OCR PDF online

Optical character recognition, or OCR, is a technology that automatically extracts text from images or scanned documents. It transforms visual files—such as photos with text, scans, or image-based PDFs—into searchable and, most importantly, editable documents. This eliminates the need for manual data entry; even complex documents become editable. Thanks to advanced text recognition, a significant timesaver!

Yes, our OCR technology can detect and extract specific sections of a document, even when it contains complex elements like tables. You can easily isolate contract clauses, quote excerpts, or accounting data. This precision makes OCR especially useful for professional documents, medical reports, construction plans, financial statements, and more.

Absolutely. Our OCR service can automatically detect different languages in the same document, allowing accurate and usable text extraction regardless of linguistic complexity. This feature is particularly valuable for international businesses, public institutions, or law firms that regularly handle multilingual documents.

OCR is effective on printed or scanned documents containing structured text, including:
• Invoices and receipts -> to automate accounting
• Contracts and legal documents -> to search or extract specific clauses
• Patient records and medical reports -> to digitize medical archives
• Architectural plans or technical documents -> to index and extract textual annotations
• Administrative files -> to streamline documentation management in public services
• HR records -> to centralize CVs, certificates, or pay slips
• Historical archives -> to restore and analyze old content that’s otherwise hard to access
Of course, OCR performance depends on the quality of the scan and text legibility, but it can save time and boost productivity.

Choosing the right OCR tool depends on how you plan to use it:
• For professional use in a business setting, opt for a tool with batch processing, which can handle large volumes of documents quickly. Our OCR desktop version is perfect for this.

• If you regularly process a variety of documents, like invoices, contracts, or reports with tables and multiple columns, choose a solution that handles complex layouts with high precision. Our online or desktop OCR tool is designed to help you with these tasks.

• If you’re often on the move or working in the field, an online OCR tool compatible with mobile devices will be more suitable.
Above all, make sure the tool you choose (online or desktop) integrates well into your workflow, supports your existing software, and handles multiple languages. Especially if you work with multilingual documentation.

Our high-performance OCR tool supports a wide range of formats, including standard image files (JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF), and scanned PDFs (image-based or hybrid). It can also process screenshots or photos taken with a smartphone. Once processed, the files can be exported as editable formats such as DOCX, TXT, XLSX, or PDF text.

Try selecting the text or using the search function (Ctrl+F). If nothing happens, it’s probably an image-based document. With Soda PDF, you will then be able to make it interactive and editable.

Yes. Whether your teams work at a hospital, on a construction site, in an agency or from home, our OCR solution is accessible online or with the desktop version available on Windows laptops. It also integrates with major cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive.

Our OCR technology offers a high level of accuracy, especially with well-scanned documents, enabling reliable digital archiving where even small text becomes editable, searchable, and indexable.
However, we always recommend a quick review, especially for sensitive documents, like legal, medical, or financial records. We are human after all! Even with this step, the time saved compared to manual entry is substantial. Once converted, your files can be securely organized, searched, and stored long term, which is a major advantage for businesses subject to regulatory requirements.

The batch processing feature is available in our desktop version only. It allows you to convert multi-page files in a single click. Ideal for tasks like accounting period closures, quality audits, or archiving construction project files.

Soda PDF is a true alternative to Adobe Acrobat®: no installation, no subscription required — unless you want unlimited access with no size or daily limitations. We offer a full suite of free* tools with daily limitations to manage your documents. Our online tools work with all file formats and allow you to manage your documents in many ways, like:
• Convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PNG, SVG, or JPG to PDF—and vice versa
• Compress large documents, even hundreds of pages
• Merge or split PDF pages
• Edit your files with our built-in editor or fill in a form
• Protect and sign PDFs (desktop features only)
• Unlock PDFs
All of this is entirely online, no app installation needed. Explore our full range of tools in the top menu or down in the footer (yes, that’s what it’s called).

Our PDF software is available as a desktop version for Windows. Check out our options and download it for free.