# PDF Summarizer (pdf-summarize.com)

> Free online AI PDF summarizer. Upload a PDF (up to 300 pages, 20 MB, scanned PDFs via OCR) and get a summary, the key takeaways, answers to questions that cite page numbers, or the extracted text. No account needed. Summaries in 20 output languages. Also available as a REST API.

Key facts:
- Web tool: free, no sign-up, at https://pdf-summarize.com/ (interface in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic).
- Modes: summary (length short/medium/detailed/comprehensive; paragraph, bullets or mixed), key points, Q&A with page citations, plain-text extraction (.txt).
- 18 document-type presets (research paper, contract, legal, book, financial report, thesis, course material, meeting minutes, CV, insurance policy, manual, white paper, slides, official report, medical study, executive summary, abstract, general).
- Long PDFs are split into parts, each part is analysed, then the notes are merged (map-reduce), so the middle of a long document is covered.
- Scanned PDFs: automatic OCR (first 40 pages on the free web tool); best for English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese.
- Privacy: the PDF file is deleted right after text extraction; the extracted text is kept 60 minutes for follow-up questions and then deleted; documents are not used to train AI models.
- API: POST multipart/form-data to https://pdf-summarize.com/api/summarize.php with `Authorization: Bearer <key>`; JSON or Server-Sent Events streaming. Docs: https://pdf-summarize.com/docs
- API pricing (USD/month): Free $0 (250 requests, 20 pages/PDF), Professional $5 (5,000 requests, 100 pages), Growth $9 (50,000 requests, 200 pages), Business $19 (unlimited, 300 pages). https://pdf-summarize.com/pricing

## Tools by document type

- [Research paper summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-research-paper.md): Summarize any research paper PDF in seconds: objective, method, results with the real numbers, conclusion and limitations — with page citations. Free, no sign-up.
- [Contract summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-contract.md): Upload a contract PDF and get the parties, duration, payment terms, obligations, termination, liability and clauses to double-check — with clause and page references. Free.
- [Legal document summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-legal-document.md): Summarize judgments, statutes, regulations and legal opinions in plain language: the issue, the decision, the reasoning, obligations and deadlines — with article and page references.
- [Book summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-book.md): Upload a book PDF and get the central thesis or plot, the structure chapter by chapter, key ideas and examples, and the conclusion. Up to 300 pages, any language, free.
- [Financial report summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-financial-report.md): Summarize an annual report, 10-K, 10-Q or earnings release: revenue, profit, margins, cash and debt, segments, guidance and risks — with the exact figures and pages. Free.
- [Thesis summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-thesis.md): Summarize a PhD thesis, master's dissertation or long academic report: research question, framework, methodology, findings per chapter, contribution and limitations. Free.
- [Textbook & lecture notes summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-textbook-chapter.md): Turn a textbook chapter, lecture slides or course handout PDF into revision notes: key concepts with definitions, formulas, dates and names, how ideas connect, plus self-test questions.
- [Scanned PDF summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-scanned-pdf.md): Summarize scanned PDFs and photographed documents: automatic OCR reads image-only pages, then AI writes the summary. Works on paper contracts, letters, old reports. Free.
- [Meeting minutes summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-meeting-minutes.md): Summarize meeting minutes, board minutes or call notes in PDF: decisions made, action items as owner–task–deadline, open questions and next meeting. Free, no sign-up.
- [CV / résumé summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-resume.md): Summarize a CV or résumé PDF: current role, years of experience, key employers and dates, achievements with numbers, education, skills and languages — neutral and factual.
- [Insurance policy summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-insurance-policy.md): Summarize an insurance policy or terms & conditions PDF: what is covered, exclusions, limits, deductible, premium, how to claim, cancellation — and points to check. Free.
- [User manual summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-user-manual.md): Turn a long user manual or technical guide PDF into a quick-start: what the product does, setup steps, main functions, maintenance, troubleshooting and safety warnings.
- [White paper summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-white-paper.md): Summarize a white paper or industry report PDF: the problem, the proposed solution, supporting evidence and data, marketing claims flagged neutrally, and recommendations.
- [Slide deck summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-presentation.md): Summarize a slide deck saved as PDF (PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides): the deck's goal, the main message of each section, key numbers and the call to action.
- [Official report summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-government-report.md): Summarize official, government, EU, UN or NGO reports: who published it and why, scope, key findings with figures, recommendations, who is affected and deadlines. Free.
- [Medical study summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-medical-study.md): Summarize a medical or health study PDF: objective, population, intervention vs comparison, outcomes with effect sizes and confidence intervals, adverse effects and limitations.

