Top 10 OCR software in 2023 | Best OCR solutions

OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, is finding several uses – from digitizing books to automating invoice processing. Modern OCR software are fast and accurate, and are able to extract data from poorly formatted scans, low quality images, and even handwritten documents. This is what enables OCR applications to carry out a wide range of functions beyond mere data extraction and pave the way for intelligent document processing. However, there are multiple OCR software available in the market that help convert documents into their digital counterparts, and the question is how do you choose the best-suited OCR solution for your business.

If you are considering to take the paperless route in your day-to-day business operations, here are the ten best OCR software solutions you can consider. 

Let’s jump right into it:-

Top 10 OCR software for your business in 2023

OCR software is used to convert characters from scanned images and paper-based documents into digital text for faster processing and streamlined electronic document storage. Today, modern OCR solutions are cloud-based and can be used for digitizing multiple document types in minutes. 

Here is a list of the top 10 OCR solutions for your business:

1. Docsumo

A powerful AI-driven platform to automate data capture, extraction, and processing for a gamut of document types. Docsumo uses a combination of intelligent OCR, AI, and Machine Learning algorithms to digitize documents and convert them into various formats. API models are trained to recognize different document layouts and extract data from them. Users can upload files in bulk and need not manually review them once APIs get the hang of reading their preferred document types.

Top Features

• Intelligent (AI-powered) OCR
• Image or data capture and transfer
• Data validation rules
• Document data extraction
• Batch processing
• Automatic document classification
• Document fraud detection in real time
• Multiple output formats

Pricing

Ask for pricing.

Pros

• Allows customization and offers room for automation.
• Excellent customer support.
• Seamless integration with popular business systems.

Cons

• API documentation requires more detail.
• It is still in its growing phase.

2. Adobe Acrobat Pro 

The Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is an end-to-end document processor with powerful OCR functionality. It uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert scanned documents, PDFs, and other images into digitized documents which are easily searchable and editable by users. The software is specifically designed for business professionals and it is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Top Features

• Indexing
• Multi-language support
• Data extraction
• Text editing

Pricing

While a free version of the app is available, it only possesses standard document reading capabilities. Access to additional functionalities including OCR features, starts from $1.95 per month.

Pros

• Reliable brand value.
• Seamless integration with other Adobe suite solutions.
• Dedicated mobile apps.

Cons

• Advanced features are available at a premium cost.
• Recurring subscription package.

3. Rossum

Rossum helps users organize, manipulate, and process all the incoming documents. It is particularly useful for processing invoices. It uses Artificial Intelligence to scan and interpret a variety of file types, irrespective of variable document layouts and formats. Rossum also allows its users to add in-depth integrations, coding semantics, and receive automated confirmations, edit or correction requests, and alerts about document conversions that are set to match business requirements.

Top Features

• Zone selection tools
• Indexing
• Multi-language support
• Multiple output formats
• Metadata extraction
• Text editing
• Image pre-processing

Pricing

Rossum offers both a free trial and a free version. You can contact them to know more about their tailored pricing structure.

Pros 

• AI-driven data extraction.
• Excellent customer support.
• User-friendly interface.

Cons

• Integration through API may be difficult.
• Certain features require manual intervention.
• Niche application primarily in invoicing.

4. Readiris

Readiris automatically converts images, paper documents, and PDF files into searchable and editable text. Readiris uses just a few clicks to convert and manage your documents all in one place. It can sign documents, edit, merge, and the speed of conversions is very good when it comes to converting documents in different file formats. Users can additionally extract texts embedded in images using its intelligent OCR data capture technology. 

Top Features

• Batch processing
• Indexing
• Text editing
• Multi-language support
• Multiple output formats

Pricing

Readiris does not offer a free trial or a free version. The software is available at a one-time payment of $33.56 per feature.

Pros 

• High reading and parsing speed.
• Tidy UI.
• High accuracy.

Cons

• Limited keyboard shortcuts.
• Limited options for plain text files.
• Lacks ‘save to clipboard’ option.
• Pricey for the limited functionalities.

5. Docparser

Docparser helps identify data and extract it from image-based documents through its Zonal OCR technology. Docparser can extract tabular data, set custom parsing rules, smart filters, and has powerful image preprocessing capabilities. Users can take advantage of its barcode and QR code scanning technology when reading documents and forward parsed documents to various Cloud apps straight from the platform.

