Summarize any PDF.
Ask it anything.
Drop a PDF and get a clear summary, the key takeaways, or precise answers that cite the page they come from. Contracts, research papers, reports, books, scans — up to 300 pages, in 20 languages.
- No account needed
- Answers cite page numbers
- OCR for scanned PDFs
- PDF deleted after reading
One upload, four useful outputs
Switch between them on the same document — no re-upload, no waiting twice.
Summary that fits the document
Choose the length (2 sentences to ~800 words), the format and the document type. A contract summary lists obligations and deadlines; a research-paper summary gives method, results and limitations.
Key takeaways
The 5-10 points that matter, each with the concrete figure, date or name behind it — ideal before a meeting or an exam.
Ask questions, get cited answers
“What is the notice period?” “What was the sample size?” Answers come from the document only, with the page number so you can check in seconds.
Clean text extraction
Get the full text of the PDF, page by page, as a .txt file — including scanned pages read with OCR.
A specialised summarizer for every kind of PDF
Each tool tells the AI what matters in that kind of document. Pick yours, or use the general summarizer above.
By document type
Research paper summarizer
Objective, method, results with figures, limitations — with page citations.
Contract summarizer
Parties, obligations, deadlines, termination, risky clauses — with references.
Legal document summarizer
Judgments, laws, regulations: issue, decision, reasoning, deadlines.
Book summarizer
Thesis or plot, chapter-by-chapter structure, key ideas, ending.
Financial report summarizer
Annual reports, 10-K, earnings: figures, segments, outlook, risks.
Thesis summarizer
Research question, method, findings per chapter, contribution.
Textbook & lecture notes summarizer
Revision notes with definitions, formulas and self-test questions.
Scanned PDF summarizer
OCR reads image-only pages, then AI summarizes them.
Meeting minutes summarizer
Decisions, action items (owner · task · deadline), open questions.
CV / résumé summarizer
Neutral candidate profile: roles, dates, achievements, skills.
Insurance policy summarizer
Coverage, exclusions, limits, deductible, claims, cancellation.
User manual summarizer
Setup steps, main functions, troubleshooting, safety warnings.
White paper summarizer
Problem, solution, evidence vs marketing claims, recommendations.
Slide deck summarizer
Rebuilds the storyline: goal, sections, key numbers, ask.
Official report summarizer
Findings with figures, recommendations, who is affected, dates.
Medical study summarizer
Population, intervention, outcomes with numbers, adverse effects.
By output
Chat with PDF
Ask questions; answers come from the PDF with page numbers.
Key takeaways extractor
The 5-10 points that matter, each with its fact and page.
PDF to bullet points
One idea per bullet, most important first, copy-ready.
Executive summary generator
Bottom line first: findings, decision needed, impact, next steps.
Abstract generator
150-250 word academic abstract from your full paper.
Long PDF summarizer
Up to 300 pages, read in parts and merged — nothing skipped.
Summarize in another language
Read a foreign-language PDF as a summary in your language.
PDF to text
Extract the text page by page as .txt — OCR for scans.
From PDF to answer in about ten seconds
Drop your PDF
Drag it onto the page or browse. Up to 20 MB and 300 pages. Nothing to install, no account.
We read every page
The text layer is extracted page by page. Scanned pages without text go through OCR automatically.
Long PDFs are read in parts
Documents too long for one pass are split, every part is analysed, then the notes are merged — nothing in the middle gets skipped.
Summary, key points or answers
Results stream in as they are written, with page references. Copy them, download them, or ask a follow-up.
What you get here that a copy-paste into a chatbot doesn’t give you
| What matters | PDF Summarizer | Pasting text into a general chatbot | Reading it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scanned PDFs (no text layer) | Automatic OCR | Depends on the app; copy-paste gives nothing | Yes, slowly |
| Page numbers in answers | Yes, on every key fact | Usually lost when text is pasted | Yes |
| Long documents (100+ pages) | Read in parts, then merged | Often truncated or limited by plan | Hours |
| Document-specific summaries | 18 document types | Only if you write the prompt | — |
| Account required | No | Usually | No |
| API for your own app | REST + streaming | Separate developer product | — |
Your documents are not our product
The PDF is deleted immediately
The file is read in a temporary folder and deleted as soon as its text is extracted — even if processing fails.
