What happens when you convert JPG to TXT
- The words in the JPG are recognised with Tesseract, an open-source OCR engine, running in your browser. The OCR engine, about 4 MB, and the language data, about 3 MB for English, are downloaded when you press Convert.
- Clear printed text at a normal size reads well. Handwriting, very small text and photos taken at an angle give poorer results.
How to convert JPG to TXT online
- Press "Choose JPG files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- Choose the language of the text in the image, so the right dictionary is used.
- Press "Convert to TXT". The first time, the OCR engine and English language data download, about 7 MB in all, and are cached after that.
- Save each TXT with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert JPG to TXT?
JPG files usually come from camera photos, web images and email attachments. People convert them to TXT because plain text opens everywhere and is easy to search, copy, edit and paste into other tools.
In short, JPG is good at what it was made for, and TXT is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. JPG opens in every browser and image viewer, while TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone.
How to convert JPG to TXT on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your JPG files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each TXT is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the JPG files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TXT files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose JPG files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted TXT appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose JPG files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The TXT is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for JPG to TXT
Pick the language of the text before converting: Tesseract uses a dictionary for each language, and the right one makes a large difference to accuracy.
For the best result, use a straight, well-lit photo or a scan at 300 dpi, with the text at least 10 pixels tall. Crop away everything that is not text.
JPG vs TXT: the differences
| JPG | TXT | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joint Photographic Experts Group image | Plain text |
| Type | image | document |
| Created by | the Joint Photographic Experts Group | no single author |
| First released | 1992 | 1963 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
| Transparency | No | n/a |
| Animation | No | n/a |
| Vector or raster | Raster | n/a |
| Colour | 24-bit colour, 16.7 million colours | n/a |
| What it holds | 24-bit colour, 16.7 million colours | characters only, with no formatting |
| In a browser | opens in every browser and image viewer | opens in every browser, text editor and phone |
| Common uses | camera photos, web images and email attachments | notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere |
| MIME type | image/jpeg | text/plain |
About JPG and TXT files
What is a JPG file?
JPG discards fine detail the eye is least sensitive to, which is why a photo shrinks to a tenth of its raw size but text and sharp edges pick up blocky artefacts. Every re-save at a lossy setting throws away a little more.
What is a TXT file?
A TXT file holds nothing but characters: no fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually UTF-8, which covers every language.
JPG to TXT not working? Common problems
- The text has mistakes. Try a sharper, straighter image, crop to the text and pick the right language.
- Nothing is recognised. Very small text, handwriting and text on busy backgrounds are hard for OCR.
- The first run is slow. The engine and language data download once, about 7 MB for English, and are cached after that.
Convert JPG to TXT from the command line
Tesseract itself runs on the command line; it writes the recognised text to output.txt:
tesseract input.jpg outputThe converter on this page does the same job in your browser, without installing anything.
JPG to TXT converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting JPG to TXT?
Accuracy depends on the image: clean printed text is usually read almost perfectly, while blurry photos and handwriting produce mistakes worth checking.
Why is the TXT a different size from the JPG?
Plain text and simple HTML contain only words and tags, so the result is usually much smaller than the original.
Are my JPG files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using Tesseract, an open-source OCR engine compiled to WebAssembly, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page and converter engine have loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several JPG files to TXT at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a TXT file?
TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone. TXT is common for notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere.
Is this JPG to TXT converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert JPG to TXT on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.