Have you received a scanned image of a document that you want to analyze? You needn’t take the manual route and jot everything down line by line. Instead, you can take the help of an OCR software. Here we have enlisted some of the best OCR software for Windows PC.
| Top Software Reviews | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| 1.Systweak PDF Editor | ||
| 2.Wondershare PDFElement | ||
| 3.Klippa OCR | ||
| 4.SwifDoo PDF Editor | ||
| 5.Nitro Pro | ||
| 6.Rossum | ||
| 7.ChronoScan OCR | ||
| 8.Adobe Acrobat Pro DC | ||
| 9.ABBYY FineReader PDF | ||
| 10.Photo to Text OCR | ||
If you are new to the concept of OCR technologies, OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a technology that is used when scanning paper documents. The software recognizes text in a scanned image and converts this scanned image file into a machine-readable text document. All the contents of this scanned document can be saved as text data on your device that you can later analyze easily.
Why Use OCR Software?
Here are some reasons to use an OCR software –
– Puts an end to manual data entry.
– By using optical character recognition software to make text searchable, it becomes easy to locate information.
– It becomes easy to digitize and archive documents.
– With OCR software you can make the text, spreadsheets, and other elements in scanned images editable.
– Translate text into images in various languages.
Best Optical Character Recognition Software 2024
- 1
Systweak PDF Editor- Edit text and images in PDF documents.
- Combine PDF files.
- Convert PDF files to various formats and vice versa.
- Protect PDFs with a password.
- $69.95 / year
- 2
Wondershare PDFElement- Batch converts PDF to not just Word but multiple file formats.
- Convert PDF to JPG in 600 dpi.
- Arrange and organize PDFs exactly the way you want.
- Convert files from various formats to PDF
- $79.99 / year Download Here
- 3
Klippa OCR- Process JPG, PDF, JPG, PNG, and various other file formats.
- AI-powered image pre-processing.
- Make use of existing documents for smooth integration.
- Batch conversion capabilities.
- FreeDownload Here
- 4
SwifDoo PDF Editor- Convert PDF to Word in all formats (.doc, .docx)
- Convert files from other formats to PDF.
- Translate selected text in PDF.
- Annotate PDF.
- $5.75 / month Download Here
- 5
Nitro Pro- Batch processing functionalities
- Digital signature and ID certification
- Annotate and sign PDFs
- Scan and OCR your PDF files
- $149.99 / year Download Here
- 6
Rossum- AI-based document classification.
- Detecting duplicate documents.
- Extract data from large volumes of documents.
- Security compliance and data privacy.
- FreeDownload Here
- 7
ChronoScan OCR- Scan/index large sets of documents.
- PDF data extraction.
- Extra only the data you want using Zonal OCR.
- Intelli-tag search helps you search the most typical values in a document.
- FreeDownload Here
- 8
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC- Robust encryption & security tools.
- Password-protect PDFs.
- Supports e-signing documents
- Allows removing metadata as well
- $14.99 / year Download Here
- 9
ABBYY FineReader PDF- AI-based OCR technology.
- Dedicated text panel where you can edit/ update the text in the scanned image.
- The Zoom panel helps you zoom in on the exact sections that you have selected in the image panel.
- Export scanned documents into various formats – PDF, DOC, CSV, TXT, etc.
- $69.99 / month Download Here
- 10
Photo to Text OCR- Send converted text to other apps.
- Edit output text in real time.
- Share text directly from within the app.
- FreeDownload Here
1. Systweak PDF Editor
Systweak PDF Editor is one the best OCR software that you can download for free. It lets you convert scanned or image-based PDFs into searchable and editable text. Once converted, you can edit the text in the document, highlight important points, search for complex terms, and do other things. To know more check out this Systweak PDF Editor review.
Notable Features
- Convert scanned/image-based PDFs to editable text.
- Extract text from scanned documents.
- Scan to searchable text in the image.
- Choose the exact page range that you would like to convert to editable and searchable text.