## Tools by output

- [Chat with PDF](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/chat-with-pdf.md): Ask questions to any PDF and get answers based only on the document, with the page number for each fact. Contracts, papers, manuals, reports, scans. Free, no sign-up.
- [Key takeaways extractor](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/pdf-key-takeaways.md): Get the 5-10 key takeaways of any PDF, each with a bold headline and the concrete fact behind it (number, date, name) plus the page. Free, no sign-up, scanned PDFs too.
- [PDF to bullet points](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/pdf-to-bullet-points.md): Convert any PDF into a clean bullet-point summary — one idea per bullet, most important first, with page references. Copy-ready for notes, slides and emails. Free.
- [Executive summary generator](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/executive-summary-generator.md): Generate an executive summary from a PDF report, proposal or study: bottom line first, key findings with figures, recommendation or decision needed, impact, risks and next steps.
- [Abstract generator](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/abstract-generator.md): Generate a 150-250 word academic abstract from your paper, thesis or report PDF: background, objective, method, results with numbers, conclusion. A draft to edit, free.
- [Long PDF summarizer](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/long-pdf-summarizer.md): Summarize very long PDFs (up to 300 pages) without losing the middle: the document is split into parts, each part is analysed, then merged into one summary with page references.
- [Summarize in another language](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/summarize-pdf-in-another-language.md): Summarize a PDF written in one language directly in another: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and 13 more. No separate translation step. Free.
- [PDF to text](https://pdf-summarize.com/tools/pdf-to-text.md): Extract the text of any PDF page by page and download it as a .txt file. Scanned PDFs are read with OCR. Word count and reading time included. Free, no sign-up.

## Guides

- [How to summarize a PDF](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-summarize-a-pdf.md): The complete guide to summarizing a PDF: dedicated AI tools, chatbots like ChatGPT, built-in phone and desktop features, and the manual method — with when to use each and how to check accuracy.
- [PDF with ChatGPT vs a PDF tool](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/summarize-pdf-with-chatgpt.md): How to summarize a PDF with ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini, Copilot): the prompts that work, the limits with long and scanned PDFs, and when a dedicated PDF summarizer is the better choice.
- [How to summarize a research paper](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-summarize-a-research-paper.md): A practical method to summarize a research paper: the three-pass reading technique, what to extract (question, method, results, limitations), a copy-ready template, and how to use AI safely.
- [How to read a contract quickly](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-read-a-contract-quickly.md): Read any contract in 15 minutes: the 10 clauses to check first (term, renewal, payment, termination, liability, IP…), red flags, questions to ask, and how to use AI safely.
- [How to summarize a scanned PDF](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-summarize-a-scanned-pdf.md): Why scanned PDFs can't be summarized like normal PDFs, how OCR works, how to check if your PDF is scanned, how to scan for best accuracy, and how to summarize it in one step.
- [How to summarize a long PDF](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-summarize-a-long-pdf.md): Why AI tools truncate long PDFs (context windows), how chunking and map-reduce summarization fix it, how to split huge files, and the best workflow for books and reports.
- [Summarize a PDF on iPhone & Android](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/summarize-pdf-on-iphone-android.md): Summarize a PDF on your phone: the browser method that works on any iPhone or Android without installing an app, plus what built-in assistants can and can't do, and tips for scans.
- [Summarize a PDF on Mac & Windows](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/summarize-pdf-on-mac-windows.md): Summarize PDFs on a Mac or Windows PC: the free browser method for any PDF, what Preview, Acrobat, Edge and built-in assistants offer, and keyboard-friendly tips for long documents.
- [How to write a good summary](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-write-a-good-summary.md): Learn to write a clear, accurate summary of any text or document: the 7 rules of a good summary, a 5-step method, length guidelines, common mistakes, and examples you can adapt.
- [Are AI summaries accurate?](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/are-ai-summaries-accurate.md): How accurate are AI summaries of PDFs? The typical errors (hallucinations, misread tables, overstated claims, truncation), why they happen, and a 2-minute checklist to verify any summary.
- [Executive summary vs abstract](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/executive-summary-vs-abstract.md): What's the difference between an executive summary, an abstract, a synopsis and a summary? Purpose, audience, length and structure of each, with examples and when to use which.
- [How to take notes from a PDF](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/how-to-take-notes-from-a-pdf.md): Take better notes from PDFs: active reading, the Cornell method, the outline method and question-based notes — plus how to use AI summaries and Q&A without skipping the learning.
- [Why PDF text extraction fails](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/why-pdf-text-extraction-fails.md): Why copy-paste from PDFs gives broken lines, merged columns, garbled characters or nothing at all — text layers, fonts, encodings, scans — and how to get clean text out of any PDF.
- [PDF summary API with Python](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/pdf-summary-api-python.md): Summarize PDF files from Python with a REST API: get a free key, send a PDF with requests, read the JSON, stream the summary, process a folder in batch and handle errors and rate limits.
- [PDF summary API with JavaScript](https://pdf-summarize.com/guides/pdf-summary-api-javascript.md): Summarize PDFs from Node.js or a backend with fetch and FormData: authentication, first request, JSON response, streaming with Server-Sent Events, an Express upload endpoint, and error handling.

## Product

- [Pricing](https://pdf-summarize.com/pricing)
- [FAQ](https://pdf-summarize.com/faq)
- [API documentation](https://pdf-summarize.com/docs)
- [About](https://pdf-summarize.com/about)
- [Privacy policy](https://pdf-summarize.com/privacy)

## Optional

- [Full content of all pages in one file](https://pdf-summarize.com/llms-full.txt)
- Every tool and guide page has a Markdown version: append `.md` to its URL. Translated versions exist under /fr/, /es/, /de/, /it/, /pt/, /nl/, /ru/, /zh/, /ja/, /ar/.