Free
Scan paper documents to PDF
From the scanner to a finished PDF in one step. Free.
Free, with no account, no watermark and no page limit.
Updated 25 October 2026
The short answer
PDF Coast scans to PDF from any scanner Windows can use, for free. Choose Scan to PDF on the Home screen, pick your scanner, and scan one page or a whole feeder stack. The pages arrive in order, ready to rearrange and save as one PDF. Scan and Recognize (OCR) does the same and makes the text searchable, which is part of Pro.
- Price
- Free, no watermark
- Your file
- Stays on your PC, never uploaded
- Internet
- Not needed
- Works on
- Windows 10 and 11
How to do it
- Choose Scan to PDF on the Home screen.
- Pick your scanner and scan. A document feeder can scan a whole stack at once.
- Check the page order and remove any page you do not want.
- Save the PDF.
Scan to PDF online, or on your PC?
Online converters are handy on a phone. For anything private, a desktop app is safer.
 PDF Coast |
Typical online converter | |
|---|---|---|
| Your file is uploaded | Never | Yes, to their servers |
| Works without internet | Yes | No |
| Limits on free use | None on free tools | Daily or file-size limits are common |
| Account | Not needed | Often needed after a few files |
Questions
Which scanners work?
Any scanner that Windows itself can scan from, through the standard Windows scanner driver. If Windows cannot find a scanner, PDF Coast says so.
Can I make the scan searchable?
Yes. Choose Scan and Recognize (OCR), or run Recognize text (OCR) on the PDF later. Text recognition is part of Pro and runs on your PC.
Is scanning free?
Yes. Scan to PDF is free, with no watermark and no page limit.
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. PDF Coast opens and saves the file on your own computer, and works with the internet switched off. Nothing about the document is sent anywhere.
Related tools
-
Pro
PDF to Word
An editable .docx with real paragraphs, tables, headers and footers. Converted on your PC.
-
Pro
PDF to Excel
Real cells and real numbers, ready to sort, filter and total.
-
Pro
PDF to PowerPoint
Each page becomes a slide, with text you can edit and pictures you can move.
-
Free
PDF to JPG
One image per page, at the resolution you choose. Free.
-
Free
JPG to PDF
Photos, screenshots and phone scans become one tidy PDF. Free.
-
Free
Word to PDF
A .docx, .xlsx or .pptx becomes a PDF with its layout intact. Free.
-
Pro
OCR a scanned PDF
Recognize the text in a scan without sending the scan anywhere.
Get PDF Coast for free
Everyday PDF work is free forever. Pro is US$26.49 once, and you can try every Pro tool free for 14 days. No account, no card, no subscription.
Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. English, 简体中文 and 繁體中文.