PDF to Text Converter
Get the text out of a PDF as a plain TXT file – ready to search, copy, translate or process further. Works with digital PDFs, including Arabic and Hebrew text.
Your files stay on your device. Conversions run in your browser.
Works with digital PDFs that contain selectable text. Scanned PDFs need OCR, which is not available here.
Your files stay on your device. Conversions run in your browser.
- No signup required
- Files stay on your device
- Browser-based conversion
- Fast download
- Free to use
How it works
How to convert PDF to Text online
- 1
Choose a PDF that contains selectable text.
- 2
Decide whether pages should be marked, then click “Convert to Text”.
- 3
Download the TXT file and open it in any text editor.
Supported file types: PDF · No signup required
Why plain text is useful
Copying text out of a PDF viewer often mixes up columns, breaks words or loses line order. A TXT file gives you the whole text of the document in reading order, without fonts or layout – perfect for searching, quoting, translation tools, AI tools, scripts or importing into other programs.
How the text is extracted
Images, fonts and formatting are not included – only characters. Scanned PDFs are images of text and need OCR, which this tool doesn't offer; if no text is found, you get a message instead of an empty file.
- Lines are rebuilt from the position of the text on each page.
- Table columns are separated by tabs, so they stay apart when you paste them into a spreadsheet.
- Arabic and Hebrew lines are read from right to left.
- Optional markers show where each page starts.
About PDF and Plain files
- PDF (Portable Document Format)
- PDF files look the same on every device and are the standard for invoices, statements, contracts and reports. Digital PDFs store real text; scanned PDFs store images of pages. All PDF tools →
- Plain text (TXT)
- A TXT file contains only characters – no fonts, colours or layout. It opens in every editor, can be searched and copied easily, and is ideal for further processing.
Privacy: your files stay on your device
Your files stay on your device. Conversions run in your browser. PDFConvertFast never uploads, stores or reads your documents – there is no server that receives them, no account and no email address.
- Your files stay on your device
- No signup required
- Browser-based conversion
PDF to Text – frequently asked questions
How do I extract all the text from a PDF into a TXT file?
Choose your PDF, decide whether pages should be marked and click “Convert to Text”. You download a .txt file with the text of all pages, which opens in any text editor.
What is the difference between PDF to Text and PDF to Word?
PDF to Text gives you plain characters only: one line in the TXT file for each line in the PDF, without headings, tables or formatting. PDF to Word joins lines into paragraphs and rebuilds headings and tables in an editable DOCX file.
What do the “Page markers” options do?
“Mark each page (--- Page 1 ---)” puts a line like --- Page 1 --- before the text of every page, so you can see where each page starts. “Text only” leaves the markers out and separates the pages with an empty line.
Why does the TXT file keep the line breaks of the PDF?
The text is extracted line by line exactly as it is laid out on the page, so lines are not joined into paragraphs and words split by a hyphen at the end of a line stay split. If you need flowing paragraphs, convert the PDF to Word instead.
Why is text from two columns mixed on the same line?
Lines are rebuilt across the full width of the page, so text in side-by-side columns that sits at the same height ends up on one line, separated by a tab. This happens with newspaper-style or two-column layouts; single-column documents come out in normal reading order.
How are tables saved in the text file?
Each table row becomes one line, with the columns separated by tabs. When you paste the text into a spreadsheet, the columns land in separate cells; for a real spreadsheet use PDF to Excel.
Which encoding does the TXT file use?
UTF-8, so accents, umlauts and non-Latin scripts are kept. Arabic and Hebrew lines are read from right to left, so they appear in the correct order.
Why do I get “No selectable text was found” for my PDF?
Your PDF contains no text layer – it is usually a scanned document or a photo saved as PDF. Extracting text from images needs OCR (text recognition), which is not available here, so the tool shows this message instead of giving you an empty file.
Is the text extracted without uploading my PDF?
Yes. The text is read from the PDF in your browser and the TXT file is created on your device; the PDF is never uploaded or stored.
Is there a size limit for extracting text from a PDF?
Each PDF can be up to 100 MB. Extracting text is free and needs no signup.