rclone
Focus: cloud sync, backup and file transfer. Shares command line and open source with OCRmyPDF. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit
Desktop App
OCRmyPDF
A command-line tool that makes scanned PDFs searchable with OCR.
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is OCRmyPDF?
OCRmyPDF is a free, open-source tool that adds a hidden text layer to scanned PDF files, so you can search, select and copy their text. It runs locally, supports more than 100 languages through Tesseract, straightens and cleans up pages and produces archive-ready PDF/A files.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros
- Makes scanned documents searchable
- Runs on your own computer
- Free and open source
Cons
- Command line only
- Needs Tesseract and other tools installed
Who should use OCRmyPDF
People and offices that scan paper documents and want to search them later.
Who may not need it
Anyone whose PDFs already have selectable text.
OCRmyPDF alternatives
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zoxide
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Focus: file converter, documents and self-hosted. Shares open source and github with OCRmyPDF. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (OCRmyPDF: 4.7).
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Free alternatives to OCRmyPDF
Free resources that cover similar ground.
Atuin
Focus: shell history, terminal and sync. Shares command line and open source with OCRmyPDF. Same 4.7 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
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BentoPDF
Focus: pdf tools, merge pdf and privacy. Shares open source and github with OCRmyPDF. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Same 4.7 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit
Karabiner-Elements
Focus: keyboard remapping, shortcuts and hyper key. Shares open source and github with OCRmyPDF. A Mac app, not a desktop app. Same 4.7 rating.
Mac AppFreemacOS
4.7Visit
changedetection.io
Focus: website monitoring, change alerts and price tracking. Shares open source and github with OCRmyPDF. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (OCRmyPDF: 4.7).
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit
Files
Focus: file manager, file explorer alternative and tabs. Shares open source and github with OCRmyPDF. A Windows app, not a desktop app. Rated 4.6 (OCRmyPDF: 4.7).
Windows AppFreeWindows
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MarkItDown
Focus: markdown, file conversion and documents. Shares open source and github with OCRmyPDF. An AI tool, not a desktop app. Rated 4.6 (OCRmyPDF: 4.7).
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4.6Visit
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