only PDFs) cannot have their text selected or searched until OCR is applied. jpg.now's Image to Text tool accepts PDF uploads and runs OCR on each page, extracting all readable text. This is useful for scanned contracts, invoices, or forms where the text is embedded as an image rather than as selectable characters. Read full guide →