# QuillBot image to text alternative for PDFs and scans

## Short answer
QuillBot image to text is a free browser tool with no sign-up required. Its upload box lists JPG, PNG, JPEG and WEBP files up to 10 MB, and the page describes copying or downloading the text. FastOCR (we make it) is an alternative when you also need a searchable PDF, Word or Markdown, or want to upload a scanned PDF.

By the FastOCR team · Updated 4 November 2026 · Documentation checked 4 November 2026 · We make FastOCR. Accuracy figures come from our own test of each tool we scored, ours included, on the same scans; other facts link to each tool's own pages. [How we tested](https://fastocr.org/vs/quillbot#method)

Try it here: upload an image or scanned page at https://fastocr.org/image-to-text

## Verdict
**Pick FastOCR if:**
- Your input is a scanned PDF, while QuillBot’s upload box lists image formats.
- You need the scan as a searchable PDF alongside editable text exports.
- You want automatic language detection and a published list of supported languages.

**Pick QuillBot if:**
- You have an image within its listed formats and want copied or downloaded text.
- You already use QuillBot’s writing tools and want its image-to-text page in the same toolkit.
- You want to use its advertised free image conversion without creating an account.

## FastOCR and QuillBot side by side
| Factor | FastOCR | QuillBot |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Account for image OCR | No sign-up needed | No sign-up required ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| Input listed by the tool | Images and PDFs | JPG, PNG, JPEG and WEBP in the upload box ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| File size | See the uploader for the current limit | 10 MB maximum ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| Result described | Text to copy plus searchable PDF, Word and Markdown downloads | Copy the recognized text or download a .txt file ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| Searchable PDF export | Each image receives one; scanned PDFs also come back searchable | Not stated ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| Named OCR languages | 100+ languages, detected automatically; see [languages](https://fastocr.org/languages) | Not stated ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| Other tools nearby | Translation and AI Polish for a completed image’s text | Navigation links to Paraphraser, Grammar Checker and Translate ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |
| Accuracy measured here | Separate [benchmark evidence](https://fastocr.org/blog/ocr-accuracy-comparison-benchmarks) is available for FastOCR | Not tested |
| Free output watermark | No watermark on image results | Not stated ([source](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text)) |

## Why FastOCR
- **Photos and screenshots.** Every image upload gets raw text and a single-page searchable PDF, plus Word and Markdown.
- **Scanned PDFs.** Scanned PDF in, searchable PDF out; text copies in the right order, including right-to-left.
- **Exports.** Raw text, Word (.docx) and Markdown.
- **Translation and AI Polish.** Translate or clean up the text of a finished image.

## Proof
QuillBot was not included in our accuracy run. We checked its public image-to-text page without submitting a file, so this page compares documented workflows and outputs rather than assigning it an OCR score.

## What can you upload to QuillBot image to text?
QuillBot’s [image-to-text upload box](https://quillbot.com/image-tools/image-to-text) lists JPG, PNG, JPEG and WEBP with a maximum file size of 10 MB. The page describes extracting words from pictures, screenshots and scanned pages, with no sign-up required. It does not name PDF in that upload list. That is the documented interface we reviewed, not a test proving that every other file type is rejected.

For a scanned PDF, FastOCR has a PDF upload flow that reads its pages and adds a searchable text layer. A free account is required, and processing uses the account’s document-page allowance. Image uploads can start without an account. Keep these two cases separate when choosing a tool: a photo of a page is an image, while a document containing many scanned pages may arrive as a PDF. [PDF to Text](https://fastocr.org/pdf-to-text) and [image to text](https://fastocr.org/image-to-text) cover those inputs separately.

## Text to copy, or a searchable document to keep?
QuillBot describes copying the recognized words or downloading a .txt file. Its image-to-text page does not specify a searchable-PDF, Word or Markdown export, so we leave those capabilities unstated. We also leave its OCR language list, daily allowance and watermark policy unstated where the page gives no detail. A free conversion label alone does not establish unlimited use.

