Is it free to scan to PDF here?

Yes. Every feature is free, including the text recognition, with no page limit, no watermark, no trial and no account.

Do I need to install an app?

No. The scanner is a web page and works in any modern browser. On a phone you can add it to your home screen, and it then opens like an app and works offline.

Can I turn a photo I already took into a PDF?

Yes. Choose Import images instead of Scan and pick one or more photos. They are straightened and cleaned up the same way as a page taken with the camera. One photo opens the corner and clean-up screens; several are done in one go with the default settings, and you can tap any page to adjust its corners, filter or rotation before you export.

Will the text in the PDF be searchable?

For English text, yes. Recognition writes an invisible text layer behind each page image, so you can search and select inside the PDF. A page in another script, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, is still scanned and exported, but gets no searchable layer.

Are my documents uploaded anywhere?

No. Every step runs in the browser tab on your device, and finished documents are stored in that browser. You can confirm it in the developer tools: after the app has loaded, scanning and exporting make no network requests.

Which page sizes can the PDF use?

A4, US Letter, US Legal, or the shape of the scan itself. You also choose the image quality, from a smaller file to the best quality.

Guide

Scan to PDF in your browser, free

Scan to PDF with the camera you already carry. OpenDocScan turns a photo of a paper page into a straightened, searchable PDF, right in the browser on your phone or laptop. There is nothing to install, no sign-up, no watermark, and the pages are never uploaded.

Open the scanner

What happens when you scan to PDF here

A phone photo of a page is not a scan: it is taken at an angle, lit by whatever lamp was nearby, and saved as a picture you cannot search. When you scan a document to PDF with OpenDocScan, the photo is fixed before it is written into the file:

the edges of the sheet are found, and you can drag the corners if they are off;
the perspective is straightened, so the page comes out rectangular;
the lighting is evened out, so the paper reads white and the ink reads black;
the text is recognised and stored as an invisible layer behind the page image;
the pages are written into one PDF, in the order you arranged them.

All of it happens inside the tab. OpenDocScan is a free document scanner that runs on your own device, so when you scan to PDF with it, the paper never leaves your hands and the file never leaves your device.

How to scan a document to PDF, step by step

Open the scanner. Go to opendocscan.com on your phone or laptop and allow the browser to use the camera.
Photograph the page. Tap Scan and hold the camera over the sheet; the outline follows the page as you move. To scan to PDF from a photo you already have, choose Import images instead.
Check the corners. If the outline caught the wrong edge, drag any of the four corners onto the page, or keep the whole image.
Clean it up. Choose Photo, Enhance or B&W, rotate the page if needed, and set the brightness.
Add the other pages. Tap Add page for each further sheet. Pages can be reordered or dropped before anything is written.
Export. Pick a page size and image quality, leave Recognise text (OCR) on for a searchable file, then Save & export and Save PDF, or Share it straight to another app where your browser supports sharing.

Scan multiple pages into one PDF

There is no page limit. Every page you add collects in a tray, so a signed contract, a set of receipts or a school worksheet becomes one file rather than a folder of photos. That is the main reason to scan to PDF instead of sending pictures: one document, in order, that opens the same way on every computer.

A searchable PDF, not just a picture

With text recognition on, each page gets an invisible layer of the words it contains, laid behind the image. You can search the PDF, select a sentence and copy it, while the page still looks exactly like the scan. Recognition reads English today. A page in another script, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, still scans and exports cleanly, but it gets no searchable layer, and the scanner tells you so instead of filling the file with guesses.

Finished documents also stay searchable inside the app, so you can find an old scan by a word printed on it. How the text layer works, what it can and cannot read, and how to check the result are in the guide to making a searchable PDF from paper.

Private by design: the pages stay on your device

Most ways to scan to PDF online send your page to a server and send a file back. Here there is no server step. The scanning code, the text recognition and its language model all run in the browser tab, and finished documents are kept in that browser's own storage. You can check it yourself: open the developer tools, switch to the Network panel, and scan a page. After the app has loaded, nothing else is requested.

The same design means it keeps working with no connection once the page has loaded, and that your documents do not sync to other devices. Clearing your browsing data for the site deletes them.

Scan to PDF on iPhone, Android or a laptop

Any modern browser will do. On a phone the scanner uses the rear camera, and you can add it to your home screen so it opens like an app. On a laptop, use the webcam or import photos you took on another device. The steps to scan to PDF are the same everywhere.

Questions

Is it free to scan to PDF here?: Yes. Every feature is free, including the text recognition, with no page limit, no watermark, no trial and no account.
Do I need to install an app?: No. The scanner is a web page and works in any modern browser. On a phone you can add it to your home screen, and it then opens like an app and works offline.
Can I turn a photo I already took into a PDF?: Yes. Choose Import images instead of Scan and pick one or more photos. They are straightened and cleaned up the same way as a page taken with the camera. One photo opens the corner and clean-up screens; several are done in one go with the default settings, and you can tap any page to adjust its corners, filter or rotation before you export.
Will the text in the PDF be searchable?: For English text, yes. Recognition writes an invisible text layer behind each page image, so you can search and select inside the PDF. A page in another script, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean, is still scanned and exported, but gets no searchable layer.
Are my documents uploaded anywhere?: No. Every step runs in the browser tab on your device, and finished documents are stored in that browser. You can confirm it in the developer tools: after the app has loaded, scanning and exporting make no network requests.
Which page sizes can the PDF use?: A4, US Letter, US Legal, or the shape of the scan itself. You also choose the image quality, from a smaller file to the best quality.

Ready to scan to PDF?

Open the scanner, point the camera at the first page, and save the PDF when you are done. The whole document scanner is free and stays on your device.

Open the scanner