Best OCR API Software in 2026
Updated
In short: OCR.space is ranked #1 of 27 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of PaddleOCR and Tesseract OCR. The best-ranked option with a free plan is PaddleOCR. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Amazon Textract AnalyzeExpense at $0.01/mo.
If you’re adding document reading to an application, OCR APIs can extract text and structure from files. Compare handwriting OCR, table extraction, and structure extraction, along with maximum file size and asynchronous processing. SDK languages can help you judge fit with your development setup; free-plan availability and paid starting prices provide cost context. OCR.space, PaddleOCR, and Tesseract OCR are among the opening entries, followed by Mistral OCR and OCRmyPDF. Consider your documents and processing needs, then weigh them against the 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.
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 1 OCR.space iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.9$30/mo Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: YesTable extraction: Yes
- 2 PaddleOCR iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.9Free Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: YesTable extraction: Yes
- 3 Tesseract OCR iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.9Free Structure extraction: Yes
- 4 Veryfi Invoices OCR API iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.8$500/mo
- 5 Regula Document Reader SDK iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.0 Structure extraction: Yes
- 6 Dynamsoft Label Recognizer iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.6 Structure extraction: Yes
- 7 Scanbot Data Capture SDK iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.6 Structure extraction: Yes
- 8 Anyline OCR SDK iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.5
- 9 Microblink BlinkID iPhone + Android RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4 Structure extraction: Yes
- 10 Amazon Textract AnalyzeExpense No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3$0.01/mo Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: Yes
- 11 OCRmyPDF No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free Handwriting OCR: No
- 12 Mistral OCR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8$4/mo Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: YesTable extraction: Yes
- 13 Asprise OCR SDK No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Structure extraction: YesTable extraction: Yes
- 14 Handwriting OCR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6$1,916/mo Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: YesTable extraction: Yes
- 15 Apryse OCR SDK No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: NoTable extraction: No
- 16 PDF.coArtifex Software, Inc. No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5$8.99/mo
- 17 EasyOCR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Handwriting OCR: No
- 18 Kraken No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.4 Handwriting OCR: Yes
- 19 ConvertAPI No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3
- 20 Calamari OCR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: Yes
- 21 docTR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2
- 22 Surya No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2
- 23 Taggun No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.2 Structure extraction: YesHandwriting OCR: Yes
- 24 API4AI OCR No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.1 Handwriting OCR: Yes
- 25 ocrs No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.1 Structure extraction: Yes
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 Samsung Mobile US Press?
OCR.space is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 7.9. PaddleOCR is second and Tesseract OCR 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 mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.