How to Extract Text From a PDF (PDF to TXT)

When you just need the text of a PDF — to copy, reuse, or edit elsewhere — extracting it to .txt is the most direct route.

When to use it

• Copy passages from a PDF that won't let you select well.
• Reuse the content in another document.
• Get a light, editable version with just the text.

How to extract, step by step

1. Open the PDF to text tool.
2. Drop in your PDF.
3. The text is extracted instantly, in your browser.
4. Download the .txt file.

Extract now with the PDF to text tool.

Important note

It works with PDFs that have real text (selectable). PDFs that are only an image (scanned documents) have no embedded text, so the result may come out empty or incomplete — those need text recognition (OCR).

Privacy

Extraction happens in your browser: the PDF is never uploaded to a server.

FAQ

Does it keep formatting? No — the output is plain text (no colors, fonts, or layout). To keep formatting, use PDF to Word.

Does it work with scanned PDFs? Not reliably (they're just images). You'd need OCR.

Does it work on mobile? Yes, right in your browser.

Extract the text now with the PDF to text tool.