Image to Text — extract text from any image

What this free OCR tool does

This image to text converter uses OCR (optical character recognition) to turn pictures of words into text you can edit, search and copy. It works on scanned documents, screenshots, photos of book pages, receipts, business cards, slides and signs.

How to convert an image to text

1. Add one or more images by dragging them in, choosing files, or pasting from your clipboard.
2. Choose the language of the text in the picture. Getting this right matters more than any other setting.
3. Pick a layout: Auto suits most pages, Single line suits one short line, Sparse suits scattered labels.
4. Press Extract Text, then copy the result or download it as .txt.

Tips for better accuracy

• Leave Enhance switched on — it converts to greyscale, stretches contrast and upscales small images.
• Use a sharp, evenly lit photo taken straight on rather than at an angle.
• Crop away borders and background clutter before extracting.
• Printed text reads far more reliably than cursive handwriting.
• Check the confidence score — below about 60% usually means a better source image is needed.

Frequently asked questions