Top Features

• Data extraction
• Data aggregation
• Data publishing
• Contact (phone or email) extraction
• Pricing extraction

Pricing

Docparser comes with a free version and a free trial. The pricing model depends on the features and starts from $39 (Starter) to $149 (Business). You can contact them for enterprise-grade requirements.

Pros

• Platform agnostic, cloud-based service.
• Affordable per page pricing.
• Ready to use templates for several categories.

Cons

• Lacks auto-recharge function.
• Complex parsing rules can increase parsing time significantly.

6. ABBYY Flexicapture

ABBYY Flexicapture comes with advanced functionalities to scan photos/pdf documents and translate them into text, table, and other formats. ABBYY Flexicapture helps enterprises eliminate manual data entry, focus on more productive tasks, and automate various administrative processes. The software lets users scan, digitize, retrieve, edit, protect, collaborate, and share all kinds of documents and maximizes efficiency in digital workplaces.

Top Features

• AI-powered OCR technology
• Batch processing
• Text editing
• Multi-language support
• Multiple output formats
• Image pre-processing
• Metadata extraction

Pricing

Ask for pricing

Pros

• Easy to use with an intuitive user interface and comprehensive features.
• Can easily reproduce tables and their content.
• Powerful multi-language support.
• A high degree of accuracy.

Cons

• Multiple user access requires multiple licensing.
• No tool for merging multiple files into a single document.

7. OmniPage Ultimate by Kofax

OmniPage Ultimate facilitates the easy conversion of documents into their editable, searchable, and shareable counterparts. OmniPage streamlines document workflows for enterprises and allows business owners to easily digitize files with high level accuracy. It can convert business critical documents into editable formats and send them to pre-programmed business workflows. Additionally, the OCR solution can route multiple files to any corporate network, be it public or private.

Top Features

• Indexing
• Batch processing
• Text editing
• Image pre-processing
• Multiple output formats
• Metadata extraction

Pricing

OmniPage Ultimate, which grants OCR functionalities, is available at $499 for a single license, which can be installed on at most 2 Windows OS machines.

Pros 

• User-friendly UI.
• Trainable engine.
• Makes automation possible.

Cons

• Prone to freezing and lagging due to poor processing speeds.
• Accuracy takes a hit for low-resolution inputs.

8. Google Doc AI

Google Doc AI lets users process a variety of documents including PDFs, invoices, payment forms, and other file types. It uses Artificial Intelligence algorithms to achieve higher data accuracy and reduce the number of manual human reviews. You can cut down on processing costs, ensure legal compliance, and derive insights from multiple documents in order to provide better customer experiences in just a few clicks. The software can process up to billions of documents on a daily basis and computer vision technology embedded with the platform enables users to read and scan information from scanned images and unstructured texts. Users can add human reviews to boost the accuracy of data extraction for the AI models, apply data validation, and custom parsing features as well.

Top Features

• Integrates parsed data with Google Graph
• Multi-language support
• Enrich data in documents with intelligent analysis
• Converts to PDF and works with various Cloud products
• Text editing, form parser, and document splitter
• Human in the Loop (HITL) feedback

Pricing

• Pricing starts at $65 for 1000 pages

Pros 

• Easy to use with support for scaling and delivers high-quality insights from data
• Eliminates human errors and automates manual documentation processes
• Provides multilingual support and uses deep learning to recognize over 200 languages.
• Quick and simple integration with the Cloud ecosystem.

Cons

• Customization of existing APIs can take a lot of time and effort
• Constant need for human intervention to train the AI model

‍9. Tesseract

Tesseract was conceptualized by HP and maintained by Google. This Python-based OCR tool promises high accuracy for text.  Tesseract is also an open-source OCR engine that uses trained LSTM models to accurately extract and interpret information from a variety of documents. It offers support for legacy applications and has its main repository located at Github. Its later versions include special features such as a layout analysis,  inputting images, multi-columned texts, equations, etc.

Top Features

• Open-source, command-line OCR
• Data extraction

Pricing

Tesseract is an open-source tool and is absolutely free.

Pros 

• Free and open-source OCR. 
• Excellent alphabet recognition even of handwritten content.
• Uses deep learning technologies to extract data.

