Image to Text (OCR)

See what the image to text (ocr) can do

Photos, receipts, notes and scans become editable text in 14 languages.

A receipt, read into text example created with the Image to Text (OCR) — A receipt, read into text

Typed notes, extracted example created with the Image to Text (OCR) — Typed notes, extracted

Try the image to text (ocr)

Three simple steps

1

Upload your image

Drop in a photo, screenshot or scan of anything with text.

2

Choose the language

Pick from 14 languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic for the most accurate reading.

3

Copy or download the text

Run it and the recognised text appears ready to copy, or download it as a .txt file.

Turn a picture of text into text you can edit

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) reads the letters and numbers inside an image and gives you back real, editable text. Instead of retyping a receipt, a slide, a whiteboard photo or a scanned page, you upload the image and copy the words out in seconds.

What people use it for

Pulling figures off a receipt or invoice into a spreadsheet.
Grabbing a quote or paragraph from a screenshot or photo.
Digitising printed notes, books and documents.
Reading text from signs, labels and packaging.
Extracting text from a PDF page that will not let you select it.

Get the most accurate result

Choose the language that matches the text - img.now reads 14, and the right choice sharpens recognition. A clear, level, well-lit image reads far better than a dark or skewed one. The text comes back with its line breaks intact, ready to copy or download as a .txt file. Unlike the other tools, image-to-text gives you words rather than a picture, so nothing is saved to your image files - The result is yours to paste wherever you need it. To describe what an image shows rather than read text from it - generating alt text, a caption and keyword tags - use the AI alt text generator. Run it free in your img.now workspace.

Related guides

AI Image Prompt Structure

Break an AI image prompt into clear parts and see how order and detail change the picture you get back.

Product Photo Prompts That Work

Prompt clean product shots by setting the background, surface, lighting, angle, and lens feel, with white background and lifestyle examples.

Text to Image: A Simple Guide

A clear walkthrough of turning a written description into an image, from prompt to style to ratio to refining the result.

Questions about the image to text (ocr)

What kinds of images can it read?

Photos of documents, receipts, signs and labels, screenshots, scanned pages and PDF pages all work. Clear, well-lit, straight-on text reads best; heavily stylised or very low-resolution text is harder.

Which languages are supported?

Fourteen, including English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Arabic and Hindi. Choosing the right language improves accuracy noticeably.

Can it read handwriting?

It is built for printed and typed text and is most accurate there. Neat handwriting can work, but messy or cursive writing is unreliable - OCR is strongest on machine-printed characters.

What do I get back?

Plain, editable text that preserves line breaks. Copy it straight to your clipboard or download a .txt file to paste into a document, spreadsheet or email.