Jan 09, 2020 But there are some concerns about this software that this OCR does not extract text from handwritten notes but it works very well with a copy that is well printed. PDF element 6 Pro windows / mac. This software is considered to be the best optical character recognition software available for Windows, Mac, IOS, and Android. The best OCR software is a matter of finding out which app satisfies your needs the best, and if they are cheap and easy to use. Trying to figure out the best OCR software for Mac and Windows. Adobe Acrobat DC is a great app to perform OCR and other pdf-related operations, but it is not perfect.
Although businesses are largely transitioning to digital processes and a digital way of working, paper is still prevalent. Use OCR software to convert scan to text and transfer all the paper-based documents into the digital form.
OCR stands for Optical character recognition. Such software as OCR converter uses advanced algorithms to automatically scan and detect hand-written text in documents (mostly PDF, also JPG and PNG) and translate it into digital formats that can be edited as regular text.
What is my mac address windows 7. Using an OCR software, you can scan paper-based document that may be saved as PDF’s or image files and transform them into editable files like Word or TXT documents. This provides brilliant flexibility, but also reduces your reliance on paper. Some businesses may even use OCR applications to transition to a paperless operation.
In this article, we look at five of the best OCR software available for your benefit.
1. PDF Candy – online OCR tool and OCR software for Windows
PDF Candy is an excellent set of both free online OCR tool and software. The service and the software have multiple features and options to work with PDF files including the “OCR PDF” tool. One can convert PDF to Word, scan documents using advanced OCR software and select the OCR language to get the best results.
PDF Candy Desktop and web version to OCR online both have excellent layout and are easy to use. The program has a main toolbar which shows the main functions, but also a tiled display of the different actions available.
The OCR software of PDF Candy is accurate and provides a smooth scanning process. It is a great tool if you’re in need to OCR PDF quickly and hassle-free.
OS: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista; web-based
Licensing: Online OCR tool is free; software has Shareware license, $29.95/lifetime
File Size: 141 MB
Our Rating:10 / 10
Licensing: Online OCR tool is free; software has Shareware license, $29.95/lifetime
File Size: 141 MB
Our Rating:10 / 10
Pros | Cons |
|
|
2. Abbyy FineReader – multifunctional OCR software
Abbyy FineReader is an excellent tool that features the OCR option and has a simple interface. The layout is user friendly and has a simple main menu where you can select different functions like open PDF, scan to text and compare.
Each process of the OCR software is easy to use and follows a tutorial. Furthermore, there is a help section with guides on how to use the different features including editing PDF, organizing pages, merging and more.
The OCR PDF functionality is advanced and produces excellent results. You can scan directly from a camera or external scanner. Alternatively, you can open pre-existing documents that are already scanned onto your device.
In addition to the basic scanning, you can compare documents, and add annotations too. File formats supported include PDF, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Word. This is a comprehensive program and one of the best OCR software available.
OS: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7; Mac
Licensing: Trialware, $119 for the personal lifetime license
File Size: 357 MB
Our Rating:9 / 10
Licensing: Trialware, $119 for the personal lifetime license
File Size: 357 MB
Our Rating:9 / 10
Pros | Cons |
|
|
3. Kofax OmniPage Ultimate – convert images and PDF to DOC efficiently
There are two versions of OmiPage OCR software – the standard package and ultimate. The standard package is OK but it does have limited features. If you want a fully functioning OCR application that works with PDF files and images, the Ultimate version is a must-have. It does come at an increased price tag, however.
OmniPage Ultimate is used by some of the biggest companies to turn scan to text and has a great reputation. This is based on its amazing performance fast speeds, and high degree of accuracy. If you are a large corporation requiring thousands of documents scanning, this is a great option to OCR PDF files.
In addition to this, OmniPage Ultimate is packed full of useful features that improve its functionality. You can edit scanned documents and export them to a myriad of different file formats. For large businesses, this is definitely one of the best OCR software available.
OS: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7
Licensing: Trialware, $499
File Size: 515 MB
Our Rating:8 / 10
Licensing: Trialware, $499
File Size: 515 MB
Our Rating:8 / 10
Pros | Cons |
|
|
4. Readiris – program that can OCR PDF and features PDF editor
Readiris is another contender for best OCR software. This program is a little expensive, therefore it may not be suitable for small business usage. That being said, it has an excellent OCR process that scans and reads documents in lightning fast times.
