JPG to text converter
Upload a .jpg or .jpeg and get the words back as plain text you can copy, edit, or save as a TXT file. Phone photos, scans, and images saved from a chat all work.
First extraction free · no account needed · your file is deleted after it is read
A JPG to text converter reads the pixels your file still has
JPEG saves space by discarding detail, and the detail it discards first is the thin edges that letters are made of. At normal sizes that loss is harmless: in our test, a 760-pixel-wide invoice saved at quality 30 still came back with every total, date, and account number right.
The trouble starts when small text meets heavy compression. Shrink the same invoice to 45% and save it at quality 30, and the transcription stays fluent while the numbers go wrong. The original camera file is almost always the better upload than the copy that went through a chat app.
Where this one earns its keep
Phone photos saved as .jpg or .jpeg
Scanned pages and receipts
Images forwarded through WhatsApp or email
One file in, one block of text out
invoice.jpg — 760 px wide, JPEG quality 60, fine print around 10 px tall
INVOICE 2026-0418 Northfield Print Co. · 14 Mill Lane, Leeds LS1 4AB Design retainer, August ··· 1,850.00 Print proofs (3) ··· 240.00 Total due ··· 2,121.50 Pay to IBAN GB29 NWBK 6016 1331 9268 19 by 30 Sept.
How to convert JPG to text
The same steps work for .jpg and .jpeg files on a phone or a computer, with nothing to install.
- Pick the earliest copy of the image you have: the original photo or scan, not a screenshot of it or the version saved from a chat.
- Upload it above. Files up to 10 MB are accepted; large phone photos are rotated upright and resized in your browser before upload.
- Wait a few seconds while it is read.
- Check names, figures, and dates against the image, then press Copy or Download TXT.
What JPG compression does to OCR: our test
To see where JPEG starts costing accuracy, we rendered one invoice with twelve details that must come out exactly right — the invoice number, a postcode, a date, four amounts, an IBAN, a percentage, an email address, a product code, and "E&OE" in 10-pixel type — then saved it at different JPEG qualities and sizes. Each file went through the same model and prompt this site uses, three times.
| Image | JPEG quality 75 | Quality 30 | Quality 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full size, 760 px wide | 12 (at quality 95 and 60 too) | 12, 12, 12 | 11, 11, 11 |
| Shrunk to 60%, 456 px | 12, 12, 12 | 11, 10, 11 | 5, 4, 0 |
| Shrunk to 45%, 342 px | 11, 11, 11 | 4, 7, 6 | Unreadable |
The failure to watch for is a confident wrong number
The 342-pixel file at quality 30 did not fail with an error. It returned a clean, well-formatted invoice with the total as 1,930.50 instead of 2,121.50, the shipping line rewritten as "Next-Day Courier", and two digits of the IBAN changed. Nothing in the output hinted that anything was off.
That is why the first check after converting a JPG is the numbers. Amounts, dates, account numbers, and codes are where compression damage lands, because a digit carries no context that would let a reader, or a model, correct it.
Resending an image through a messaging app compounds the loss. We shrank the full-size invoice to 85% and re-saved it as a JPEG three times, the way a forwarded image degrades: 11 or 12 of 12 details survived. After five rounds at quality 50 only 7 to 9 did, and the total came back as 2.121.50 with a full stop in place of the comma.
Converting the JPG to PNG first does not help
A PNG saved from a damaged JPG keeps every compression artefact, just in a bigger file. Our quality-10 invoice converted to PNG grew from 11 KB to 91 KB and read exactly as the JPG did: the same 11 of 12 details, with the same "rn-11" misread as "rn-li". Upload the JPG as it is.
What does help is going back up the chain for a larger or less compressed copy. If you are the one saving the image, save text-heavy captures as PNG from the start — the PNG to text page shows how much small print that preserves.
From JPG to a TXT file, Word, or Google Docs
The result is plain text in reading order, with line breaks kept where they carry meaning. Download TXT saves it as a .txt file; Copy puts it on the clipboard so it pastes into Word, Google Docs, or an email without dragging in fonts or styling.
Layout is not rebuilt. Columns, tables, and the position of a logo or stamp are not reproduced, so a structured document like an invoice comes back as lines of text. JPG and JPEG are the same format; the three-letter extension is a leftover from older file systems, and both upload the same way.
If your JPG is a phone photo of a page, photo to text covers the capture side. For a photo of handwriting, see handwriting to text.
Step by step: How to extract text from an image: a practical guide
Common questions about jpg to text
Clear, well-lit text gives the model more signal. These are the details that matter for this format.
How do I convert a JPG to text for free?
Upload the .jpg above and the words come back as editable text. The first extraction is free and needs no account; after that, extractions use credits.
Can I convert a JPG to a TXT file?
Yes. After the text appears, press Download TXT to save it as a .txt file, or Copy to paste it anywhere.
Is JPEG to text the same as JPG to text?
Yes. JPG and JPEG are the same file format with two spellings of the extension. Upload either one as it is.
Why did my JPG convert with wrong numbers?
Usually small text plus heavy compression. In our test, a small invoice at JPEG quality 30 came back fluent but with a wrong total. Find a larger or less compressed copy and check every figure.
Should I convert my JPG to PNG before OCR?
No. In our test a PNG made from a damaged JPG read exactly as badly as the JPG itself. Converting keeps the damage and only makes the file bigger.
Can I paste the text into Word?
Yes. The output is plain text, so it pastes cleanly into Word or Google Docs. Fonts, columns, and tables are not recreated.
How big can the JPG be?
Up to 10 MB. Large phone photos are resized in your browser before upload, which also makes them read faster.
Can it tell me which font a JPG uses?
No. OCRphoto reads the words, not the typeface. It returns the text itself as plain characters.
Another file, another page
JPG to text, without the retyping
Your first extraction is free and does not need an account.