FastOCR help
Quick answers to the questions people ask us most. If yours is not here, chat with us or send us an email.
Common questions
My photo came out blank or the text is wrong. What can I do?
Take the photo again with the page flat, in even daylight, without flash, and with the page filling the whole picture. Hold the phone straight above the page and keep it still. Crop away anything that is not text. Very small, blurry or handwritten text is harder to read, so get closer. You are not charged for a file that fails.
My PDF has a password. Can FastOCR read it?
No. A PDF locked with a password cannot be read, and you are not charged for it. Open the PDF with its password in the app you normally use, then save or print it as a new PDF without a password, and upload that copy. If it came from a bank or an office, you can also ask them for an unlocked copy.
Where are my files?
If you are signed in, press Profile at the top of the page and look under Your files. They stay there for 30 days. If you are not signed in, your result is only at the link of its results page, so keep that page open or bookmark it. That link works for 7 days.
How do I cancel my plan?
Sign in, press Profile at the top of the page, and press Cancel plan under Plan & billing. Your plan keeps working until the end of the time you have already paid for, and you are not charged again. You can also change your card or plan there with Manage billing.
How long do you keep my files?
Uploaded files and results are deleted automatically after 30 days. Without an account, the link to a result stops working after 7 days. Files are encrypted while stored and while being sent, and no person looks at your documents.
What does it cost?
Image OCR is free. Try it without an account; sign in for unlimited free image OCR. PDFs use pages; every free account gets free pages each month. The API has its own pages. Bank statements use statement pages; your first ones are free. Without an account you can read 3 images a day. A free account also gets 50 pages a month. Every account also gets 50 free bank statement pages, once. If you need more, the pricing page lists every limit, the paid plan and one-time page packs. You can cancel a plan at any time.
My bank statement totals don't match. What now?
Your result shows a balance check. If it says Not reconciled or Could not be checked, compare the dates, amounts and money in or out with your paper statement, and fix any row in your spreadsheet. Scanned or photographed statements are harder to read than PDFs from your bank, so download the PDF from online banking if you can. Credit card and loan statements are not supported and are not charged.
What happens if my file fails?
You are not charged for a file that fails. The results page says what went wrong. Most problems are a password on the PDF, a damaged file, or a picture with no readable text. Fix the file and upload it again. If it still fails, contact us and include the link to the results page so we can find your file.
Do I need an account?
Not for single images, up to 3 a day. Sign in for unlimited free image OCR. You need a free account for PDFs and bank statements. Sign in with Google, or type your email address and enter the code we send you. There is no password to remember.
Which FastOCR should I use?
Use the website for most things. It works on phones, tablets and computers, with nothing to install, and it is the only place for bank statements, translation and AI Polish. If you have many scanned PDFs or private papers, the free Mac and Windows app reads them on your own computer, works without internet and never uploads your files.
Still stuck? Talk to us
The chat answers straight away. For a problem with a file, email us and include the link to its results page. We usually reply within one or two working days.
Our email address
Technical troubleshooting
Detailed guides on scan resolution, searchable PDFs and right-to-left languages are in our Q&A.
Open the troubleshooting guides