Lift text off your screen, tables and all
Press a hotkey, drag a box, and the text is on your clipboard. TextLift keeps real structure: tables become Markdown, CSV or a proper Excel file, entirely on your Mac.
macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon (M-series)
Live preview. No screen recording is ever saved.
This is what it looks like
Why you'll like it
On-device OCR
Apple's Vision framework recognizes text right on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded.
Reads handwriting too
Apple's Vision engine reads handwriting on your Mac. You get a solid first draft to edit, without a phone scanner or a cloud service.
Tables stay tables
Detects rows and columns and exports clean Markdown, CSV or a real .xlsx workbook.
Documents & PDFs
Open or drag in images and PDFs; digital PDFs use their exact text layer for zero misreads.
QR & barcodes
Any QR code or barcode in the capture is decoded alongside the text.
Capture history
Recent captures stay on your Mac. You can search them, pin them and clear them.
Your hotkey, your languages
Set a custom hotkey and choose from verified recognition languages.
TextLift vs the alternatives
What free tools can't do, without a subscription.
| TextLift | Apple Live Text | TextSniper | Adobe Acrobat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handwriting (on-device) | draft | cloud | ||
| Tables → Excel / CSV | ||||
| Batch: folders & PDFs | ||||
| Export to Word & Excel | ||||
| Offline · no account | ||||
| Price | €14.99 | Free | ~€12 | €239/yr |
What TextLift does, and what it doesn't
Fast, private and on your Mac. These are the limits worth knowing before you buy.
Printed text & PDFs: flawless
Digital PDFs use their exact text layer, and printed pages, screenshots and slides come out spot-on.
Handwriting: a strong draft
Messy handwriting is read well, but not perfectly. That's why every result stays editable before you use it.
Straight into Word & Excel
Notes export to Word (.docx) and tables to Excel (.xlsx). Both open straight away with formatting intact, and nothing goes to a cloud.
Verified recognition languages
English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Arabic and more.
Screen Recording
Screen Recording
Only so TextLift can read the pixels of the region you select. Never used for anything else.
Text recognition runs on your Mac. TextLift never sends your captures or their text anywhere. No analytics, no telemetry, no account.
TextLift
One-time purchase · 14-day free trial at launch · money back within 14 days of purchase
- All version 1 updates are free. If there's ever a version 2, you get it at least 40% off. Your current version keeps working, even if you don't upgrade.
- macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon (M-series)
- Payments handled by our authorized reseller (merchant of record). VAT included at checkout.
Legal documents
The fine print, in plain language.