docTR vs OCR.space

docTR is a free deep-learning OCR library for finding and recognizing text in documents, aimed at document automation and research. Its pretrained OCR predictors first detect text and then recognize it, while a layout predictor identifies regions such as tables, figures, and headers. It reads PDFs and images; web-page input requires the optional HTML extra. Results can be rendered as plain text or exported as a JSON-serializable nested dictionary. The project describes its predictors as optimized for CPU and GPU inference. Users can train custom detection, recognition, layout, and table-structure models when pretrained models are not suitable. Documentation covers loading and sharing models through the Hugging Face Hub, and includes a minimal REST API deployment template and a browser demo. Installation is available through pip, Git, or official Docker images. The library requires Python 3.11 or higher, and pretrained weights download on first use and are cached locally. For AWS Lambda, the guide advises disabling multiprocessing and placing the model cache within /tmp. The project uses the Apache License 2.0.

OCR.space converts images and PDF documents into editable text through an online OCR service and API, and can create searchable PDFs. The web service accepts JPG, PNG, GIF, and PDF files without registration; its free web uploads are limited to 5 MB per document. The API returns extracted text in JSON and supports images and multi-page PDFs. It offers three OCR engines: Engine 2 is the default, while Engine 3 supports handwriting, tables, and more than 200 languages. An `isTable` option is recommended for receipts, invoices, and other table-structured documents. The free plan is free, with 25,000 monthly requests and a searchable-PDF watermark; Engine 3 has an additional 2,500 conversions, but cannot produce searchable PDFs. PRO costs $30 a month, PRO PDF costs $60 a month, and Enterprise starts at $999 a month. OCR.space Local runs offline in self-hosted environments; its license price is available from sales.