- Compress PDF documents.
- Multiple languages supported.
- Save the output to the desired folder.
- Convert PDF to multiple formats.
- Annotate on PDF documents.
- Components required to perform OCR take time to download.
Pricing – 7-day free fully functional trial. Pricing starts at $69.95/ year
2. Wondershare PDFElement
Wondershare PDFElement is yet another text recognition software that can convert scanned files to editable and searchable PDFs. It can recognize over 20 languages and promises high accuracy and quality when converting scanned documents to machine-readable text. To dive deeper you can check our review of Wondershare PDFElement.
Notable Features
- Edit scanned PDF documents.
- Extract data from scanned PDF files.
- Convert multiple scanned or image-based PDFs to searchable and editable.
- High quality and accuracy.
- Convert PDF files to various formats.
- Recognizes 20+ languages.
- Powerful OCR engine.
- Convert scanned PDF to Microsoft Office formats.
- Arrange and organize PDFs exactly the way you want
- Consumes system resources.
Pricing – Free trial available. Pricing starts at $79.99/ year
3. Klippa OCR
Klippa OCR is one of the best optical character recognition software in the market. It lets you process invoices, receipts, passports, contracts, and other documents in a hassle-free manner. What adds to its credibility is the fact that Klippa OCR is software that is powered by machine learning. This implies that it converts images to text in a matter of seconds without compromising quality.
Notable Features
- Process JPG, PDF, JPG, PNG, and various other file formats.
- AI-powered image pre-processing.
- Make use of existing documents for smooth integration.
- Batch conversion capabilities.
- Convert files to PDF, JSON, CSV, XML, and UBL.
- AI-based document classification.
- Submit files via FTP, app, web, and email.
- Fast processing with 99% accuracy.
- Integration with third-party apps.
- Limited languages supported.
Pricing – Free demo available. Pricing on request.
4. SwifDoo PDF
OCR technology is one of the reasons that makes SwifDoo PDF a must-have PDF Editor for your Windows PC. You can choose how you want to OCR your existing PDF and convert the scanned PDF to a document with text and images. You can choose whether you wish to retain the original formatting, make the text searchable, and other settings.
Notable Features
- Convert scanned PDFs to editable file formats such as Word.
- Make scanned documents editable and searchable.
- Convert images to editable file formats.
- Slideshow mode to display PDFs as PowerPoint presentations.
- Read PDFs aloud.
- Retain the original formatting and layout.
- Analyze and chat with PDFs using AI.
- Translate PDFs in over 100 languages.
- Annotate PDFs.
- Some users have observed minor glitches when annotating.
Pricing – Free trial available. Pricing starts at $14/ month and billed quarterly at $42.
5. Nitro Pro
Primarily Nitro Pro is a PDF editing tool. One of the highlights of Nitro Pro is that it doubles as an optical character recognition software (OCR software). It gives you the option to choose the output text as searchable or both searchable and selectable. Furthermore, you can take aid of various advanced options for selecting target page range, orientation, etc.
Notable Features
- Make text searchable only, or make it editable as well.
- Skewed image correction.
- Select the language of the scanned text you want to detect.
- Flatten out image colors to remove JPEG compression artifacts.
- Configure image compression settings.
- Select the target page range.
- Rotate pages automatically when scanned at 90, 180, or 270 degrees.
- No loss in quality.
- Various annotation options.
- The free version lacks advanced features.
Pricing – 14-day free trial. Pricing starts at $14.99/ month, billed annually at $179.88
6. Rossum
When it comes to capturing and exporting large volumes of data, Rossum is hailed as one of the best AI-based OCR software. As an AI OCR software, Rossum understands the context of the scanned image and promises accuracy when converting it into machine-readable text. Rossum’s advanced AI engine uses NLP to extract data from large volumes of data.
Notable Features
- AI-based document classification.
- Detecting duplicate documents.
- Extract data from large volumes of documents.
- Security compliance and data privacy.
