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Best OCR software of 2024

Best
By David Nield
Contributions from
Jonas P. DeMuro
last updated February 07, 2024

Testing out the best OCR software for scanning and archiving documents






Jump to:

 1. Best overall
 2. Best for business
 3. Best for small business
 4. Best for features
 5. Best for invoices
 Free alternatives
 How to choose
 How we test

Best OCR software: Quick menu

1. Best overall
2. Best for business
3. Best for small businesses
4. Best for features
5. Best for invoices
6. Free alternatives
7. How to choose
8. How we test

The best OCR software lets you scan your paper documents and archive them as digital PDF
files.

Often built into the best PDF editors (and some of the best free PDF editors, too), Optical
Character Recognition (OCR) software offers you the ability to scan invoices, text, and other
files into digital formats, making it easier to manage all paperwork. In our experience, we also
see a lot of integration with some of the best cloud storage services for better back-up and
security.

Staggeringly useful, then - but with so many different apps and programs out there, we wanted to
know which really is the best OCR software. So, we put them to the test. As part of our rigorous
review process, we compared user interface and experience, speed and performance, and extra
features including batch-scanning.

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Best OCR software overall

(Image credit: Adobe)

1. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Our top choice for scanning documents

Today's Best Deals

Acrobat Pro DC

$14.99
/mth

Visit Siteat Adobe

Reasons to buy

+
Plenty of advanced features
+
Easy to use

Reasons to avoid

-
Monthly subscription

Want to go with a well-known brand name you can trust, with all of the OCR features you could
need? Adobe Acrobat DC Pro fits the bill, and brings along with it an impressive list of options,
even if the price is a little steeper than some of its rivals.

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That DC stands for 'Document Cloud' by the way, and everything integrates rather neatly with
Adobe's cloud solution, should you need to get at your files from any computer. Of course there's
also slick and seamless integration with everything else Adobe makes, so you might consider this
if you already use a lot of other Adobe apps like Photoshop.
If you do decide to pay up for the Pro version of Adobe Acrobat DC, you get all the OCR basics
plus the ability to add comments and feedback on documents, a specialized tool for scanning
tables, the option to quickly compare two documents together, and much more. Documents can
be edited right on the screen just seconds after scanning them in.

The Adobe badge guarantees a certain level of quality, and we're impressed by the intuitiveness
and the scope of Adobe Acrobat DC. There are both monthly and annual subscriptions available,
with discounts available for the annual plan over the monthly one.

Read our full Adobe Acrobat DC review

 ^ Back to the top

Best OCR software for business

(Image credit: Kofax)

2. Kofax OmniPage Ultimate

OCR scanning for professionals

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VISIT WEBSITE

Reasons to buy

+
Comprehensive features
+
Custom workflows
+
Excellent speed
+
Very accurate

Reasons to avoid

-
Expensive
-
Not built for personal users
-
Too few input, output, workflow options
If you take your OCR scanning seriously – if it's a crucial cog in the machinery of your business
– then give OmniPage Ultimate a look. It's packed with features above and beyond what you
might expect, and while the price is relatively high, it still falls in the affordable bracket for most
small businesses.

Put down your cash and you can convert paper documents from virtually any scanner source into
just about any kind of digital file you like – and everything works super-fast too. If you've got
stacks of paper to get through, the time saved by OmniPage Ultimate can really start to add up.

Known for its accuracy in conversion, this software is trusted by some of the biggest names in
business – including Amazon, Ford, and GE – and lets you build up custom workflows so your
documents get automatically delivered to the right place in the right format, depending on your
needs.

OmniPage Ultimate offers comprehensive features or you can opt for Omnipage Standard which
is available for about half the price, though it doesn't include as many input, output and
workflow options, but it still offers more than enough in the way of features for most users
needing an OCR solution.

 ^ Back to the top

Best OCR software for small business

(Image credit: Abbyy )

3. Abbyy FineReader

Great pick for SMBs

Today's Best Deals

ABBYY FineReader Pro for Mac

$119.99

ABBYY FineReader 14 Standard

$199.99

ABBYY FineReader 14 Corporate

$399.99
Visit Siteat ABBYY USA

Reasons to buy

+
Comprehensive suite of features
+
Multiple output options
+
Volume licences

Reasons to avoid

-
Not ideal for casual users

Abbyy has been helping companies manage documents for a long, long time now, and it shows
in the latest version of the Abbyy FineReader software – it's just about as comprehensive a
solution as you would want for a small businesses, though casual users might prefer something a
little more lightweight.

You get all the tools you need for taking paper documents from a scanner and making them fully
readable, neatly organized, digitized documents. As well as recognizing text and converting it to
PDF, Microsoft Office or other formats, the program can also compare documents, add
annotations and comments, and more.

If you need to convert bundles of documents in batches then FineReader can do that too. It can
handle a host of output formats and 192 different languages without breaking a sweat. And there
are companion mobile apps as well if you need to do some quick scanning from a phone.

