Image to Text – Free OCR
Extract text from a picture in seconds. OCR runs entirely in your browser, so your image is never uploaded to a server.
This free image to text converter reads the text in a picture and gives it back as editable, copyable text. Drop in a JPG, PNG, screenshot, or iPhone photo, click Extract text, and copy the result or download it as a .txt file. There is no signup, no watermark, and no daily limit.
Unlike most online OCR tools, this one never uploads your image. The text recognition runs locally in your browser, so photos of documents, IDs, letters, and receipts stay on your device. That also means it keeps working offline once the page is loaded.
How to copy text from an image
- Add your image
Drag a picture into the box above or click to browse. Photos of documents, screenshots, and scans all work; iPhone HEIC photos are converted automatically.
- Click Extract text
The OCR engine loads once (a few MB) and then reads the image on your device. A progress bar tracks recognition.
- Review the result
The recognized text appears below the button, laid out line by line. Words the engine was unsure about are highlighted so you can double-check them.
- Copy or download
Copy everything to the clipboard with one click, or download the text as a .txt file.
What browser OCR does well (and where it stops)
The engine behind this tool reads clean, printed text reliably: book pages, letters, screenshots of articles, signs, and labels. Because it runs on your own device, it is private and genuinely free, with no server costs for us to recoup.
It also has honest limits, and this page will tell you when you hit them instead of pretending. Browser OCR reads text line by line, so tables lose their columns: a price list comes out as a stream of words rather than rows and cells. And handwriting or difficult photos (skewed, shadowed, low-contrast) produce uncertain results, which the tool highlights rather than hides. For those cases, ScanPilot's AI image to text converter reads the document the way a person does: it reconstructs tables with rows and columns intact and reads handwriting reliably. The first page is free to try.
Tips for better recognition
OCR quality depends mostly on the picture. Shoot straight-on rather than at an angle, fill the frame with the text, and avoid shadows across the page. Screenshots recognize best at native resolution: a crisp PNG beats a rescaled JPG. If a photographed page comes out with many highlighted (uncertain) words, retaking the photo in better light usually fixes more than any setting could.
The English recognition model is loaded by default. The engine reads Latin-script text generally, but accuracy is highest on English documents.
Want every method, including iPhone Live Text, Google Lens, and the Windows shortcut? Our guide on how to extract text from an image compares them all.
Why use this converter?
Private by design
Conversion runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded, stored, or seen by anyone.
Genuinely free
No daily task limits, premium tiers, or watermarks. Local conversion costs nothing to run.
Instant results
No upload and download queues. Files convert in about a second, even on slow connections.
Works everywhere
Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android: any modern browser, no app or software install.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy text from an image?
Drop the image into the tool above and click Extract text. The recognized text appears on the page, and one click copies it all to the clipboard. Everything runs in your browser, with no signup or upload.
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The OCR engine runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Your image never leaves your device, which makes this tool safe for IDs, documents, and private photos.
Is this image to text converter really free?
Yes. Recognition happens on your own device, which costs us nothing per image, so there are no daily limits, watermarks, or premium tiers for this tool.
Can it extract text from a photo of a table?
It will read the words, but browser OCR works line by line, so the table structure (rows and columns) is lost. When the tool detects a table in your image it says so, and offers to rebuild it as a real spreadsheet with ScanPilot’s AI converter, where the first page is free.
Can it read handwriting?
Browser OCR is unreliable on handwriting, and this tool highlights uncertain words instead of guessing silently. For handwritten notes and filled-in forms, ScanPilot’s AI converter reads handwriting dependably; the first page is free to try.
What image formats are supported?
JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, and iPhone HEIC photos. HEIC is converted automatically in your browser before recognition.
What languages does it recognize?
The English model is loaded by default and works well for Latin-script text generally. Accuracy is highest on English; heavily accented or non-Latin scripts are better served by the AI converter.