# Convert an image to text > To convert an image to text, add a photo, scan or screenshot, or paste one with Ctrl+V, and start. The words are read in your browser, so the picture stays on your device, and you can copy the text or save it as a .txt file. Page: https://pdfinish.com/image-to-text Last updated: November 3, 2026 ## How to convert an image to text in 3 steps 1. **Add your picture.** Drop a photo, scan or screenshot onto the tool, or choose it from your device. You can also paste a screenshot with Ctrl+V (Command+V on a Mac). Add several to read them in order. 2. **Start reading.** The tool reads one picture at a time and shows its progress. You can cancel at any point, and your pictures are never changed. 3. **Copy the text or save a file.** The words appear in a box. Press Copy text, or download them as a .txt file. Check names, dates and numbers against the picture before you rely on them. ## Key facts - Privacy: We don't sell your data. This tool runs in your browser, so your files stay on your device and are never uploaded. - Ads: none. No third-party ads and no ad cookies. - Limits: 2 free uses in total, no account needed, and no limit on uses with Pro. Files up to 50 MB free, 500 MB with Pro. Limits are checked before a use starts, never after. - Price: free to start. Pro is $2.99 a month or $24 a year. Lifetime is $50 for the first 500 founders. Pro cancels in one click. - Works on: Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android. Nothing to install. - You may know it as picture to text, photo to text, or how to extract text from an image. It is the same job: getting the words out of a picture. - It reads JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP and TIFF pictures, and HEIC photos where your browser can open them. Several pictures are read in the order you set. - The text reader runs from files on our own site. Nothing is sent to another company, and your pictures are never uploaded. - It reads printed English best. Handwriting is read poorly, and other languages and alphabets are not supported yet. ## Is there a free way to get text from an image? Yes. Add the picture to this page, press the button, and the text appears for you to copy or save. You can use it free with no account to start. The picture is read in your browser, so it is not uploaded and nothing is posted anywhere. ## How do I copy text from a screenshot? Take the screenshot, open this page, and press Ctrl+V (Command+V on a Mac) to paste it in. Press the button to read it. When the text appears, press Copy text. Pasted screenshots are read on your device and are never uploaded to a server. ## How do I extract text from a photo on my phone? Open this page in your phone's browser, choose Take a photo or pick one from your gallery, then start. The words are read on the phone itself, which takes a few seconds. Copy the text or save a .txt file when it finishes. ## Can I get text from several images at once? Yes. Add several pictures and put them in the order you want. They are read one after another, and the text is joined into one result with a blank line between pictures. One download saves it all as a single .txt file. ## What picture types does image to text support? It reads JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP and TIFF pictures, plus HEIC photos where your browser can open them, such as Safari. A TIFF with several pages is read page by page. The pictures can be photos, scans or screenshots. ## Does image to text work on handwriting? Poorly. It is designed for printed text such as screenshots, scanned pages, signs and book pages. Neat block letters may partly work, but joined-up or messy handwriting usually does not. Expect to correct a lot, or to retype the note by hand. ## Why did my image come out with wrong or missing words? Usually the picture is the cause. Blur, small print, shadows, low contrast, a tilted angle or a busy background all hurt. Retake it straight on in good light, crop to the text, or use a larger version of the picture, then read it again. ## Can I turn the text from an image into a PDF? Yes. After you copy or save the text, use Text to PDF to lay it out as a document. If you want the original picture to stay as the page, with the words searchable on top, use OCR PDF or Image to PDF instead. ## Does image to text keep the layout, tables and columns? No. You get plain text, line by line. Columns can run together, and tables become rows of words without borders. If you need the pages to look the same with searchable text, use OCR PDF, which keeps the page picture as it was. ## Is my image uploaded to a server? No. The text reader runs inside your browser tab, using files served from our own site. Your picture is not sent to our servers or to another company, and it is gone when you close the tab. You can verify this in your browser's network tab. ## Handy for text that is stuck in a picture If you freelance, pull the terms out of a screenshot of a client's email and paste them into your own notes. If you rent out a unit, copy the figures from a photo of a utility bill or a notice into your records. ## Common questions ### How do I convert an image to text? Add your picture, or paste a screenshot, then press the button. The words are read in your browser and shown in a box. Copy them, or download a .txt file. A clear picture of printed text gives the best result. ### Which pictures can it read? JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP and TIFF work in every modern browser. HEIC photos from an iPhone work in Safari, and in any browser on an iPhone or iPad. In other browsers, save the photo as JPG first. ### How accurate is it? It depends on the picture. Sharp, straight, well-lit printed text comes out best. Small print, faded copies, busy backgrounds and photos taken at an angle can be misread, so check names, dates and amounts that matter. ### Can it read handwriting? Not well. The reader is built for printed text, so neat handwriting may come out partly right and messy handwriting will not. For handwritten notes, expect to type most of it yourself. ### Is my file uploaded when I use Image to Text? No. The text is read inside your browser tab. The file is not sent to our servers. ### Is Image to Text free, and are there limits? You can use it free. You get 2 free uses in total, no account needed. Free files can be up to 50 MB. Pro has no limit on uses and allows files up to 500 MB. We check the limits before a use starts, so a finished file is never held back. ### Can I use Image to Text on a Windows PC? Yes. Open this page in Chrome or Edge on your PC, add your file and download the result. Nothing to install, and your file stays on your device. ## Related tools - [OCR PDF](https://pdfinish.com/ocr-pdf): Make scanned pages searchable and selectable. - [PDF to Text](https://pdfinish.com/pdf-to-text): Pull the text out of a PDF in reading order, to copy or save as a .txt file. - [Image to PDF](https://pdfinish.com/image-to-pdf): Turn any common picture into a PDF: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, HEIC or TIFF. - [JPG to PDF](https://pdfinish.com/jpg-to-pdf): Turn photos and scans into a single PDF. - [Scan to PDF](https://pdfinish.com/scan-to-pdf): Photograph paper pages with your phone, straighten them and make one PDF. - [TXT to PDF](https://pdfinish.com/txt-to-pdf): Turn a plain text file, or text you paste, into a PDF.