PDF to Text Converter
Free online tool · Files stay in your browser · Updated October 2026
Copy the words out of a PDF without retyping or wrestling with awkward selections. PDFKivo’s PDF to Text converter pulls the selectable text from your document and saves it as a plain TXT file you can open almost anywhere. It is handy for students gathering notes, researchers collecting quotes, and anyone who needs clean text for editing, searching or pasting into another document, presentation or email without carrying the PDF layout along with it.
How to extract text from a PDF
- Open the PDF to Text tool and drop your PDF into the box, or click to choose the file from your device.
- Check the file name shown on screen, so you know the correct document is loaded and ready.
- Select Extract Text and wait a moment while your browser reads through every page.
- Download the TXT file, then open it in any text editor, notes app or word processor.
Key features
- Saves the extracted words as a lightweight, plain TXT file that opens on any device
- Reads through the whole document in page order, not just the first page
- Useful for notes, quotes, drafts and anywhere you need text without formatting
- Runs entirely in your browser, with no account, installation or file upload
Good to know
Only selectable text can be extracted. If your PDF is a scan or a set of photographs of pages, it holds pictures rather than real characters, and this tool does not include OCR to read them. A quick test is to try highlighting one word in your PDF before you start. Layout is not kept either: headings, columns and tables come out as plain lines of text, and the order can occasionally follow the file’s internal structure rather than the visual page.
Frequently asked questions
What will I get after extracting text?
A single TXT file containing the selectable text from your PDF, in page order, ready to open, copy or edit anywhere.
Can I extract text from a scanned PDF?
Not with this tool. Scanned pages are images, and there is no OCR, so you would need a text-based PDF instead.
Does the TXT file keep fonts and layout?
No. Plain text files carry the words only, without fonts, colours, columns or page design.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. Files stay in your browser and the text is extracted on your own device, not on our server.
Related tools: PDF to Word, Extract Pages — and browse all tools on the PDFKivo homepage.