Text kept 60 minutes, then erased
The extracted text is kept for one hour so you can switch views and ask follow-up questions, tied to your network, then deleted automatically.
Never used for training
We do not train models on your documents and we do not sell or share their content. The AI providers we use process the text only to return your answer.
The same engine as a REST API
POST a PDF, get JSON back — or stream the summary token by token. Free plan with 250 requests a month, no credit card.
curl -X POST https://pdf-summarize.com/api/summarize.php \
-H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_…" \
-F "[email protected]" \
-F "length=medium" -F "format=bullets"
{
"success": true,
"summary": "- Revenue grew 12% to …",
"page_count": 48,
"processing_time": 6.2
}Read smarter, not longer
How to summarize a PDF
5 methods compared — AI tools, chatbots, phone, desktop, by hand.
Read the guide →PDF with ChatGPT vs a PDF tool
Prompts that work, limits, and when to use a dedicated tool.
Read the guide →How to summarize a research paper
The 3-pass method, a template, and how to use AI safely.
Read the guide →How to read a contract quickly
The 10 clauses to check first, red flags, and an AI checklist.
Read the guide →How to summarize a long PDF
Context windows, chunking, map-reduce — and a practical workflow.
Read the guide →Are AI summaries accurate?
Typical errors, why they happen, and a 2-minute check.
Read the guide →Free in the browser. Simple plans for the API.
The web tool on this page is free. Plans below are for API usage.
Free
To try it for real, on your own PDFs.
- 250 API requests/month
- Up to 20 pages per PDF
Professional
For regular use and small integrations
- 5,000 API requests/month
- Up to 100 pages per PDF
Growth
For teams processing PDFs at scale.
- 50,000 API requests/month
- Up to 200 pages per PDF
Business
For high-volume pipelines and larger files.
- Unlimited requests
- Up to 300 pages per PDF
Frequently asked questions
Is PDF Summarizer really free?
Yes. The web tool is free and needs no account: upload a PDF, get a summary, key points, answers or the extracted text. Fair-use limits apply per network (about 12 PDFs per hour). Paid plans exist only for the API.
How long can the PDF be?
Up to 300 pages and 20 MB. Long documents are split into parts that are each analysed, then merged into one summary, so the middle of the document is not skipped. Scanned PDFs are read with OCR (first 40 pages on the free tool).
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Yes. When a page has no text layer, OCR runs automatically (English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese are recognised best). Image quality matters: a clean 300 dpi scan works much better than a tilted phone photo.
Can I ask questions about my PDF?
Yes — open the “Ask questions” tab. Answers are based only on the document and cite the page, like (p. 12), so you can verify them. If the answer is not in the PDF, the assistant says so instead of guessing.
Which languages are supported?
The document can be in any common language. The summary is written in the language of the PDF by default, or in any of 20 output languages — handy to summarize an English report in Spanish or a German contract in English.
What happens to my file?
The PDF is deleted right after its text is extracted. The text is kept for 60 minutes to let you ask follow-up questions, then deleted. Nothing is used to train AI models. Details in our privacy policy.
How accurate are the summaries?
The model is instructed to use only what the document says and to cite pages, which keeps answers checkable. AI can still misread tables, figures or ambiguous wording — for contracts, medical or financial decisions, verify the cited pages before relying on a point.
Is there an API?
Yes. Send a PDF as multipart/form-data to the REST endpoint and receive the summary as JSON or as a stream. The free plan includes 250 requests per month. See the API documentation.
Can it summarize password-protected PDFs?
Not directly. Open the file with its password and use “Print → Save as PDF” to create an unprotected copy, then upload that copy.
Who is PDF Summarizer for?
Students revising courses, researchers screening papers, lawyers and buyers reviewing contracts, analysts reading annual reports, and anyone who receives long PDFs and needs the substance quickly. Developers use the API to add summaries to their own apps.
Your next PDF doesn’t need a full read.
Upload it now — free, no account, deleted after reading.