About Scan to PDF
Scan to PDF turns your device camera into a document scanner. Capture page after page, crop each one to trim away the desk or background, then save the whole stack as a single multi-page PDF. You can fit the PDF to each image or force A4 or Letter pages. Images are captured and assembled entirely on your device — nothing is uploaded.
- No uploads
- Browser-only
- Works offline
- 100% free
How it works
- 1
Open the camera and capture
Grant camera access, frame each page inside the on-screen guide, and tap to capture. Add as many pages as you need.
- 2
Crop and reorder
Drag the corner handles to crop any page down to just the document, or remove a bad capture and shoot it again.
- 3
Save as a PDF
Pick a page size — Fit to image, A4 or Letter — then save. All captured pages are bundled into one downloadable PDF.
When your phone camera beats the office scanner
A flatbed scanner still wins for archival-grade, dead-flat pages, but for most everyday capture the camera in your pocket is faster and — because Scan to PDF keeps everything on-device — more private for sensitive documents. The trade-offs are real and worth knowing before you rely on one over the other.
| Factor | Scan to PDF (camera) | Flatbed / office scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Speed for a few pages | Seconds, anywhere | Slower; needs the hardware |
| Privacy of the document | Stays on your device | Often routed through a networked copier |
| Flatness / edge quality | Depends on your framing and crop | Perfectly flat, clean edges |
| Multi-page assembly | Built in — capture, crop, save as one PDF | Varies by device software |
| Cost and portability | Free, always with you | Fixed location, shared hardware |
Automatic edge detection is marked Coming soon; for now you crop each page by hand, which is what keeps the whole capture on-device with no server-side vision model.
Capturing a page that reads well
- Light it evenly and avoid your own shadow — flat, diffuse light beats a harsh overhead lamp that casts a gradient across the page.
- Fill the on-screen guide with the document and shoot straight down, so you crop away the least and keep text square.
- Use the per-page crop to trim the desk and margins before saving — a tight crop makes a smaller, cleaner PDF.
- Choose the page size deliberately: Fit to image keeps each capture's own shape, while A4 or Letter forces a standard printable page.
- Scans are image-only, so run OCR PDF afterwards if you need to search or copy the text, and Compress PDF if the photos make the file large.
Frequently asked questions about Scan to PDF
Do my document photos get uploaded anywhere?
No. The camera feed and every captured page stay on your device — the PDF is assembled locally in the browser and offered as a download. That makes it safe for IDs, contracts and anything else you wouldn't want on a stranger's server.
Can I fix a page that came out crooked or too wide?
Yes. Each captured page has a crop tool — drag the four corner handles to keep just the document and cut out the surrounding desk or margin. You can also delete a page and recapture it before saving.
Does it automatically detect the document edges?
Not yet — automatic edge detection is marked Coming soon in the tool. For now you frame the page inside the guide and crop manually, which keeps the whole process running on-device with no server-side vision model.
How do I make the scanned PDF searchable?
Scan to PDF produces an image-based PDF, so the text isn't selectable. Run the result through OCR PDF to add an invisible searchable text layer while keeping the scanned look — the two tools are designed to be used back to back.
Privacy, offline use, browser support, and pricing questions are answered on the site-wide FAQ.