OCR PDF
Make a scanned PDF searchable and selectable. The OCR engine and language model run entirely on your device.
Drop a scanned PDF here
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About this tool
OCR a Scanned PDF
You scanned a stack of old receipts, a textbook chapter, or years of paper records into PDF. Now you need to find one specific invoice from 2023 — but Ctrl+F does nothing because the PDF is just pictures of pages. It has no searchable text layer.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) solves this by reading the text in each page image and adding an invisible, selectable text layer on top. After OCR, you can search, copy, and extract text from the document as if it were born digital.
Most OCR tools require uploading your documents to a cloud server for processing. For personal records, financial documents, or anything sensitive, that is a dealbreaker. KuroPDF runs the entire Tesseract OCR engine locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Your scanned documents never leave your device — not a single page, not a single word.
The engine supports 100+ languages and processes pages in parallel using Web Workers, so a 50-page document completes in a couple of minutes on a modern device. The result is a standard PDF with an embedded text layer that works in every PDF reader.
OCR PDF on iPhone
Use the ocr pdf tool directly in your iPhone browser - no app to install, no storage wasted.
Everything runs locally on your iPhone. Your files stay on your device at all times.
OCR PDF on Android
Use the ocr pdf tool directly in your Android browser - no app to install, no storage wasted.
Everything runs locally on your Android. Your files stay on your device at all times.
Frequently asked questions
What languages does the OCR support?
Tesseract OCR supports 100+ languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, and many more. Common languages load automatically.
How accurate is the text recognition?
Accuracy depends on scan quality. Clean, straight scans at 300 DPI typically achieve 95-99% accuracy. Skewed, low-resolution, or handwritten text will produce lower accuracy. The engine works best with typed/printed text.
Is my scanned document uploaded anywhere?
Everything runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Because no data is uploaded to a cloud server, your files remain strictly private, and the entire process generates zero server carbon emissions, making it highly eco-friendly.
How long does OCR take?
About 2-5 seconds per page on a modern device. A 50-page document processes in 2-4 minutes. Pages are processed in parallel using Web Workers for maximum speed.
Can I search the PDF after OCR?
Yes — the OCR result is a standard PDF with an invisible text layer. You can search with Ctrl+F, select and copy text, and the document remains fully searchable in any PDF reader.
Does OCR change how the PDF looks?
No. The visual appearance is identical. OCR adds an invisible text layer behind the page images — it does not alter the images themselves.
Does this work on iPhone?
Yes - KuroPDF works in any modern browser on iPhone. No app download required.
Is it private?
Everything runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Because no data is uploaded to a cloud server, your files remain strictly private, and the entire process generates zero server carbon emissions, making it highly eco-friendly.
Does this work on Android?
Yes - KuroPDF works in any modern browser on Android. No app download required.
Does this work on Mac?
Yes - KuroPDF works in any modern browser on Mac. No app download required.
Does this work on Chromebook?
Yes - KuroPDF works in any modern browser on Chromebook. No app download required.
Does this work on iPad?
Yes - KuroPDF works in any modern browser on iPad. No app download required.
Does this work on Windows?
Yes - KuroPDF works in any modern browser on Windows. No app download required.
How do I OCR a scanned PDF?
Open the tool, drop your file, adjust any settings, and click the action button. The result downloads to your device instantly.
Do I need to create an account?
No - KuroPDF is completely free with no sign-up required.
Are my files uploaded?
Everything runs locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Because no data is uploaded to a cloud server, your files remain strictly private, and the entire process generates zero server carbon emissions, making it highly eco-friendly.