Image to Text Converter — Free Online OCR

Upload any screenshot, photo, or scanned document and extract all the text in seconds. Free, private, no account needed.

Image to Text (OCR)

Extract text from images using AI

📸

Click to upload or drag and drop

Supports JPG, PNG, WebP

AI-Powered OCR: Upload an image containing text and our AI will extract it for you. Works with screenshots, scanned documents, photos, and more. All processing happens in your browser for privacy.

📄Documents

Extract text from scanned documents, receipts, invoices, and business cards instantly.

📸Screenshots

Convert text from screenshots, social media posts, and images to editable text.

🌍Multilingual

Supports 10+ languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and more.

🔒Private

All OCR processing happens locally in your browser. Your images never leave your device.

How to Convert Text in an Image to Text

1. Upload your image

Upload a photo, screenshot, or scanned document in JPG, PNG, or WebP format. You can also drag and drop directly onto the tool.

2. Extract the text

Our AI-powered OCR engine scans the image and converts all visible text into editable, copyable text — including text in complex layouts and mixed fonts.

3. Copy and use

Copy the extracted text to your clipboard and paste it anywhere — a document, email, spreadsheet, or translation tool. No retyping needed.

Common Use Cases

Screenshots
Extract text from screenshots of articles, chats, or error messages you cannot copy directly.
Scanned Documents
Convert scanned PDFs, contracts, or printed documents into editable digital text.
Photos of Text
Photograph a whiteboard, sign, book page, or handwritten note and extract the text instantly.
Receipts & Invoices
Pull text from photos of receipts or invoices for expense tracking and record-keeping.
Foreign Language Text
Extract text from images in any language so you can paste it into a translation tool.
Inaccessible Content
Convert text locked inside image files into accessible, searchable, and editable content.

Supported Image Formats

JPG / JPEGPNGWebPBMPGIFTIFF

Supported Languages

The OCR engine recognises text in over 10 languages. The tool auto-detects the language — no manual selection required.

EnglishSpanishFrenchGermanPortugueseItalianDutchRussianChinese (Simplified)JapaneseKoreanArabic

What is OCR — and How Does Image to Text Conversion Work?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a technology that reads and interprets text inside an image file the same way a human would read a printed page — by analysing the visual shapes of letters and words. The difference is that OCR does it in milliseconds and outputs machine-readable text you can edit, search, and copy.

Modern OCR tools (including this one) use AI-powered recognition models rather than simple pattern matching. The engine breaks your image into regions, identifies text blocks, analyses each character's pixel structure, and assembles the result into correctly ordered lines and paragraphs. This approach handles mixed fonts, varied sizes, and rotated text far better than older rule-based systems.

Before online OCR tools existed, extracting text from a scanned document or screenshot meant retyping it manually — a slow process prone to errors. Today, any image containing readable text can be converted to editable text in seconds, directly in your browser, without installing software or creating an account.

Expected Accuracy by Image Type

Image typeAccuracyNotes
Screenshot (digital text)★★★★★ ExcellentHighest accuracy — text is sharp and high-contrast by nature
Printed document (scanned at 300 DPI+)★★★★★ ExcellentNear-perfect for standard fonts and clean layouts
Photo of printed text (good lighting)★★★★☆ Very GoodMinor errors possible with unusual fonts or low contrast
Photo of handwritten text (block letters)★★★☆☆ GoodWorks well for clear block handwriting; inconsistent results for casual writing
Low-resolution or blurry image★★☆☆☆ FairImprove by cropping tightly and increasing brightness before uploading
Cursive or stylised handwriting★☆☆☆☆ PoorNot reliable — manual transcription recommended

Image to Text vs Manual Transcription

MethodSpeedAccuracyBest for
OCR (this tool)SecondsHigh (clear images)Printed text, screenshots, scanned docs
Manual typingSlowHuman error riskShort snippets only
Copy-pasteInstantPerfectDigital text only — not images
Desktop OCR softwareMedium (setup)HighBatch processing, local privacy

Tips for Accurate Text Extraction

OCR accuracy depends almost entirely on image quality. These are the most common reasons an extraction comes back garbled — and how to fix them before you upload.

Use a high-resolution image
Low-resolution images make characters look like blobs of pixels. For scanned documents, scan at 300 DPI or higher. For photos, get as close to the text as possible before shooting.
Ensure good contrast
Black text on a white background extracts near-perfectly. Low-contrast combinations — grey text on light grey, dark text on a dark background photo — cause the most errors.
Keep the image straight
Severely skewed or rotated images reduce accuracy. Most phone camera apps have a document scan mode that automatically corrects perspective — use it.
Avoid blurry or noisy images
Motion blur and compression artefacts (common in JPEG screenshots saved at low quality) confuse the character recognition. Use PNG for screenshots.
Printed text outperforms handwriting
Printed and typed fonts extract reliably. Casual handwriting is harder, especially with overlapping letters or inconsistent sizing. Block handwriting works better than cursive.
Crop before uploading
If you only need text from one area of a large image, crop it first. A tighter image means faster processing and less chance of the engine picking up background noise.

What to Do After Extracting Text

Once you have the extracted text on your clipboard, here are the most common next steps:

Translate it
Paste the text into Google Translate, DeepL, or any translation tool. This is the fastest way to read signage, foreign-language documents, or product labels photographed abroad.
Import into a spreadsheet
If the image contained a table, numbers, or a list, paste the extracted text into Excel or Google Sheets. Clean up the spacing and you have editable data without manual entry.
Search and reference
Extracted text is fully searchable. Paste a long document into Google Docs and use Ctrl+F to find specific clauses, names, or figures — something impossible with an image file.
Feed into an AI tool
Paste extracted text into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to summarise it, answer questions about it, or reformat it. OCR turns image-locked content into AI-usable input.
Edit and reformat
Use a markdown editor or word processor to clean up the extracted text, fix formatting, and repurpose it for your own document, blog post, or report.
Archive as searchable text
Save the extracted text alongside the original image in your notes app or document system. It makes scanned receipts, contracts, and forms searchable years later.
FAQ

Image to Text Converter