FastOCR’s image result includes raw text, Word, Markdown and a single-page searchable PDF. This lets you copy the words, edit the text in a document, or retain a searchable version of the original scan. The Word export rebuilds text for editing and does not promise identical layout or fonts. For longer scans, [make a PDF searchable](https://fastocr.org/make-pdf-searchable) explains the corresponding PDF workflow and its account requirement.

Figure: what FastOCR gives back besides plain text, a searchable PDF whose copied Urdu text keeps reading order and bank statement rows in a spreadsheet. The statement rows are illustrations.

## Where QuillBot’s writing tools fit
QuillBot puts image-to-text in a toolkit whose navigation links to paraphrasing, grammar checking and translation. That makes it a reasonable option to consider when recognized words are headed into a writing task. These links establish which tools are offered nearby; they do not establish that OCR automatically hands text to them, that every tool has the same free allowance, or that no further account step is required. Check the particular writing tool before relying on it.

FastOCR supports translation and AI Polish as follow-up actions on a completed image. They act on its recognized text; they are not available for PDFs. AI Polish is for cleaning up recognition errors, not a general paraphrasing promise. Use [AI Polish](https://fastocr.org/ai-polish) or [image translation](https://fastocr.org/translate) when that matches the task, then review names, figures and other important details against the source image.

## Choose QuillBot if
- Your source is one of the image formats QuillBot lists and is within 10 MB.
- Recognized text to copy or download is sufficient for your next step.
- You want to explore the writing tools linked from QuillBot’s own navigation.

## FAQ
### Does QuillBot have an image-to-text tool?

Yes. QuillBot has a browser image-to-text converter whose page describes extracting editable text from pictures, screenshots and scanned pages. We rechecked that page for this comparison, but did not submit files or measure its recognition accuracy.

### Is QuillBot image to text free?

Yes. Its page advertises free conversion without sign-up and lists a 10 MB maximum file size. We found no numeric daily allowance on the reviewed page, so this comparison does not describe the service as unlimited.

### Which file formats does QuillBot list?

Its upload box lists JPG, PNG, JPEG and WEBP. PDF is not named in that list. We did not upload a PDF to test rejection or acceptance, so we do not turn that omission into a claim that PDF input is impossible.

### Does it return a searchable PDF or Word file?

The page we checked describes copying or downloading text but does not specify searchable PDF or Word output. FastOCR supplies both of those formats, plus raw text and Markdown, from an uploaded image; scanned PDFs need a free account.

### Can FastOCR paraphrase the recognized text?

FastOCR’s AI Polish cleans up the text from a completed image, and image translation is another optional follow-up. It does not promise a general paraphrasing workflow. Those actions apply to images, rather than PDF uploads.

### Which OCR is more accurate, QuillBot or FastOCR?

This comparison cannot rank their accuracy because we have not run QuillBot on our test scans. FastOCR’s published benchmark describes its measured results separately. Try representative pages and check the output before choosing an OCR workflow for important documents.

## Method
We reviewed QuillBot’s image-to-text page on 4 November 2026, including its upload-box labels and output description. No files were uploaded and no account was created. QuillBot is untested in the benchmark; unknown features remain unstated rather than being treated as unavailable.

## Change log
- 1 November 2026: Published the QuillBot comparison.
- 4 November 2026: Re-read the accessible tool page and migrated to the comparison template.

## Related comparisons
- [image-to-text.ai comparison](https://fastocr.org/vs/image-to-text-ai)
- [Clean up recognized image text](https://fastocr.org/ai-polish)
- [Extract words from an image](https://fastocr.org/image-to-text)
- [Extract text from a PDF](https://fastocr.org/pdf-to-text)
- [ChatGPT OCR vs FastOCR: a chat reply or a dedicated OCR tool?](https://fastocr.org/vs/chatgpt)
- [Claude OCR vs FastOCR: reading scans and PDFs](https://fastocr.org/vs/claude)