Extract text from an image, photo or screenshot
Pull the English text out of an image, such as a photo, scan or screenshot, then copy it or save it as a .txt file.
or drop it anywhere on this page
JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, TIFF or SVG · English text only
How to extract text from an image
Image to Text takes you from picture to text in three steps.
- 1Pick a picture
JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, TIFF or SVG, up to 25 MB on the free plan. Pro reads up to 100 at once.
- 2We read the words
Press Extract text, and the English words in your picture come back as text.
- 3Copy or download
Press Copy text to paste the words anywhere, or Download .txt to save them as a plain text file.
What it reads well, and its limits
What it reads well
- Screenshots of apps, websites and messages
- Scans and photos of printed pages, letters and receipts
- Signs, labels and slides photographed straight on
What it struggles with
- Handwriting
- Any language other than English
- Tiny, blurry, curved or decorative lettering
- Words over a busy photo or a transparent background
Worth knowing
You get the words, not the look: plain lines of text with no fonts, columns or tables. A scanned multi-page TIFF is read page by page; from an animated GIF, only the first frame is read. Check the text before you rely on it.
Copy text from a screenshot, photo or scan
Turning a photo to text works best with sharp letters on a plain background, which is why screenshots read so well. For a photo of a page, a sign or a receipt, take it straight on in good light, then crop it to the words so nothing else gets read.
If you get no text from a picture, the letters are usually too small, blurry or faint, handwritten, or not in English. White or light lettering on a transparent background can be missed completely. A sharper picture, or one cropped closer, often fixes it.
An SVG is drawn as a picture first and then read like a photo. You get the text you can see, but not text hidden in its code or drawn in the same colour as its background. Want a logo's shapes as a vector rather than its words? PNG to SVG traces the picture instead, and PNG to ICO makes it into a website icon.
The text comes back as plain lines, without fonts or colours. Two columns side by side can come out mixed, a line from each in turn, so check the order after you paste.
A HEIC photo from an iPhone is not taken. Turn it into a JPG with HEIC to JPG, or a PNG with HEIC to PNG, then read that. The same goes for an AVIF or BMP picture: AVIF to JPG turns an AVIF into a JPG, and the PNG converter changes either one to a PNG first.
Free limits, Pro batches and your privacy
The free plan reads one picture at a time, up to 25 MB, with no account. You get 3 conversions a day, and each picture you read counts as one.
Pro and Business extract text from images in batches of up to 100 at once, each up to 100 MB, with no daily cap. Every picture gets its own text to copy or download, and Download all (.zip) saves all the text files together.
To read text from an image, we upload it and read it on our server, not on your device. The picture and the text read from it are deleted automatically 24 hours later. Nothing is used for training and no person looks at your files.
Questions people ask
How do I copy text from an image?
Select the picture, or drop it on this page, and press Extract text. The English words it finds appear on the page: press Copy text to paste them anywhere, or Download .txt to save them as a plain text file.
Is Image to Text free?
Yes. Up to 25 MB and 3 conversions a day are free, with no account, and each picture you read counts as one. Pro and Business lift the file limit to 100 MB and remove the daily cap.
Which languages can it read?
English only. Words in other languages, and letters outside the English alphabet, may be misread or left out.
Can it read handwriting?
Not reliably. It is made for printed and typed text, so handwriting usually comes out wrong or not at all.
Can I read several pictures at once?
Yes, on Pro and Business: up to 100 pictures at once, each with its own text to copy or download, or all of them in one zip. The free plan reads one picture at a time.
What happens to my picture?
The picture and the text we read from it are deleted 24 hours after you upload it, automatically. Nothing is used for training and no person looks at your files.
