If you’ve ever struggled to extract text from a PDF — especially from scanned documents or image-based pages — you know how frustrating it can be. That’s exactly why PDF to Text converters exist: to turn locked or image-based PDF content into editable text you can use for writing, editing, translating, summarizing, or feeding into other AI tools.
In this comparison, we look at two popular solutions:
👉 On4T PDF to Text — our online text extractor at on4t.com/pdf-to-text
👉 iLovePDF PDF to Text / OCR tools — part of the iLovePDF suite
Let’s break down how they compare — feature by feature, benefit by benefit.
🔍 1. Core Purpose: Simple Yet Powerful Text Extraction
📌 On4T PDF to Text
- Designed specifically to convert PDF files into plain, editable text instantly.
- Works with both text-based PDFs and scanned/image PDFs via built-in OCR.
- No sign-up or subscription required.
- Converts content cleanly — ideal for writers, students, researchers, and developers.
Basically, it’s a zero-friction, no-software online tool that just does one job very well: PDF → editable text.
📌 iLovePDF’s PDF to Text / OCR Workflows
- iLovePDF is a full PDF platform with many tools: merge, compress, convert to Word, Excel, and more.
- PDF → text extraction usually runs through its OCR PDF tool or make PDF searchable tool.
- Designed for searchable PDFs or copying selectable text — not always a standalone “download text file” experience like On4T.
🧠 In short: iLovePDF aims to help you search and copy text or make documents searchable, whereas On4T’s PDF to Text lets you extract and download the raw text directly.
⭐ 2. Free, Easy & Fast: Which Tool Wins?
🆓 On4T PDF to Text
- 100% free — no watermarks, no account, no limits.
- Simple upload → convert → download flow.
- Built for people who just want text out of a PDF.
💡 iLovePDF
- Also offers free PDF tools and basic OCR.
- Some advanced OCR features may require a Premium account (especially for Word or deep OCR extraction).
- Focuses more on general PDF management with text extraction as one part of a bigger toolset.
👉 Bottom line: If your only goal is straight text extraction, On4T is faster and more streamlined for that task.
🧠 3. OCR for Scanned PDFs – Accuracy & Use Cases
📄 On4T PDF to Text
- Automatically detects whether your file is text-based or scanned and applies OCR when needed.
- Great for scanned forms, books, receipts, or image PDFs where text isn’t selectable.
📄 iLovePDF OCR Tools
- Uses OCR technology mainly to make PDFs searchable or for conversion into Word/HTML.
- Provides options to select language and improve OCR accuracy.
- Often part of a larger set of PDF editing and conversion tools.
🧾 Use Case Tip: If you need extracted plain text files (.txt) ready to edit, On4T is more direct. If you want to make a PDF searchable or editable in Word, iLovePDF’s tools support that as part of a broader workflow.
🛠 4. Workflow & Output: What You Actually Get
📌 On4T PDF to Text
✔ Clean editable text
✔ No formatting distractions
✔ Copy, paste, or use with other tools like translators or AI
✔ Works in any browser — laptop or mobile
📌 iLovePDF
✔ Searchable PDFs with selectable text
✔ Option to convert into Word, Excel, etc. — useful for editing content inside structured docs.
✔ Part of a larger collaborative PDF platform — useful if you’re also editing or annotating.
💡 Quick takeaway: On4T gives you the raw text you need right now. iLovePDF gives you a versatile PDF editing ecosystem with text features included.
🏁 Conclusion: Which Should You Use?
| Feature | On4T PDF to Text | iLovePDF |
| Quick Text Extraction | ✅ Best | ✅ Good |
| OCR for Scanned PDFs | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Available |
| Free, No Sign-Up | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Sometimes limited |
| Simple Downloadable Output | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Often inside other workflows |
| Part of Larger PDF Suite | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
🔍 Bottom Line:
➡️ Use On4T PDF to Text if you want clean, editable text quickly and free — especially for blogs, research, writing, or AI workflows.
➡️ Use iLovePDF if you need full PDF editing, searchable docs, and multiple types of conversions in one place.
🚀 Get Started Now
👉 Try the powerful, fast, and free On4T PDF to Text Converter: https://on4t.com/pdf-to-text
Turn your PDFs into plain text in seconds — no software, no limits, and no sign-ups required.