The OCR application layout uses several main panels and tabs – it looks modern and works effectively. You can quickly perform different tasks like scanning new documents direct from external devices or opening current documents to be read. You can not only turn your scan to text but also you can convert PDF to DOC and other output formats, add annotations and comments to PDF, sign PDFs and protect them with passwords.
We feel this OCR software is best suited for larger businesses that have a huge volume of documents to be processed. The excellent processing speeds will allow you to complete the scanning quickly and with a high degree of accuracy.
OS: Windows, Mac
Licensing: Trialware, paid version starts at $49
File Size: 425 MB
Our Rating:8 / 10
Licensing: Trialware, paid version starts at $49
File Size: 425 MB
Our Rating:8 / 10
Pros | Cons |
|
|
5. Rossum – online OCR tool for invoices
Rossum is an interesting web-based application that is primarily used to OCR PDF invoices. It has advanced OCR software that has been tailored specifically to scan and read business invoices.
Best Pdf Ocr Software Machine
If you require OCR converter for invoicing and want to digitize your payment systems, this is the best OCR software available for you. The online OCR application looks fantastic and is easy to follow. You can quickly import and scan documents.
Furthermore, it has a myriad of tracking options so you can see which invoices need reviewing or processing.
OS: Web-based
Licensing: Trialware, pricing on demand
Our Rating:7 / 10
Licensing: Trialware, pricing on demand
Our Rating:7 / 10
Pros | Cons |
|
|
We hope you have found this guide on the best OCR software valuable. OCR is a handy tool for any business. Using such a program allows for the easy scanning and editing of written documents. Sometimes using paper, or hand-written items is unavoidable.
It is therefore ideal to have a OCR PDF tool available, so that you can convert PDF to DOC and edit these documents if necessary. When choosing a suitable OCR program, remember to look at the different licenses available, and if there are any limitations on the number of documents you can scan. Furthermore, be sure to look at the available export options, and the file formats the software supports. If you don’t want to scan to turn scan to text and you need to edit PDF right away then check our review of the best PDF editors.
Related articles
- How to Edit a PDF – Online and Offline SolutionsPDF format requires the use of special programs that can open and edit PDF files. Editing PDF…
- How to Convert PDF to Word OnlinePDF format is one of those formats for which you need specific software or services to process…
- How to Convert Scanned PDF to WordConverting PDF to Word is a great way to edit PDF documents just like any other text…
Suppose you have a physical document. It could be a resume, a guide, even a book. Wouldn’t it be great if you could convert it into a digital file so that you could edit, share, annotate and even store it safely on your Mac or PC? Thanks to a nifty little technology called optical character recognition (OCR for short), you can do all of the above and then some more. The best OCR software lets you archive and edit important documents for those moments when all you have is that paper in your hand, saving you hours of painstakingly typing it away word by word on your computer.
We take a look at top 10 of the best OCR software for Mac and Windows machines, helping you decide which one suits your purposes and needs perfectly.
// 1. Abbyy FineReader – The Best OCR Software for Mac with High Accuracy
// 2. Adobe Acrobat DC – The Most Advanced OCR Software for Professionals
// 3. Google Vision
// 4. Soda PDF OCR
// 5. PDFelement Pro
// 6. Smile PDFpen Pro
// 7. Readiris Pro
// 8. Nuance Omnipage
// 9. Prizmo
// 10. Tesseract (FREE)
// Conclusion
// Advantages of OCR Technology
// 2. Adobe Acrobat DC – The Most Advanced OCR Software for Professionals
// 3. Google Vision
// 4. Soda PDF OCR
// 5. PDFelement Pro
// 6. Smile PDFpen Pro
// 7. Readiris Pro
// 8. Nuance Omnipage
// 9. Prizmo
// 10. Tesseract (FREE)
// Conclusion
// Advantages of OCR Technology
1. Abbyy FineReader
Abbyy FineReader is the Best OCR Software for Mac with High Accuracy
If you work with documents, notes and PDFs day in and out, ABBYY FineReader helps you make the most of them. You can neatly organize your digital PDFs, and annotate them as needed for professional and academic uses.
Supported Input Formats:
- PDF, including PDF/A
- Image formats: TIFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, JBIG, JBIG2, PNG, BMP, PCX, DCX, GIF
Windows version will also support inputting below file formats:
- Editable formats: DOC(X), XLS(X), PPT(X), VSD(X), HTML, RTF, TXT, ODT, ODS, ODP
- Barcodes
Output Formats:
- PDF, including PDF/A (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 2u, 3a, 3b, 3u)
- Image formats: TIFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, JBIG2, PNG, BMP, PCX, DCX
- Editable formats: DOC(X), XLS(X), PPTX, HTML, RTF, TXT, CSV, ODT
- E-book formats: EPUB®, FB2
Details of Windows version supported file formats, please refer to here: https://www.abbyy.com/finereader/specifications/.
