2026-07-273 min read
How to Extract Text from a PDF
Need the text from a PDF for notes, analysis, or repurposing? Here are several ways to extract it.
Use PDF to Markdown Conversion
The PDF to Markdown tool extracts clean text from your PDF and formats it as Markdown — perfect for notes, documentation, or blog posts.
Use PDF to JSON for Structured Output
For programmatic use, PDF to JSON extracts text in a structured format with page-by-page organization.
Copy and Paste (for Short Documents)
For a few paragraphs, simply open the PDF in your browser's built-in viewer, select the text, and copy.
Important Limitation
These methods work on digital-born PDFs where text is selectable. Scanned documents (image-based PDFs) require OCR, which isn't available in basic free tools.