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Scan to PDF

Capture document scans from your camera.

✓ Free 🔒 Secure ⚡ Fast 📁 Up to 25MB
Server processed Processed on our servers over HTTPS, then deleted within 1 hour. Files are processed automatically. No human reviews your documents, and PDFRun does not use them to train models.
Drop your file here

or click to browse — supports PDF files up to 25MB

✓ Scan to PDF — done

Processed successfully. Download below.

How to use

  1. 1 Drop or click to upload your file
  2. 2 Adjust options if shown
  3. 3 Click Scan to PDF
  4. 4 Download your result instantly
🚀 Go Pro
  • Files up to 1 GB
  • Unlimited jobs/hour
  • Batch processing (up to 100 files)
  • Priority support
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🔒 Privacy

Files are processed securely and deleted within 1 hour. Files are processed automatically. No human reviews your documents, and PDFRun does not use them to train models.

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Why this works

Capture document scans straight from your camera — phone or laptop — and turn them into a clean, multi-page PDF. Use existing photos as input too. Auto-crops, auto-deskews, and combines pages into one file.

Scan to PDF is the everyday alternative to a flatbed scanner. Most office paperwork doesn’t need scanner-grade output; a phone camera with reasonable lighting and good auto-cropping produces PDFs that are indistinguishable from scanner output for downstream use (email, filing, OCR, signing).

Two input modes. Camera mode opens your device’s rear camera in-browser; point it at a document, the tool detects the document edges and triggers a capture when alignment is good. Tap to capture additional pages — each one is auto-cropped and deskewed (rotated to be square-on even if you photographed it at an angle). When you’re done, all captures combine into a single PDF in the order you took them.

Upload mode accepts existing photos (JPG, PNG) from your camera roll. Same auto-crop and auto-deskew pass runs on each upload, so phone photos taken in advance still produce clean output.

For best results: shoot in good ambient light (or window light); use a contrasting background (the page should stand out from what’s underneath); hold the camera roughly parallel to the page (auto-deskew handles up to ~30° of skew cleanly; beyond that, results degrade); for handwritten notes, write firmly with a dark pen so the text contrasts.

If the document needs to be searchable, run the output through OCR afterwards — Scan to PDF produces image-based PDFs by default for speed and quality, but OCR adds a text layer in seconds.

Files are processed on our servers and deleted within 1 hour. Camera capture is processed client-side first (cropping and deskew happen in your browser before upload) so your full-resolution photo is never sent.

How it works

  1. 1
    Pick capture mode
    Camera (capture pages live on your phone or laptop) or Upload (pick existing photos from your camera roll).
  2. 2
    Capture or upload each page
    In camera mode, point at the document; the tool detects edges and captures when alignment is good. Tap for each additional page.
  3. 3
    Auto-crop and deskew
    Each page is auto-cropped to the document outline and rotated to be square-on. Manual fine-tune is available if a page needs adjustment.
  4. 4
    Save as PDF
    All pages combine into one PDF in capture order. Run through OCR afterwards if you need searchable text.

Real-world uses

Anyone without a scanner

Quick scans of receipts, contracts, and tax documents using just your phone camera.

Remote workers

Sign a printed form, photograph the signed pages, and email back as a clean PDF — no scanner needed.

Travellers

Capture hotel receipts and travel docs on the road; combine into one expense PDF when home.

Students

Photograph lecture notes from a friend’s notebook; turn into a clean PDF for your own archive.

Common questions

Do I need a flatbed scanner?

No. A phone camera with reasonable lighting and the auto-crop / auto-deskew pass produces PDFs that look indistinguishable from scanner output for everyday use. For archival-quality reproduction (museum-grade), a flatbed is still better; for normal office work, the phone wins on convenience.

Will the text be searchable?

Not by default — Scan to PDF produces image-based PDFs. Run the output through OCR (also free) to add a searchable text layer. The whole flow takes under a minute for a typical contract.

How many pages can I scan at once?

No hard cap. The combined PDF’s size needs to fit your plan’s upload cap (25 MB free, 1 GB Pro), so very long documents in colour may bump the limit — in practice you’ll fit 50–100 pages of typical office paperwork in the free tier.

Does it work on a laptop without a camera?

Upload mode does. Take photos with your phone, AirDrop or sync them to your laptop, and upload them — the auto-crop and deskew runs on uploaded photos too.

Will skewed photos come out straight?

Auto-deskew handles up to ~30° of skew cleanly. Beyond that, the corner-detection becomes unreliable and you may want to retake the photo with a flatter camera angle.

Are my photos sent to your servers?

The processed PDF is sent for combining and finalisation, but the cropping and deskew happen client-side first — your full-resolution photo isn’t uploaded.

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