OCR (or Optical Character Recognition) software is a technology that enables the recognition and extraction of text from scanned documents, images, and PDFs. The software uses advanced algorithms to analyze the pixels in an image or document and recognize the characters, words, and sentences. Once the text is recognized, the software can convert it into editable and searchable formats that can be further processed, such as exporting to a word processing software or database. OCR software is used in a variety of industries, including healthcare, finance, education, and government, to digitize and process large volumes of documents efficiently and accurately. If you are looking for a good OCR software but not sure what to trust, don’t worry. I did an in-depth research and tried several OCR software to make the list of best OCR software.
List of best OCR software
List of the best OCR software to scan text from PDFs and images. Check the complete list of OCR software.
1. ABBYY FineReader
ABBYY FineReader is a powerful OCR software that supports over 200 languages and can convert scanned documents, PDFs, and digital photos into editable and searchable formats. It offers advanced editing tools and can also convert scanned documents into audio books.
ABBYY FineReader also offers a variety of OCR modes to meet different needs. For example, the single-page OCR mode is ideal for processing single-page documents, such as receipts or business cards, while the batch OCR mode is designed for processing multiple documents simultaneously. This software also offers a variety of document editing and conversion tools, including the ability to convert PDFs to editable formats, such as Microsoft Word or Excel, and the ability to merge and split PDFs.
ABBYY FineReader is available for both Windows and MacOS.
2. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a widely used PDF editor that also offers OCR functionality to convert scanned documents into searchable and editable formats. It supports multiple languages and can retain the original formatting of the document.
The OCR technology used in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is highly accurate and can recognize text in multiple languages, making it a powerful tool for businesses, individuals, and organizations It uses two types of OCR: searchable image OCR and editable text OCR. The searchable image OCR converts scanned documents into PDFs with searchable text This software can recognize text in the document and creates a hidden layer of text that can be searched, copied, and edited. The editable text OCR lets users convert scanned documents into editable formats, such as Microsoft Word or Excel.
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is available for both Windows and MacOS.
3. ReadIRIS
ReadIRIS is a fast and accurate OCR software that can convert scanned documents and PDFs into editable and searchable formats. It supports multiple languages and offers advanced editing features. ReadIRIS claims that its OCR tech is accurate and can recognize text in multiple languages. It can recognize and preserve the original formatting of the document, including tables, graphics, and images. This software also offers a batch OCR mode for processing multiple documents simultaneously. ReadIRIS also provides a variety of document editing and conversion tools like covert PDFs to docs, or merge and split PDFs.
ReadIRIS is available for both Windows and MacOS.
4. OmniPage
OmniPage is a powerful OCR software that supports multiple languages and can convert scanned documents, PDFs, and images into editable and searchable formats. OmniPage is known for offering accurate conversion of text from images. This is the reason this software has some big companies as client. You can use this software to scan text from images and PDFs. This software also provides several editing and conversion tools to manage the scanned text. It offers advanced editing features and can automatically detect and correct errors.
OmniPage is available for Windows.
5. Tesseract
Tesseract is an open-source OCR software that is widely used for its accuracy and speed. It is also considered to be one of the most accurate OCR engines. It can convert scanned documents and images into editable and searchable formats and supports multiple languages. It claims to support over 120 languages including Hebrew, Arabic, and others. The only downside of Tesseract is that it lacks a graphical user interface, so you need to work on a command-line interface.
Tesseract is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It also offers integration with other software applications.
6. SimpleOCR
SimpleOCR is a free and popular OCR software that can convert scanned documents and images into editable and searchable formats. Just like other OCR software, SimpleOCR also supports over 130 languages. There is a ‘noisy document’ feature that improves accuracy. It supports multiple languages and offers basic editing tools. SimpleOCR also provides a royalty-free OCR SDK for developers to integrate the OCR tech of SimpleOCR into their application. It has a clean UI and simple navigation. This OCR software also supports batch scanning of files.
SimpleOCR is available for Windows.
7. PDFelement
PDFelement is a comprehensive PDF editor that also offers OCR functionality to convert scanned documents into searchable and editable formats. PDFelement can accurately recognize text in multiple languages. It also support batch OCR mode for processing multiple documents. It supports multiple languages and can retain the original formatting of the document.
PDFelement is available for both Windows and MacOS. PDFelement is a premium tool that offers two different subscriptions starting at $69.99 per year. It seems costly, but the software seems worth the pricing if you consider all the features.
Note: It’s important to keep in mind that the effectiveness of OCR software can vary depending on the quality of the source document, the language, and the complexity of the content. It’s recommended to try out the software and choose the one that best fits your needs.