The software isn't the most modern we've ever seen but it's clean, functional and does the job
perfectly well. Abbyy FineReader has built up a strong reputation for being one of the best
options in the OCR field, and you can take advantage of a free trial to see if all the hype is on the
money.

The software is available to buy as a one-time perpetual license that can do OCR conversions
and edit PDFs. There is also a Corporate version which adds the ability to compare documents
and perform automated batch conversions.

 ^ Back to the top

Best OCR software for features

(Image credit: Readiris)

4. Readiris

Feature-rich and well-equipped

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VISIT WEBSITE

Reasons to buy

+
Aggregate and split PDFs
+
Comprehensive all-in-one solution
+
Easy to learn and operate
+
Cost-effective

Reasons to avoid

-
May be too feature-rich for casual users
-
Some features locked behind subscription tier

Readiris blends a polished interface with a host of useful features and functions to really earn its
place on our list. If you're running a small business or need a serious amount of paper digitized –
and you're prepared to pay for it – then you'll find this program one of the most comprehensive
out there.

From a host of supported file formats (including Microsoft Office formats and the option to have
text read aloud), to signatures and security protection on your finished digital documents, it's
difficult to think of anything that the developers of Readiris have missed out. Watermarks,
comments and annotations are all supported.

It's also one of the fastest and slickest OCR programs out there, putting some older applications
we've seen to shame. Documents are processed and filed rapidly, and you'll soon be jumping
quickly between the various Readiris screens, with no need to consult a manual or embedded
help file. Like all the best apps, it combines a lot of powerful features with a simple and
accessible interface.

Some features, such as support for a maximum of 138 languages and PDF password protection,
require a Corporate level package, which is priced as a one-time fee. The one below that level is
Pro, and then the basic product is just the standard Readiris – and it's still very good, so many of
you will be able to get by with the lowest priced package, making it one of the most cost-
effective solutions on this list.

 ^ Back to the top

Best OCR software for invoices

(Image credit: Rossum)

5. Rossum

The invoice scanning solution

Today's Best Deals
VISIT WEBSITE

Reasons to buy

+
98% accuracy
+
Universale invoice service

Reasons to avoid

-
Niche application

Rossum offers an OCR solution with a difference, in that it's aimed at scanning invoices for key
information to be exported into whichever program you're using.

This could make it especially useful for enterprises with a large number of invoices, especially
coming from contractors and suppliers, which may often be in paper form.

The software works by using AI to scan the document for key information rather than using a
template format, which helps in that different invoices will tend to be formatted to present
information in different ways.

However, while this could make it hugely useful in that regard, it's narrow range of purpose
means it has limited application across other areas where documents or images need scanning or
otherwise converting to editable text files.
Even still, Rossum has a clear purpose and works to a specific niche need, and will no doubt
prove valuable for businesses that need to extract figures simply and easily as opposed to simply
working with text.

Because it works in a customized way for the documents you use and the data you need to scan
and export, there's no flat rate pricing and instead you need to contact the company for a quote.
However, a free trial is available to see if it will suit your needs.

 ^ Back to the top

Best OCR software: Free alternatives

There are different types of OCR software, with the above often able to work with batches of
documents at the same time. Additionally, they can usually handle documents that may
otherwise have limited machine-readability. However, there are simpler desktop versions that
will allow some limited conversion of scanned PDF or TIFF files to plain text or document files,
usually at limited or no cost.

FreeOCR is software for Windows that allows most scanned PDF's and multi page Tiff images to
be outputted either as plain text or as a Microsoft Word document. It can also scan text from
other image files. The software is free to use, even for commercial purposes.

SimpleOCR is freeware that allows you to scan one document at a time and convert it to plain
text or a Word doc. An interesting feature of this free software is that it also works for French.
However, the free version may struggle with multi-column layouts, non-standard fonts, and poor
print quality.

GOCR is free and open-source OCR software designed to fulfil simple tasks. While it should be
able to do simple image to text conversions, it's biggest strength is that it has been developed to
run on different platforms, such as Linux as well as Windows, and because it's open source it can
be customized if you have the right coding skills.

How to choose the best OCR software for you

When deciding which OCR software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs
are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced
tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile.

It's also worth exploring the best scanners, best scanning software and the best document
scanning apps, to make sure you need an optical character recognition program or whether more
hardware or dedicated scanning tool are needed.
Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the
variety of tools available, while higher-end OCR software can really cater for every need, so do
ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require.

How we test the best OCR software

Our team of expert reviewers have tested a massive range of office document management tools,
including the best PDF merger tools to the best free PDF readers.

But whether we're comparing the best PDF to Word converters or software for optical character
recognition, we take the same rigorous approach to each app, platform, service, and software.

To test for the best OCR software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform,
whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the
software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push
each OCR software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to
get to grips with any more advanced tools.

 ^ Back to top

Round up of today's best deals

Acrobat Pro DC

$14.99
/mth

View

ABBYY FineReader Pro for Mac

$119.99

View
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David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for
more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering
news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our
breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at
Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the
likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

With contributions from

 Jonas P. DeMuro

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