Convert a photo or screenshot to text — free, without uploading it
You have a photo of a page, a screenshot of an error message, or a scan of a receipt — and you need the text, not the picture. Most "image to text" websites work by uploading your image to their server. This one doesn't: the OCR engine runs inside your browser, and the image never leaves your device.
How to convert an image to text here (free)
- Open the free OCR scanner.
- Drop in a photo or screenshot — PNG, JPEG, WebP or BMP.
- Wait a few seconds while the OCR engine (bundled inside the page) reads it.
- Copy the text to your clipboard or download it as a .txt file.
The first scan loads the OCR model (a few seconds); every scan after that is fast. Everything happens locally — you can disconnect from the internet and it still works.
When is OCR useful?
- Screenshots: error messages, code, chat windows, tables — grab the text instead of retyping it.
- Photos of documents: receipts, business cards, whiteboards, printed pages you'd rather not retype.
- Scanned paperwork: get a searchable, editable copy of a printed letter or form.
- Quotes and references: copy a paragraph from a photo of a book page instead of typing it out.
What OCR does well — and where it struggles
OCR is excellent on printed text: clean scans of books, printouts and screenshots are read very reliably. It's weaker on handwriting — cursive especially — and on blurry, angled or low-light photos. Two habits fix most misses: shoot straight-on with even lighting, and crop to the text you actually need. And proofread anything important; OCR confidence is high but not perfect.
Why "upload your image" is the wrong default
Images people OCR are often sensitive: contracts, invoices, medical letters, screenshots of private conversations. On an upload-based service, each one makes a round trip to someone else's server. Here the engine ships inside the page itself — the same technology desktop OCR apps use, compiled to WebAssembly. Open your browser's network inspector and watch it make zero requests while scanning. That's the proof.
scan.png — reading on this device:
412 words recognized language: English
✓ text copied — never uploaded, 0 bytes sent
What an OCR run looks like (illustration — demo image, never real data):
Like the tool? Own it.
The free page scans unlimited single images. The €9 OCR Scanner download adds batch scanning of whole folders and the same tool as a single file — no limits, offline forever, on any computer you own. One-time payment — no subscription.
Get OCR Scanner — €9 once
Questions people ask
Does my image get uploaded anywhere?
No. The OCR engine is bundled inside the page — there is no server behind it. Load it, disconnect from the internet, and it still works. The network inspector will show zero requests during a scan.
Which languages can it read?
The free page ships with the English model. Other languages are planned; the downloaded version adds batch folder scanning in the same single file.
Is the text editable?
Yes — output is plain text you can edit in place, copy to the clipboard, or download as a .txt file.
What's the difference between this free page and the paid download?
This page scans unlimited single images, one at a time. The €9 download adds batch scanning of whole folders and runs offline forever as a single HTML file on any computer.
More step-by-step guides
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