PDF to Text Online — Extract Text Easily (Free & Secure)
Extract all the text from a PDF into a plain .txt file. Fast, simple and free.
What Is This Tool?
PDF to Text pulls every word of readable text out of a PDF, in the order it appears on the page, and saves it as plain text, JSON, or XML. It's useful when you need to copy content into another document, feed it into another program, or just read it without a PDF viewer.
Everything runs on our servers over a secure connection; your files are processed, made available for download, and then automatically deleted a short time later.
Why Extract Text From a PDF?
Sometimes you need the words, not the layout — to quote a passage, search across many documents, or feed content into another program. Extracting text pulls the readable content out of the PDF format entirely.
Benefits of PDF to Text Conversion
- Copy or search content without a PDF viewer
- Feed the text into another program via JSON or XML
- Preserves natural reading order
- No desktop software needed
Who Can Use This Tool?
- Researchers quoting or citing PDF content
- Developers feeding PDF text into another tool via JSON/XML
- Writers copying content into another document
- Anyone who just wants to read a PDF as plain text
A Few Real-World Examples
- A researcher can extract text from a 50-page academic paper to quote directly in their own thesis without retyping.
- A developer can extract text from a PDF to feed into a natural language processing (NLP) tool for sentiment analysis.
- A writer can copy content from a PDF report into their own document for editing and citation.
- A student can extract text from a PDF to translate it using an online translator.
- An analyst can extract text from a batch of contract PDFs and search across them for specific clauses.
Step-by-Step Guide
Upload the PDF you want to extract text from.
Choose an output format: Plain Text, JSON, or XML.
Click "Extract Text".
Download your text file.
Choosing an Output Format
Plain Text (.txt) — a simple, universal text file. Best for reading and copy-pasting into another document.
JSON (.json) — structured output with one entry per page. Best for developers and programmatic processing.
XML (.xml) — structured output with one <page> element per page. Best for data exchange and archiving.
Note: Text extraction preserves natural reading order, but complex layouts (tables, columns) may not be perfectly preserved in any of these formats.
What You'll Get
The output is a downloadable text, JSON, or XML file containing the readable text from your PDF. Your original file is never changed — extraction always reads it, never edits it.
Comparison: Output Formats
| Format | Best for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Plain Text (.txt) | Reading, copy-pasting | Simple, universal text file. |
| JSON (.json) | Developers, programmatic use | Structured, one entry per page. |
| XML (.xml) | Data exchange, archiving | Structured, one <page> element per page. |
Features
- Free
- Easy to use
- No registration
- Preserves natural reading order
- Secure processing — files are deleted automatically
Supported Formats
Best Practices
- Use JSON or XML if you plan to process the text programmatically.
- Use plain TXT for a quick read or copy-paste into another document.
- For scanned PDFs with no embedded text layer, this tool won't be able to extract anything — you'd need an OCR tool for image-based text recognition.
- If your PDF has complex tables, expect the structure to flatten out in plain text — consider a dedicated PDF-to-spreadsheet tool for tabular data.
Troubleshooting
Problem: The output file is empty or nearly empty
Solution: This tool extracts text from readable PDFs. If your PDF is scanned (image-based) with no embedded text layer, there's nothing to extract — it doesn't perform OCR (optical character recognition) on scanned images.
Problem: Tables and columns look jumbled in the output
Solution: This is expected for complex layouts. Text extraction follows reading order but doesn't preserve visual layout like tables or multi-column formatting — try the JSON or XML options for a more structured (though still not visually laid-out) result.
Problem: The file won't upload
Solution: Ensure your file is under 50 MB and is a valid PDF. Try a different browser.
PDF to Text FAQ
Is converting PDF to text really free?
Yes. PDF to Text is completely free, with no sign-up, watermark, or hidden limits beyond the file size shown above.
Can I use this tool every day, or is there a limit?
There's no daily limit — extract text from as many PDFs as you need, for free, without creating an account.
Will this work on a scanned PDF?
This tool extracts text that's already embedded in the PDF. If your PDF is a scanned image with no underlying text layer, there's nothing to extract — you'll get an empty or near-empty result, since this isn't an OCR tool.
Will formatting like columns and tables be preserved?
Text is extracted in reading order, but none of the output formats preserve visual layout like columns, tables, or fonts — for that, you'd want to keep it as a PDF.
What's the difference between the TXT, JSON and XML options?
TXT gives you one plain-text file with pages separated by blank lines. JSON and XML both keep each page as a separate structured entry (a "pages" array in JSON, a <page> element in XML), which is easier to feed into another program.
Will my file be kept after converting?
No. Both your uploaded PDF and the resulting text file are automatically deleted from our servers a short time after processing.
Does this work on mobile?
Yes, PDF to Text works in any modern mobile or desktop browser — no app required.
Is registration required?
No. You can extract text from a PDF without creating an account or providing any personal details.
Privacy & Security
Your files are handled securely
All uploads are transferred over an encrypted SSL/TLS connection and processed in an isolated job folder. No one at PDFCherry views, shares, or uses the content of your documents for anything other than completing the extraction you requested.
- Uploaded files are automatically deleted within 30 minutes.
- Extracted text files are automatically deleted within 1 hour after completion.
- Your original file is never modified — extraction always creates a new, separate text file; the PDF you uploaded is read, not altered.
Read our full Privacy Policy or Contact Us if you have any questions about how your files are handled.
Why Trust PDFCherry?
PDFCherry is built and maintained by a small, dedicated team and runs on established, industry-standard PDF libraries — not an anonymous "free tool" that resells your files or data. The privacy practices above apply across the whole site. More about PDFCherry.
Having issues or need help? Contact Us — we're here to help.
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It's free, secure, and takes just a few seconds. Upload your file and get your text now!
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