01 ↗
JPG↖
Add a picture
Choose a photo, screenshot or scan from your device. You can select up to five at a time.
FREE IMAGE TO TEXT CONVERTER
Turn a picture
into real text.
Extract words from screenshots, photos and scanned documents. Our free OCR tool turns the writing in your JPG, PNG or WebP image into text you can copy, edit and download.
Browser-based OCR Up to 5 images No account
YOUR IMAGE WORKSPACE
FREEImage to text (OCR)
Drop an image here
JPG, PNG, WebP or BMP — up to 5 images
15 MB maximum per imageHave a screenshot?
Images are processed locally. Nothing is uploaded to our servers.
Selected images
✳
Recognises printed English text. Clear, upright images work best. Review important numbers and names.
✦✱✓
Keep your images to yourself.
Everything runs in this browser tab.
⌁Private image reading
Recognition runs on your device, so photos are not stored here.
▧Copy every word
Select text per image or copy all results together.
⇩Download plain text
Get a lightweight TXT file for notes or editing.
HOW IT WORKS
Image to text in three steps
Turn writing inside a picture into editable words without installing an app.
02 ↗
⌕
Recognise its text
Our OCR engine analyses the image locally and finds printed English characters.
03 ↗
✓ READY
Copy or save
Review the recognised text, copy one result or download everything as a TXT file.
PRACTICAL OCR
Extract words from everyday images.
OCR is useful when you can't highlight or copy text because it's part of a picture.
Text from screenshots
Turn an error message, presentation slide or screen capture into copyable words without retyping.
Text from receipts
Copy printed details from a receipt photo for personal records. Double-check quantities and totals.
Text from notes
Extract printed notes or photographed pages. Handwriting may be less reliable than clear type.
Text from scanned pages
Recognise wording in flat scans and older documents where there is no underlying text layer.
BETTER RESULTS
How to improve OCR accuracy
- Choose a sharp image with readable letters.
- Keep the page straight and well lit.
- Crop away distracting backgrounds and shadows.
- Avoid tiny, highly decorative or handwritten text.
- Proofread names, dates, figures and punctuation.
WHAT TO EXPECT
What image OCR cannot guarantee
The result is plain text, not a replica of the image. Layout, diagrams, tables and visual formatting may not be preserved. Recognition is currently optimised for printed English and can make mistakes.
For multi-page documents, consider the PDF to Text converter, which can extract text from PDFs and optionally OCR scanned pages.
HELPFUL READING
All PDF and OCR guides ↗Use OCR with confidence
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Image to text FAQs
What the tool can read, what stays private and how to get useful results.
How can I convert a JPG or PNG into text?
Choose the image above, click “Extract image text”, then copy the recognised words or download the TXT file. The same process works with supported WebP and BMP images.
Can I extract text from a screenshot?
Yes. Save the screenshot as an image or paste it from your clipboard. Clear screenshots of printed text usually work better than blurred or heavily compressed images.
Is image-to-text conversion free and private?
Yes. No account or payment is required for this tool. Recognition takes place in your browser; the image files are not uploaded to Extract Text Now.
Does this work like Google Lens?
It performs one related task: optical character recognition. Unlike Google Lens, it does not offer visual search, translation or identification of objects. It focuses on extracting English text into a copyable and downloadable format.
Can it recognise handwriting or another language?
It is optimised for printed English. Some clear handwriting may be readable, but results are not reliable enough to promise handwriting transcription or other languages.
Will the text keep the same layout as the picture?
No. OCR produces plain text. Pictures, logos, diagrams and exact spacing are not recreated, and columns or tables may need manual editing.
ALSO WORKING WITH PDFS?
Try PDF to Text ↗Convert a whole PDF to text.
Extract its words page by page, with optional OCR for scanned pages.