Skip to content
Rabbit LabsFilebender More from Rabbit Labs

No ads · No watermarks · Files deleted after an hour

Image to Text

Copy the words out of photos, screenshots and scans as plain text.

Add a JPG, PNG or TIFF and get a TXT file of its words, ready to paste into an email, a document or a search box.

Almost any file

Images, vector art, video, audio, documents, spreadsheets, slides, ebooks and archives: more than 400 conversions. Before anything runs, Filebender says what a conversion will lose and estimates the size of video, audio and many pictures; other files show their size once converted. It compresses PDFs, pictures and videos to the size you choose.

No ads, no watermarks

With a free account: 20 files a day, 2 of them videos, each up to 500 MB. No plan has ads, and nothing is stamped on your files. A pass is one payment that never renews, and one you haven't used can be refunded in full.

Private by default

Files are deleted an hour after converting, or at once when you ask, and photo location is removed unless you choose to keep it. Photos converted to JPG, PNG or WebP are done on your device when your browser can, so they never leave it. They still need your account and count towards your plan.

How to copy the text from an image

  1. Create a free account with Google or your email address, or sign in.
  2. Choose your files: drop them on the box, pick them from your computer, open them from Google Drive, or paste a link.
  3. Pick the format each file should become. The gear button has size, quality and other settings.
  4. Press “Convert”, then download each file, or all of them in one ZIP.

What you get

A TXT file with the words in reading order and blocks of text kept apart. A TIFF with several pages gives one file with a page break between pages. Pictures, colours, tables and layout aren't kept: only the words.

Getting a good read

Sharp, evenly lit photos of printed text read well, and screenshots usually read cleanly because their text is crisp. Sideways pictures are turned upright and tilted ones straightened first, but blur, shadows, handwriting and very small print cause mistakes.

Check before you rely on it

OCR can confuse characters that look alike, such as 0 and O or 1 and l, so check names, numbers and addresses against the picture. To keep the picture as well as its words, make a searchable PDF instead.

Each picture counts as one file. A TIFF with many pages is read up to 50 pages on the free plan and 500 with a pass.

Questions

How accurate is the text?

Typed or printed text in a clear picture comes out close to word for word. Accuracy drops with blur, glare, low light and unusual fonts, so a quick read-through is worth it.

Can it read handwriting?

Neat capital letters sometimes read well, but joined-up handwriting usually doesn't. It's made for printed and typed text.

Can I use photos from my iPhone?

iPhone photos saved as HEIC need converting to JPG first, with HEIC to JPG. Screenshots are PNGs already and work as they are.

Where is the text read?

On Filebender's servers on Google Cloud, not on your device. Your file and the text read from it are deleted an hour after the conversion finishes, or straight away when you press “Delete files now”. Nobody looks at them, and they're never used for anything else.

Which languages can it read?

English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Hindi. English is used unless you choose others with the gear button, up to three at once.

Is Filebender free?

Yes, with a free account: 20 files every day (up to 2 of them videos), each up to 500 MB, with no watermark and no ads. Make the account with Google or your email address. Files converted on your device count the same way as the rest. If you need more, a Day, Week or Month Pass is one payment that never renews; see the Pricing page.