pdfcdf
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PDF to Text

Extract all selectable text from the PDF as a plain-text file.

Drop a PDF to extract text

or browse your device

PDF up to 100 MB

How to extract text from a PDF

Pull the plain text out of a PDF into a .txt file you can edit, search or reuse. Ideal for copying content from a document without retyping it.

  1. 1Open the PDF to Text tool and upload your PDF.
  2. 2Click “Extract text”.
  3. 3Download the extracted text as a .txt file.
Read the full PDF to Text guide →

Frequently asked questions

It didn’t find any text — why?
Scanned PDFs are images with no selectable text. For those, use the OCR tool, which recognizes text from the scan.
Is pdfcdf free to use?
Yes. Every tool on pdfcdf is completely free, with no account, no watermarks, and no limits on how many files you process.
Are my files safe? Do they get uploaded?
Your files never leave your device. Every tool runs entirely in your browser, so your documents are processed locally and are never uploaded to a server or seen by anyone.
Do I need to create an account or sign up?
No. pdfcdf works instantly with no sign-up, no email, and no software to install — just open the tool and go.
Does it work on mobile phones and tablets?
Yes. pdfcdf runs in any modern browser on phones, tablets, Mac, Windows and Linux — nothing to download.

Related tools

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