Image to Text Converter (OCR)
Pull the text out of a screenshot, photo or scanned page. Optical character recognition runs entirely in your browser, so private documents are never uploaded.
Drop an image or screenshot here or
You can also paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V / ⌘V.
The text recognition engine (about 10 MB) downloads the first time you use it, then runs offline.
How to extract text from an image
- Drop an image, choose a file, or paste a screenshot.
- Wait a few seconds while the text is recognized. The first run downloads the recognition engine.
- Review the text, fix any mistakes, then copy it or download it as a text file.
Getting the best OCR results
OCR works best on clear, high-contrast images with straight lines of printed text: screenshots, scans and well-lit photos of documents. Crop out everything except the text, make sure the page is not tilted, and use the highest resolution you have. Text smaller than about 10 pixels high is hard for any OCR engine.
Handwriting, decorative fonts, text over busy photos and very low-light shots are much less reliable. Always proofread the result, especially numbers, which OCR sometimes confuses (0 and O, 1 and l, 5 and S).
This tool uses Tesseract, the open-source engine originally developed at HP and later maintained by Google, compiled to run in your browser. Because recognition happens locally, it is safe for receipts, IDs, contracts and other private documents. It currently recognizes English text.
Need a different tool? Suggest it here — we read every message.
Frequently asked questions
Is my image uploaded?
No. Recognition runs in your browser. The only download is the recognition engine itself, the first time you use the tool.
Can it read handwriting?
Neat print sometimes works; cursive and messy handwriting usually do not.
What languages does it support?
English. Accented Latin characters may partly work.
How accurate is it?
Very accurate on clean screenshots and scans, less so on photos with glare, angles or small text. Always proofread.