PDF to Text
Convert PDF to text online for free. Extract the text from your PDF files into clean TXT files, with paragraphs kept.
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How to Convert PDF to Text
Need to extract text from a PDF? ToolifyPDF is a free online PDF to text converter that turns your PDF documents into plain TXT files in seconds, right in your browser. Lines that belong to the same paragraph are joined back together, and bullet points and numbered lists start on their own line, so the text is ready to paste, edit, search, or analyze. Convert one PDF or up to 30 at once, with no software to install and no account needed.
Clean, Readable Text
Broken lines are joined back into full paragraphs, lists keep their own lines, and extra spaces and blank lines are removed, so you get text you can use right away.
Convert 30 PDF Files at Once
Upload up to 30 PDF files, up to 200 MB each, and get one TXT file per PDF. Several files are downloaded together in a ZIP file.
Any Language, UTF-8
Text is saved in UTF-8, so accents and characters from any language, such as é, ñ, ç, or ü, are kept exactly as in your PDF.
How to Convert PDF to Text
- Select Files: Click "Select Files" or drag and drop your PDF documents into the box.
- Convert: Click "Convert" to extract the text from your PDF files.
- Download: Click "Download" to save your TXT file. Several files are downloaded together in a ZIP file.
Convert PDF to Text on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android
ToolifyPDF works in any modern browser. You can convert PDF files to text on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, or Android without installing software. It works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge.
Why Convert PDF to Text with ToolifyPDF?
Unlike PDF to text converter software that you have to download and install, ToolifyPDF extracts text from PDF files online from any device, for free. Our converter is perfect for:
- Copying the content of a long PDF into an email, a website, or another document
- Pasting PDF text into a translation tool or an AI assistant
- Searching, counting words, or analyzing the text of reports and studies
- Reusing quotes and notes from e-books, articles, and course material
- Feeding PDF text into scripts, spreadsheets, or databases
FAQ
How do I convert a PDF to text?
Upload your PDF to ToolifyPDF, click "Convert", and then click "Download". You get a TXT file with all the text from your PDF, which you can open in Notepad, TextEdit, Word, or any text editor.
How do I extract text from a PDF?
Convert the PDF to text here, and the TXT file will contain all the text from every page, in reading order, with paragraphs joined back together. It's faster and cleaner than copying and pasting page by page.
How do I copy text from a PDF?
For a few lines, select the text in your PDF reader and copy it. For a whole document, copying usually breaks lines in the middle of sentences. Convert the PDF to text here instead: the lines of each paragraph are joined back together, so you can copy everything at once.
Can I convert a scanned PDF or an image to text?
Not directly. A scanned PDF only contains pictures of pages, so there's no text to extract, and the tool will tell you so. Run it through PDF OCR first to recognize the text, then convert the result to text here.
Is this PDF to text converter free?
Yes. You can convert PDF files to text online for free, with no account and no software to install. Each PDF can be up to 200 MB, and you can convert up to 30 files at once.
What does the text file contain?
The TXT file contains only the text of your PDF, in reading order, with pages separated by a blank line. Images, colors, fonts, and layout are not included. Tables come out as lines of text.
Are accents and other languages supported?
Yes. The text file is saved in UTF-8, so accented letters and characters from other alphabets are kept exactly as they appear in the PDF.
Can I convert a password-protected PDF to text?
Yes. You'll be asked for the password when you add the file, and the text is extracted once the PDF is unlocked.
Should I convert my PDF to text or to Word?
Choose text if you only need the words, for example to paste them somewhere, search them, or analyze them. Choose PDF to Word if you want to keep the formatting, tables, and images and edit the document.
Can I convert the text back to a PDF?
Yes. Use our Text to PDF tool to turn a TXT file into a PDF document again.
Advanced Features
Beyond basic extraction, our PDF to text converter offers several useful features:
- Paragraph Rebuilding: Lines that belong to the same paragraph are joined back together.
- Lists Kept: Bullet points and numbered items start on their own line.
- Reading Order: Text blocks are extracted in a natural reading order, page by page.
- Clean Output: Double spaces and extra blank lines are removed.
- Batch Conversion: Convert up to 30 PDF files at once and download them in a ZIP file.
- Scanned PDF Check: You're warned right away if a PDF only contains images and has no text.
💡 Pro Tip
If the tool says your PDF has no text, it's a scanned document. Run it through PDF OCR first, which adds a text layer to the scanned pages, and then convert the result to text here.
Privacy & Security
We take your privacy seriously. All file uploads and processing happen over encrypted HTTPS connections. Your files are automatically deleted from our servers after one hour, and we never store or share your documents with third parties. You maintain complete control over your data at all times.
Ready to convert your PDF to text?
Start extracting text from your PDF files now. It's free, fast, and requires no registration.