Oct 15,2019 • Filed to: Mac Tutorials

A number of programs, including the FreeOCR, are specially designed for such function. OCR stands for optical character recognition, and it revolutionizes the way people scan and edit their documents. In layman's term, the devices and programs with the OCR technology allows you to scan any document and convert it into a format that you can easily edit. In contrast, the typical scanning process only creates image files that you cannot manipulate directly. That is why many data encoders highly praise the OCR technology for the convenience that it has brought along with it.

The Best PDF OCR-Software

Apr 22, 2020  ExactScan is popular for being a modern and easy to use Mac OS X scan software with built-in drivers for over 200 document scanners, including devices from. Adobe Reader for Mac is also widely used for Mac users to view and manage PDF documents since it is a free tool. Unfortunately, this program doesn't support OCR technology. This means you won't be able to edit a scanned or image-based PDF file unless you pay for the upgraded version of Adobe Acrobat in order to edit or manipulate the scanned.

PDFelement Pro for Mac - The Best Way to Edit and Convert Scanned PDF

However, the FreeOCR is only for Windows users. If you need OCR for PDF on Mac OS including 10.15 Catalina, a good alternative to FreeOCR Mac is PDFelement Pro. But before delving into the specifications and offerings of the alternative offered by iSkysoft, it is important for you to understand what the OCR technology can offer to you.

Key Features of this PDF OCR-Software:

• With OCR function, edit and convert scanned PDF will be no longer a problem.
• Easily add multiple PDF files to convert at one time.
• The output file will be kept in original formatting.
• You can convert PDFs to popular document formats in batch.
• You can also fully control PDF with combine, split, merge and compress features.

What the FreeOCR Mac can do for you

1. PDFelement Pro for Mac has gone a little further than just being a simple FreeOCR alternative for Mac. It has the same basic function of allowing you to scan and edit PDF files of any size and complexity. But the added functionality of iSkysoft PDF Editor Pro for Mac is that it can convert those PDF files into other formats, such as the Word Document. Such feature will allow you to get more flexibility when it comes to manipulating your PDF files.

2. Aside from the OCR support of iSkysoft PDF Editor Pro for Mac, other offered functions of the software include PDF annotation and marking, PDF combination and splitting, and PDF conversion into various formats. With so much to offer, this software is surprisingly cost-effective, in that you do not have to spend a lot of money to get access to all of the said features. For just $99.95, you will enjoy the full power of the program for an unlimited time. Also, it should be noted that the OCR support only comes with the full version of PDFelement Pro, and not with the regular version. If you want to give this FreeOCR for Mac alternative a spin, you can easily download a trial version of the program in its website.

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.

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

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

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

Ocr Software Mac

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.

Mac Os Ocr

OS: Windows, Mac
Licensing: Trialware, paid version starts at $49
File Size: 425 MB
Our Rating:8 / 10

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.

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

Free Ocr For Mac

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.

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