- Advanced AI engine.
- AI-powered OCR.
- Cross-integration with other apps.
- 95% data extraction accuracy.
- Understand complex objects in documents.
- Occasional crashes.
Pricing – 14-day free trial. Pricing on request.
7. ChronoScan OCR
As the name suggests, ChronoScan OCR is an OCR software that lets you scan and organize your documents in a matter of minutes. It helps with assisted auto fields and data entry with OCR. It supports direct scanning as well as multiple document import streams and automated import queues.
Notable Features
- Scan/index large sets of documents.
- PDF data extraction.
- Extra only the data you want using Zonal OCR.
- Intelli-tag search helps you search the most typical values in a document.
- Read low-quality documents with the Nuance-OCR plug-in.
- Upload documents to the cloud.
- Export data and documents to your ERP/ CRM.
- Read the Barcode data from your documents.
- Better image orientation detection.
- Scanning may sometimes take time.
Pricing – Free trial available. Pricing on request.
8. Adobe Acrobat DC
As an optical character recognition software, Adobe Acrobat DC turns scanned files into editable PDFs in such a manner that the editable text and customized fonts look just like the original file. Once converted you can even work with your new PDF in other applications as well. You can cut and paste text into Microsoft Word, into plain text (TXT), etc.
Notable Features
- Automatic customized font generation matches the format as that of the scanned document.
- Recognize text in multiple files.
- Choose page range.
- Translate to various different languages.
- Ability to correct recognized text.
- Choose whether to keep the text and images searchable or even editable.
- Various options to edit the PDF.
- Resource intensive.
Pricing – 7-day free trial. Pricing starts at $29.99/ month
9. ABBYY FineReader PDF
ABBYY FineReader OCR software analyzes the structure of the document image. It then divides the page into elements such as tables, blocks of texts, images, etc. Once it singles out characters, it compares them with a set of pattern images. It further applies many advanced processes and converts the scanned image into recognizable text.
Notable Features
- AI-based OCR technology.
- Dedicated text panel where you can edit/ update the text in the scanned image.
- The Zoom panel helps you zoom in on the exact sections that you have selected in the image panel.
- Export scanned documents into various formats – PDF, DOC, CSV, TXT, etc.
- Highly customizable interface.
- Select the device for acquiring images.
- Change image quality settings.
- Free limited trial.
Pricing – Free trial available. Pricing starts at $69.99/ year.
10. Photo to Text OCR
Last but not the least we have Photo to Text OCR which is a simple to use OCR software which is free for download. It may not have the bells and whistles as many other OCR software on the list but what it lacks in features, it covers in accuracy and speed.
Notable Features
- Send converted text to other apps.
- Edit output text in real-time.
- Share text directly from within the app.
- High accuracy.
- Instant extraction of text.
- Multiple formats supported.
- Lacks some advanced OCR features.
Pricing – Free
Which OCR Software Will You Choose To Digitize Your Scanned Documents?
When you have multiple scanned documents, it is not feasible to manually jot down the textual contents or replicate the other objects such as tables, bullet points, diagrams, etc. A smarter option is to use OCR software on your computer and convert those documents into machine-readable files so that you can use applications to search, edit, and analyze them.
If you regularly work with documents – analyze and archive them, which of the above OCR software will you choose? Do let us know in the comments section below. For more such content, keep reading Top10PCSoftware. You can also find us on Facebook, Flipboard, and Pinterest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best OCR software?
In the post above we have enlisted some of the best OCR software. Systweak PDF Editor, Klippa OCR, Rossum AI, and Wondershare PDFElement are some of the best OCR software that you can download.
Why OCR is used?
OCR technology is used to convert the text and other elements in a scanned image into machine-readable format. This helps remove manually typing the data and can further ease managing or archiving multiple scanned images containing data.
What is the best free OCR software for Windows 10?
Systweak PDF Editor, and SwifDoo PDF are some of the best OCR software available for free for a limited time.
