Best OCR API Software in 2026

In short: OCR.space is ranked #1 of 27 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Tesseract OCR and OCRmyPDF. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Tesseract OCR. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Amazon Textract AnalyzeExpense at $0.01/mo.

OCR APIs can turn document images and files into text or structured data for use in an application or workflow. Compare handwriting OCR, structure extraction, and table extraction, along with maximum file size and asynchronous processing. SDK language support may be relevant to your development setup; free-plan availability and paid starting prices provide access and cost details. OCR.space leads the ranking, followed by Tesseract OCR, PaddleOCR, Mistral OCR, and OCRmyPDF. docTR, Surya, and Amazon Textract AnalyzeExpense also appear among the first entries. Consider the document formats and processing needs you have, then weigh them against the extraction capabilities and limits shown for each option.

27 OCR API software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.

27ranked
5free plans on this page
$0.01/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
#1 OCR.space Top pick · 7.7 Free plan · $30/mo #2 Tesseract OCR Runner-up · 7.5 Free plan · Free #3 OCRmyPDF Also great · 7.1 Free plan · Free
  1. 1 7.7
    Free plan AndroidapiiOSLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
    Free plan
    Yes
    Paid from
    30 /mo
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    Table extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
    $30/mofirst paid tier About OCR.spaceVisit site
  2. 2 7.5
    Free plan AndroidapiiOSLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
    Free plan
    Yes
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  3. 3 7.1
    Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
    Free plan
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  4. 4 7.1
    Free plan AndroidiOS
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    Table extraction
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  5. Free planFree trial AndroidapiiOSWeb
    Free plan
    Yes
    Paid from
    500 /mo
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  6. Free trial apiWeb
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  7. Free trial AndroidapiiOSLinuxself-hostedWebWindows
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  8. Free trial LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Table extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  9. Free trial LinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    No
    Table extraction
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  10. apiself-hostedWeb
    Free plan
    Yes
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    Table extraction
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
    $4/mofirst paid tier About Mistral OCRVisit site
  11. 11 6.2
    Free trial apiextensionWeb
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    Table extraction
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
    $1,916/mofirst paid tier About Handwriting OCRVisit site
  12. WebWindowsmacOSLinuxiOSAndroid
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  13. 13 6.1
    WindowsLinuxmacOS
    Free plan
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  14. 14

    PDF.co

    Artifex Software, Inc.
    6.0
    Free trial Web
    Free plan
    No
    Paid from
    8.99 /mo
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
    $8.99/mofirst paid tier About PDF.coVisit site
  15. WebWindowsLinuxiOSAndroid
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  16. 16 5.9
    LinuxWindowsmacOS
    Free plan
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  17. 17 5.9
    apiLinuxmacOS
    Free plan
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  18. WebWindowsmacOSLinuxiOSAndroid
    Free plan
    No
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  19. WebWindowsiOSAndroid
    Free plan
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  20. 20 5.8
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  21. 21 5.8
    WebWindowsmacOSLinux
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  22. 22 5.7
    LinuxmacOS
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  23. 23 5.7
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    Paid from
    28 /mo
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    No
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  24. 24 5.5
    Web
    Free plan
    No
    Paid from
    49 /mo
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Table extraction
    Yes
    Asynchronous processing
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
  25. 25 5.4
    Structure extraction
    Yes
    Handwriting OCR
    Yes
    RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms

Is your app on this list?

Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.

Questions about this list

Which OCR API software is ranked first on Everything Xiaomi?

OCR.space is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 7.7. Tesseract OCR is second and OCRmyPDF third.

How many of these have a free plan?

5 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.

Which is the cheapest paid option?

On this page, Amazon Textract AnalyzeExpense has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/mo.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.

More in Documents & Writing

All documents & writing lists