Best OCR Software in 2026
Updated
In short: PaddleOCR is ranked #1 of 40 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Tesseract OCR and OCRmyPDF. The best-ranked option with a free plan is OCRmyPDF. The lowest first paid tier on this page is FreeOCR.AI at $6.67/mo.
Turning text in documents or images into usable output is the central task of OCR software. FreeOCR.AI, PaddleOCR, and OCRmyPDF lead the ranking. Compare supported inputs and languages, then check for searchable PDF and Word export if those formats suit your workflow. Handwriting OCR may matter for notes or forms, while monthly page limits can be relevant for recurring processing. The comparison also includes each option’s primary platform, free-plan availability, and paid-from pricing. Consider the documents you need to process and the output you want, using the listed capabilities to compare the ranked entries.
40 OCR software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 PaddleOCR Top pick · 9.0 Free plan · Free
#2 Tesseract OCR Runner-up · 8.5 
#3 OCRmyPDF Also great · 8.4 Free plan · Free- Free plan AndroidiOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 109 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxWindowsmacOSAndroid
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiLinuxmacOSself-hostedWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apimacOSWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Paid from
- $10/mo
- Searchable PDF
- No
- Word export
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 100 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$6.67/mofirst paid tier About FreeOCR.AIVisit site - iOSmacOSWindows
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 128 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Windows
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- $9.99/mo
- Word export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - macOSWindows
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- $99/mo
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 138 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$99/mofirst paid tier About Readiris PDFVisit site - Free plan iOSmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 30 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 46 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$9.95/mofirst paid tier About OnlineOCRVisit site - Free plan self-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxWindowsmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- $24/mo
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WindowsLinuxmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- No
- Word export
- No
- Handwriting OCR
- No
- Supported languages
- 80 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- No
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - LinuxmacOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 91 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan Windows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$515/mofirst paid tier About CaptikaVisit site - macOS
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Handwriting OCR
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- Yes
- Word export
- Yes
- Supported languages
- 122 languages
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WindowsLinux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Searchable PDF
- Yes
- Word export
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - WindowsmacOSLinux
- Free plan
- 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 software is ranked first on Everything Xiaomi?
PaddleOCR is ranked #1 of 40 with a score of 9.0. Tesseract OCR is second and OCRmyPDF third.
How many of these have a free plan?
7 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, FreeOCR.AI has the lowest first paid tier we found: $6.67/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.