# Extract text from PDF

> Pull all extractable text from a PDF. Free extract text — scanned pages need OCR first. No upload.

Canonical: https://mypdf.space/tools/extract-text
Last updated: 2026-10-26

## Short answer

Extract text runs entirely in your browser. Pull all text out of the PDF. Copy or download as plain text. No account, no watermark, and the file never leaves your device.

## About this tool

Pull all text out of the PDF. Copy or download as plain text.

Pull all extractable text — scanned pages need OCR first.

Pull all extractable text from a PDF. Scanned pages need OCR first or the result may be empty.

## How to use

1. Open a PDF with a text layer.
2. Extract.
3. Copy or download as plain text.

## What you need

- A PDF with a text layer

## Notes

- Scanned PDFs return little/no text until you run OCR.

## FAQ

### Why is my result empty?

Scanned PDFs often have no text layer. Run OCR PDF first, then extract again.

### Is layout preserved?

Extraction is plain text with reasonable line breaks — not a perfect layout replica. Use PDF to Word for editable documents.

### Does extract text upload my PDF?

No. Text is read locally with PDF.js in your browser.

## Related

- [OCR PDF](https://mypdf.space/tools/ocr-pdf)
- [PDF to Word](https://mypdf.space/tools/pdf-to-word)
- [Search PDF](https://mypdf.space/tools/search-pdf)
- [PDF to Markdown](https://mypdf.space/tools/pdf-to-markdown)
- [PDF to JSON](https://mypdf.space/tools/pdf-to-json)
- [Compare PDFs](https://mypdf.space/tools/compare-pdfs)
- [Category](https://mypdf.space/extract)