German characters, recognized properly
Umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and the Eszett (ß) are recognized as real characters, so Straße and Gebühren stay searchable and copy out correctly.
Handwritten German is recognized too, alongside printed text on the same page. Neat block letters come out best; hurried cursive is less reliable.
No language setting needed
You don't pick a language. The OCR detects it on each page, so a folder of German files and English files can go in the same batch.
Documents that mix German with English or French, as in Swiss and Austrian paperwork, are read in one pass without choosing a language.
Searching German text in the result
German compound words are long, but PDF search matches parts of words, so searching for "Miete" also finds Mietvertrag and Nebenkostenmiete.
German documents people convert
- Invoices and receipts (Rechnungen, Quittungen)
- Contracts and leases (Verträge, Mietverträge)
- Tax documents and notices (Steuerbescheide)
- Payslips and HR records
- Handwritten forms and notes
Older and harder documents
Modern print and typewriter text work well. Documents set in Fraktur or other blackletter typefaces, common before the 1940s, are recognized less reliably, so test a few pages first.
If a file already has a text layer, it is returned unchanged. Tick Force OCR to replace a poor existing text layer; see how Force OCR works.
How to convert
- Create an account. It comes with 10 free pages to try it, valid for 7 days, with no credit card.
- Drop in PDFs, JPGs or PNGs, up to 50 files at a time.
- Most files are ready in 10 to 30 seconds. Download each searchable PDF, or all of them as a ZIP.
After that, monthly plans start at $9 for 250 pages, or you can buy a one-off pack of 250 pages for $14.99 or 1,000 pages for $39.99. Pack pages never expire.
Questions
- Do I need to choose German before uploading?
- No. The language is detected automatically, including on pages that mix German and English.
- Does it read handwritten German?
- Yes. Handwritten German is supported alongside printed text. Neat handwriting gives the best results.
- Will the document look different?
- No. The page image stays the same. OCR adds an invisible text layer on top of it.
- Are my files kept?
- No. Files are deleted automatically within an hour of processing.