Will it work on a phone?

Yes. The layout adapts to a small screen and the processing runs in the mobile browser, so a photo or a downloaded document can be handled on the device it arrived on.

Because the expensive part — the server farm — does not exist. Processing runs on your device, so the site can stay free without a signup wall in front of it or an upsell in the middle of a job.

Which file types does Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF accept?

The drop area takes PDF. Files are read from your device in the browser, so the format has to be one a browser can decode — that is why the accepted list on this page is finite and honest rather than "everything".

What do I get back from Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF?

The result is PDF, offered as a download the moment the work finishes. Multiple results come back together rather than as fifty separate save dialogs.

Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF

Adds an invisible text layer so you can search and select.

Drop the scanned PDF here

or click to browse — .pdf · up to 1 files

OCR languages

EnglishHindi

OCR runs fully in your browser with Tesseract WASM — a typical page takes 5–15 seconds. The language model is fetched once from the Tesseract CDN and cached afterwards. Handwriting and rotated pages reduce accuracy; for best results supply straightened scans at 200–300 DPI. The searchable PDF keeps the original page images and adds an invisible text layer — text becomes selectable but not vector-editable.

Add a file first.

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About Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF

Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF is here for reading and pulling content out of files: adds an invisible text layer so you can search and select. It takes PDF and produces PDF. There is no account to open and nothing to wait in a queue for, because the work happens on your own machine.

The slow route to reading and pulling content out of files is installing something, making an account and uploading the file; this is the fast route.

How to use Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF in 3 steps

Drop the file on the page — PDF, one file up to 100 MB.
Set the OCR languages (English is ticked by default) — English is ticked by default.
Press Make searchable and download the PDF result.

What you get with Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF

Recognition with Tesseract, in the tab you are using
Runs in your browser — the file is never uploaded
Free to use, with no signup and no account
No watermark or logo added to your output
Works on desktop and mobile, no install

Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF: questions

Will it work on a phone?: Yes. The layout adapts to a small screen and the processing runs in the mobile browser, so a photo or a downloaded document can be handled on the device it arrived on.
Why is it free?: Because the expensive part — the server farm — does not exist. Processing runs on your device, so the site can stay free without a signup wall in front of it or an upsell in the middle of a job.
Which file types does Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF accept?: The drop area takes PDF. Files are read from your device in the browser, so the format has to be one a browser can decode — that is why the accepted list on this page is finite and honest rather than "everything".
What do I get back from Scanned PDF to Searchable PDF?: The result is PDF, offered as a download the moment the work finishes. Multiple results come back together rather than as fifty separate save dialogs.