PDF Paraphraser
Import a PDF, pick the passage you need in your own words and paraphrase it while keeping the meaning. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.
To paraphrase a PDF, import it, isolate the passage you need and reword it one paragraph at a time, then compare it with the original and cite the source. Humanit reads the PDF in your browser and returns the reworded text.
Quick facts
- Files
- PDF, text-based or scanned. Word, ODT, RTF, TXT and photos work too.
- Is the file uploaded?
- No. The PDF is opened inside your browser; only its text goes into the editor.
- Words per run
- 1,000 words a run in your first month, then 300. Paid plans: Starter 1,200, Pro 2,500, Ultra 6,000.
- Scanned pages
- Read with OCR on a free account: 10 pages a day, 100 on paid plans.
- File limits
- 20 MB per file, up to 30 pages or photos at once.
- Cost
- Free account: 1,000 words in the first month, then 300 a month. No card.
How it works
- 1Import the PDF. Drop it on the box. The text is extracted in your browser and cleaned of page numbers and broken lines.
- 2Keep only the passage. Delete everything except the paragraph or section you need to put in your own words.
- 3Paraphrase it. Standard is free. Formal, Casual, Creative and Shorter are PRO modes.
- 4Compare and cite. Read it against the original, fix anything that shifted, and cite the PDF as your source.
When paraphrasing a PDF makes sense
Most PDFs people paraphrase are someone else's: a journal article, a report, a textbook chapter, a policy. You need the idea in your essay, your notes or your own report, in your words, without quoting a whole paragraph. The other common case is your own PDF, such as a report you wrote that now needs to become a blog post or a section of a proposal. The workflow is the same, but the rules differ. Paraphrasing someone else's work still needs a citation; paraphrasing your own published work for a new venue may need a disclosure.
A paraphrase is still the source's idea
This is the part people get wrong. Putting a passage into different words does not make the idea yours. If it came from a PDF, it gets cited, with the page number where your style requires one, exactly as a quotation would. Rewording without citing is plagiarism no matter how different the wording is. Rewording too lightly, keeping the original sentence structure and swapping words, is called patchwriting, and similarity checkers catch it easily. A good paraphrase changes the structure as well as the vocabulary, and still credits the author.
One paragraph at a time, then read both side by side
Paraphrasing works best on a passage you understand, and best of all on one paragraph at a time. Import the PDF, delete everything around the passage you need, run it, then read the result next to the original. Check three things: every number and name is identical, nothing has been made stronger or weaker than the source claimed ("may reduce" must not become "reduces"), and no technical term has been swapped for a looser synonym. If you cannot tell whether the meaning held, you have not understood the passage yet, and that is worth fixing first.
Picking a mode for the job
Standard, which is free, keeps the register of the original and changes structure and wording; it suits most academic and professional text. Formal raises the register for reports and papers. Casual loosens it, which is useful when a dense PDF needs to become something a general reader can follow. Creative takes more liberty with structure, and Shorter tightens the passage as it rewords it, which is close to a summary but keeps every point. The four alternatives are PRO modes.
Getting clean text out of the PDF
The importer joins lines that were wrapped at the page edge and heals words hyphenated across a line, which are the two things that make text copied straight from a PDF viewer so awkward to work with. It also removes page numbers. It does not remove running headers or footnotes, which can end up inside a paragraph; delete them before you paraphrase, or the rewrite will try to fold "Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 12" into a sentence. On two-column papers, check that the paragraph you are paraphrasing is in one piece.
Paraphrase, quote or summarize?
Quote when the exact wording matters: a definition, a striking phrase, a claim you are about to dispute. Paraphrase when you need one specific idea in detail but in a form that fits your writing. Summarize when you need the overall point of a long section, which is a job for the PDF summarizer. And if your goal is to make your own AI-drafted text read more naturally rather than to restate a source, that is humanizing, a different job with its own tool, the PDF humanizer.
Who it's for
| In your PDF | What the import does | Before you paraphrase it |
|---|---|---|
| Text on ordinary pages | Read in your browser. Lines that wrap at the page edge are re-joined into whole paragraphs. | Keep only the passage you need reworded. |
| Words split at a line end ("assess-" / "ment") | Healed back into one word. | Nothing to do. |
| Running headers and footers | Kept as text, once for every page they appear on. | Delete them so they do not end up inside a sentence. |
| Footnotes | Imported where they sit on the page, usually between paragraphs. | Delete them from the passage. |
| Reference list or bibliography | Imported like any other text. | Leave it out; references are never paraphrased. |
| Two-column layouts | Read in the order the PDF stores its text, which is usually column by column. | Make sure your passage is in one piece and in order. |
| Scanned pages with no selectable text | Read with OCR. Needs a free account; 10 scan pages a day free, 100 on paid plans. | Sign in to read these pages, then proofread them. |
| Use | When | Cite it? |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | The exact wording matters: definitions, memorable phrasing, claims you will dispute | Yes, with quotation marks and usually a page |
| Paraphrase | You need one idea in detail, in a form that fits your writing | Yes, as for a quote |
| Summarize | You need the overall point of a longer section | Yes |
| Plan | Words paraphrased at once | Single-spaced | Double-spaced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free account, first month | 1,000 words | about 2 pages | about 4 pages |
| Free account, after that | 300 words | under a page | about 1 page |
| Starter | 1,200 words | about 2.5 pages | about 5 pages |
| Pro | 2,500 words | about 5 pages | about 10 pages |
| Ultra | 6,000 words | about 12 pages | about 24 pages |
Frequently asked questions
Can I paraphrase a whole PDF?
You can, in sections. Each run covers your plan's words per run, 300 on a free account after the first month and up to 6,000 on Ultra. For sources you are citing, paraphrase only the passages you use.
Do I still need to cite a paraphrased PDF?
Yes. A paraphrase restates someone else's idea, so it is cited like a quotation. Leaving out the citation is plagiarism however different the wording is.
Is the PDF paraphraser free?
Yes, with a free account: 1,000 words in the first month, then 300 a month, in Standard mode. Importing the PDF is free.
Can it paraphrase a scanned PDF?
Yes. Scanned pages are read with OCR on a free account, 10 pages a day free. Proofread the recognized text first so a misread word is not reworded.
Will the paraphrase change technical terms?
It aims to keep meaning, but always check terms of art and hedged claims against the original. Change back any technical word that was swapped for a looser one.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The file is read in your browser. Only the passage you paraphrase is sent, to produce the result, and it is not used to train AI models.