PDF to Text

Extract text from any PDF file. Get clean, readable text output. 100% private — your PDF never leaves your browser.

Drop a PDF file here or click to browse

PDF up to 100 MB

Extracted Text:

About PDF to Text

Extract readable text from any PDF using PDF.js — the same engine powering Firefox's built-in PDF viewer. No uploads, no servers, completely private.

Smart Extraction

Preserves paragraph structure, whitespace, and text flow from multi-column layouts.

100% Private

Your PDF never leaves your browser. All text extraction happens locally.

Copy & Download

Copy to clipboard or download as .txt file for further processing.

Large Files OK

Handles PDFs up to 100 MB. Text extraction only — for OCR of scanned documents, use our PDF OCR tool.

📋 Common Use Cases

Copy Content Quickly

Extract text from read-only PDFs when you need to quote passages, paraphrase content, or reference specific sections.

Prepare Data for Analysis

Convert text-heavy PDF reports into plain text for import into data analysis tools, spreadsheets, or text editors.

Create Searchable Archives

Extract text from scanned or received PDFs to build searchable text archives of important documents.

Repurpose Published Content

Pull text from PDF ebooks and whitepapers to reformat into blog posts, articles, or documentation.

🪜 How to Use This Tool

  1. Upload PDF document
    Drag your PDF file onto the extraction area or click to browse and select the document.
  2. Extract text automatically
    The tool processes each page and extracts readable text while preserving basic paragraph structure.
  3. Preview extracted text
    Review the extracted text in the preview panel to verify all content was captured accurately.
  4. Copy or download
    Copy selected text to your clipboard or download the entire extracted text as a .txt file.

📚 Related Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this PDF tool really free?▼
Yes. Every PDF tool on iluv.tools is completely free. No signup, no account, no payment. Everything runs in your browser.
Are my PDF files uploaded to a server?▼
No. All PDF processing happens locally in your browser using the pdf-lib and PDF.js libraries. Your files never leave your device.
Do these PDF tools work offline?▼
Basic PDF tools (merge, split, compress, rotate, sign, watermark, protect, unlock, add page numbers, edit metadata, flatten, grayscale, crop, delete pages) work completely offline after the page loads. AI-powered tools like smart compression and PDF to Word require an internet connection.
Is there a file size limit?▼
Browser-based tools handle files up to ~100MB smoothly. Larger files may be slower depending on your device. For very large PDFs, try splitting them first, processing the parts, then merging.
Can I use these on mobile?▼
Yes. All PDF tools work on mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Android Chrome). Desktop is recommended for large files, but everything is functional on mobile.