Where it excels:
Want to see if there are any changes between the original source and the output? Abbyy FineReader lets you compare documents in different formats, so that rest assured, you can see if anything was lost in translation. Plus it’s an all-in-one universal PDF tool, which can automate the digitization of your physical documents in a jiffy. You can also use the snappy Search function to retrieve any specific information you require, instead of flipping through hundreds of pages to recall where you saw it.
2. Adobe Acrobat DC
Adobe Acrobat DC – The Most Advanced and Best OCR Software for Professionals
The PDF file format was first pioneered by Adobe Inc. It’s no wonder that as far as the best OCR software for Mac and PCs go, Acrobat DC is hands down the de-facto professional software for all your digitization needs.
Input formats
- Image formats: TIFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, JBIG2, PNG, BMP, PCX, DjVu
- Editable formats: DOC(X), XLS(X), PPTX, HTML, RTF, TXT, CSV, ODT
- HTML
Output formats
- EPS
- TXT
- XML
- All major image formats
- Editable formats: DOC(X), XLS(X), PPTX, HTML, RTF, TXT, CSV, ODT
- E-book formats: EPUB®, FB2
Where it excels
As mentioned before, Adobe Acrobat DC is made with professionals in mind. There are no tradeoffs in quality and you get every feature at your disposal to create, annotate, sign and fill out your PDFs after scanning your physical documents. However, the average user could find using Acrobat a bit technical. There are better alternatives out there for casual users.
3. Google Vision
Google Vision or more accurately, Google Cloud’s Vision API lets you use OCR tech in images to extract text and symbols with remarkable results. You can simply drag any image here, and get intelligent insights about the information you have captured, all powered by artificial intelligence. Use this to identify products, objects, text and more from an image. This OCR tool is web-only but extremely powerful in what it can do.
Input formats
All major image formats:
- JPEG
- PNG8
- PNG24
- GIF
- Animated GIF (first frame only)
- BMP
- WEBP
- RAW
- ICO
- TIFF
File size should not exceed 20 MB.
Output formats
This web-only tool generates output files as needed. For example, if a developer is looking to extract text, lines or specific objects from an image, Google Vision API can do it for you.
- Any document file.
- Any image file.
- Database
What it excels at:
This tool is powered by machine learning, and Google has made it friendly for programmers and coders to modify it for whatever needs they want. Developers can create ‘actions’ to extract the type of content they require from images (be it text only, or more). It can also be used to catalog and classify information as needed.
4. Soda PDF OCR
Soda PDF OCR features a simple drag-and-drop interface for turning any PDF, scanned document or image into a modifiable file.
Remove linkedin contacts from mac contacts app. Input Formats
- Editable documents: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Text, HTML
- Image files: GIF, JPG, PNG
Output Formats
- HTML
- Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Image formats
What it excels at
This online and offline tool may be basic, but we think its simplicity and ease of use will make it a hit with the average Joes and Janes who just need to get the job done. It works on any device, whether Mac, PC or mobile, making it one of the best OCR software all around.
5. PDFelement Pro
One of the best OCR software out there, PDF Element Pro makes it easy for you to make use of OCR capabilities to create, modify and share files with others in your organization. Though, keep in mind that the OCR feature is available for paid users only.
Input formats
- Major image formats
- Editable Document formats
- HTML
Output formats
- Word
- Excel
- Searchable and editable PDF
- PowerPoint (PPT)
- Image
- Text
- Epub
- HTML
- RTF
What it excels at
If you’re looking for a professional OCR software but one that is a lot more affordable than Adobe Acrobat DC, PDF Element Pro fits that bill. It offers all the features that Acrobat does, and is perfect for digitizing your files.
6. Smile PDFpen Pro
With Smile PDFpen Pro, you can scan physical documents and perform OCR either in single file or batch processing mode. Using this helps you edit text, adjust resolution, color, contrast and more. Once scanned, you can edit text and pictures as you need.
