OCR PDF
Make scanned PDF documents searchable and selectable. Adds an invisible text layer using OCR so you can search, copy, and select text in scanned documents.
Drag & drop your PDF files here
or browse files (max 100MB per file)
How to OCR a PDF Online
- 1
Upload your scanned PDF
Drag and drop your scanned PDF or image-based PDF into the upload area, or click to browse your device.
- 2
Select the OCR language
Choose the language of the text in your document so the OCR engine can recognize characters accurately.
- 3
Click OCR PDF
Hit the OCR button and PDFWhisker will scan every page, extract the text, and embed it into the PDF as a selectable text layer.
- 4
Download your searchable PDF
Once processing is complete, download the OCR-processed PDF with fully searchable and selectable text. Your files are automatically deleted from our servers within one hour.
Why Use PDFWhisker to OCR PDFs?
PDFWhisker turns scanned PDFs and image-based documents into fully searchable, selectable files — completely free with no signup required. Whether you have scanned contracts, receipts, old printed documents, or photos of pages, our OCR tool extracts the text while preserving the original layout and appearance. All files are encrypted during transfer and automatically deleted after processing, so your documents stay private. There are no watermarks, no page limits, and no hidden fees. PDFWhisker works on any device — desktop, tablet, or phone — directly in your browser. Need to make a scanned report searchable for work, digitize handwritten notes, or copy text from an old document? Just upload, process, and download.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OCR and how does it work?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is a technology that recognizes text within images or scanned documents. PDFWhisker analyzes each page of your PDF, identifies letters and words, and embeds an invisible text layer so you can search, select, and copy the text.
What languages does the OCR tool support?
PDFWhisker supports OCR for a wide range of languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and many more. Select the correct language before processing for the most accurate results.
Will OCR change the appearance of my PDF?
No. The OCR process adds an invisible text layer on top of the existing pages. The visual appearance of your document remains identical — only now you can search, select, and copy the text.
Can I OCR a multi-page scanned document?
Yes. PDFWhisker processes every page in your PDF, no matter how many pages it contains. The entire document will be converted into a searchable PDF in one go.
Do I need to create an account to use OCR?
No. PDFWhisker is completely free to use with no registration, no email required, and no hidden fees. Just upload your scanned PDF and download the searchable result.
How accurate is OCR on handwritten text?
OCR works best on printed or typed text. Handwritten text can be partially recognized, but accuracy varies depending on legibility, pen thickness, and writing style. For best results, use clearly printed documents scanned at 300 DPI or higher.
Can I OCR a PDF that already has some selectable text?
Yes. If your PDF contains a mix of image-based pages and text-based pages, the OCR engine will process the image pages while leaving existing selectable text intact.
What file size limit does the OCR tool have?
PDFWhisker can handle large scanned documents. Very large files with many high-resolution pages may take longer to process, but there is no strict file size cutoff. For faster processing, you can compress your PDF first using our Compress PDF tool.