Cons

• Numbers may get garbled.
• Requires high-level technical know-how.
• Since it is a command-line OCR, it lacks a GUI.

10. Amazon Textract

Amazon’s fully-managed machine learning service automatically extracts usable data from an array of inputs. Amazon Textract has a special feature known as Selective Context Attentional Scene Text Recognizer (SCATTER) which leverages computer vision technology to recognize text from complex scanned image backgrounds. It can detect different currency symbols, characters, rows and columns in large tables, and read data from various forms in high resolution as well.

Top Features

• Cloud-based application
• Form extraction
• Table extraction
• Handwriting recognition
• Bound boxes
• Workflow management

Pricing

The company also offers 1000 free pages per month for the first three months.

Textract OCR bundles cost anything between $0.60 to $1.50 per 1000 pages. This pricing is subject to consumption and geographical location.

Pros 

• Works excellently for process automation.
• Combines OCR with artificial intelligence.
• Flexible billing model.

Cons

• Needs to improve accuracy.
• It may not perform as expected for different data types.

Advantage of OCR solutions for a business

OCR solutions for businesses are capable of scouring through huge volumes of data and extracting key information from them. OCR for enterprises is used for automating core business process when it comes to managing document workflows and offers the following advantages:

1. Improved productivity

OCR software can pull data from multiple sources, sort, and organize them. Employees can save time and effort spent on manual processing by automating data entry using these tools.

2. Cuts operational costs

Businesses don’t have to pay additional expenses in making corrections or worry about human errors when processing documents with OCR solutions. OCR solutions replace paper-based documents with electronic versions which means users save on physical storage space and securely backup data on the Cloud. Cutting costs on physical document storage translate to lower shipping costs, and more savings in printing, supply chain logistics, labels, etc.

3. Superior data compliance and security 

Paper-based documents can be easily stolen, lost, or damaged in the process of sharing and transporting them. Additionally, they suffer from legal and regulatory compliance issues which is another aspect OCR solutions address, thus taking care of users’ data privacy and security concerns. 

Where does Docsumo stack up amongst all OCR Software?

Docsumo is a competitive data capture solution that comes across as one of the key players in the intelligent OCR industry.  Below is a list of reasons about what makes Docsumo different from other OCR solutions:-

1. Real-time document fraud detection ‍

Whether it’s a scanned image, photo on photo, PDF, or photoshopped document, Docsumo can detect patterns of fraud across various documents in real-time and ensure data is extracted from genuine sources.

2. Easy to set up

It doesn’t take months for Docsumo to get setup and running. Docsumo doesn’t make users commit to specific pricing models and uses a pay-as-you-use approach when it comes to offering subscriptions. You extract as many documents as you want, process them, and the platform charges based on user consumption.

3. Document validation and analytics

Users can set up custom parsing rules with Docsumo and enjoy the added benefits of predictive analytics by deriving insights from data. The platform can categorize items line by line and provides over 100 different metrics which business can take advantage of for analyzing extracted data.

4. Training and customer onboarding

Docsumo offers new users a free demo on the official website and assists companies in onboarding within just 2 to 3 sessions. The platform is very intuitive, beginner-friendly, and clients have an easy time navigating the user interface.

5. STP in document processing

For the insurance, legal services, real estate, logistics, and other industrial sectors, Docsumo lets businesses achieve over 90% STP automation and use custom rules for their document management workflows. 

6. Great customer support

Docsumo’s customer support team is very reliable and available round the clock. Unlike other OCR platforms, users can ask their queries via live chat and get quick responses to their questions. 

Are there any free alternatives?

For those who are searching for free OCR scanning and data capture solutions, Docsumo offers a Google Chrome extension and free OCR tool that lets users scan and digitize documents from websites, blogs, and various online sources. Other industry alternatives include SimpleOCR, VueScan, Boxoft Free OCR, and Microsoft OneNote. 

Final Thoughts

With a high-end OCR tool, you can extract critical information even from documents that are not highly machine-readable. These software applications make storing, sharing, and editing data extremely simple. 

For basic usage, you can choose tools like Microsoft Lens and SimpleOCR,  however, if you have niche and professional requirements, then dedicated solutions, such as ABBY Flexicapture, Docsumo, or Docparser are more suited for the job. 

Happy Exploring!