Input formats
- HTML
- Major file formats
- Scanners
Output formats
- Editable documents: Word, PowerPoint, Excel
- PDF and PDF/A
- Portfolio documents
What it excels at
This multipurpose PDF editing tool makes for one of the best OCR software for Mac. You can add text or signatures, upload your files to the cloud. You can even use PDFpen Pro on iPad and iPhone and sync Library items via iCloud.
7. Readiris Pro
If you ever wanted to convert your paper documents into a lot of digital formats, that too with a few clicks in between, Canon’s Readiris Pro fits the bill. Use its OCR capabilities to convert your physical documents into PDFs.
Input Formats
- Scanner
- Major image formats – JPEG, PNG, GIF
- Text
- Numbers and Calc files
Output Formats
- Editable documents: Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
- Audio book
- ePub
- TXT
Mac version of the wd smartware software. What it excels at
If you’re looking for a relatively faster document processing application, Readiris claims that it is 20% faster than other alternatives out there. It is also among the best OCR software for Mac since it comes with support for Numbers and Calc files.
8. Nuance Omnipage
Geared more towards small and medium sized businesses, Nuance Omnipage features an attractive and professional suite of features for your OCR needs.
Input formats
- PDF, .XPS, .JPG, .TIF, .MAX, and other common image file formats
Output formats
- Editable documents: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect, infoPath
- HTML
- CSV
- RTF
- ePub
- AZW – Amazon Kindle ebook file
- Major image formats
What it excels at
Since time savings are a significant factor when it comes to businesses, you will be making use of its recurring conversion jobs. There are also built-in workflows that can help you quickly convert those physical documents into digital and editable ones.
9. Prizmo
This scanning application is available for Macs, iPads and iPhones in over 40 languages. It is designed for everyone, given its very user-friendly interface.
Input Formats
Mac Ocr App
- Regular Photo Files including JPEG, RAW, TIFF
- PDF Files (even Multipage)
Output formats
- Prizmo Documents (.pzdoc)
- JPEG, TIFF, PNG
- vCards for Business Cards
- OCR Results (Multipage Documents Exported as a Single File):
- PDF (Text)
- PDF (Image + Searchable Text indexable by Spotlight)
- RTF
- TXT
What it excels at
Usually, OCR apps just capture the information on a physical piece of paper and turn it into machine-readable text/ images. With Prizmo, you can go a little further. With its support for neural network-based translation, Prizmo can translate captured text into 22 other languages. Mac users can also take advantage of its integration with Automator, saving tons of time in the process.
10. Tesseract (FREE)
Tesserect is an open-source alternative for all your OCR scanning needs. It is primarily aimed for developers, given its command-line user interface and limited support for image file formats.
Input formats
Any image readable by Leptonica is supported in Tesseract including BMP, PNM, PNG, JFIF, JPEG, and TIFF.
Output formats
- Txt
Where it excels
Tesseract is free, and it is constantly being developed. If you’re looking to turn a few images into digital files and are not too thrilled with the idea of plonking down $ for an application, then Tesseract can get the job done.
Conclusion
There’s no one best OCR software to rule them all. We have listed 10 such apps that can make quick work of scanning and digitizing your archives into editable and searchable ones. There are some minor, albeit significant unique selling points for all the apps we have mentioned.
If you want OCR support for mobile devices, there are some apps who do exactly that. If you’re looking for the fastest OCR processing app, we’ve got you covered there too. Or maybe you need a free alternative to a paid one. There is something for everyone here.
Advantages of OCR Technology
Because OCR tech can turn printed documents or even handwritten notes into machine readable text and images, the question becomes – why aren’t more people using it already. The biggest advantage to using OCR software is that it can turn legal, historic or hard copy documents into digital versions. These softwares could help you turn it into a PDF, which could then be easily shared or stored. Or you could use a word processing app like MS Word or Google Docs to edit it.
Here are some other advantages to using OCR:
- You can automate data entry work, saving countless hours and labor costs as a result.
- You can easily deposit your check electronically. There’s no need of a bank teller or long queues that one usually faces at banks.
- For historians and scholars, archiving information from magazines, newspapers and books is easy. They can also search for specific pieces of information and instantly get it via a digital file.
- For search engines, archiving and indexing printed material is possible.
- If you teach a class of visually-impaired students, OCR can help you convert text from any book into voice, thus delivering read-out-aloud content.
- You can store signed documents in an electronic database.
- You can take advantage of translation tools to turn any captured text into other languages.
Not only does using OCR result in significant time savings, you also eliminate the probability of human error with a lot less effort. You can share those files, even zip a bunch of them as required.