OCR Software Trial (Free & Paid Tools)

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software is a technology enabling the conversion of scanned text images into editable documents and searchable digital files. This can be useful for intelligent document processing such as digitizing historical documents, extracting data from forms, or creating PDF documents from paper sources. Whether you're a student, professional, or business owner, OCR software can streamline your workflow and enhance productivity.

However, not all OCR software is created equal, and finding the best one for your needs can be challenging. That’s why many OCR software offers free trials, where you can test their features and performance before purchasing. This article will review some of the best OCR software trials available in 2024, and show you how to compare and evaluate them.

Benefits of OCR Software.

OCR software can help you create a digital workplace, where you can manage your documents and workflows online, without relying on paper. By using OCR software, you can digitize your paper documents and images, and store them in cloud services, such as Microsoft Office 365, Google Drive, and Dropbox.

You can also edit, annotate, sign, and share your PDFs with your colleagues and clients, and collaborate on projects in real time. OCR software can help you improve your digital workflows, and increase your productivity and efficiency.

One of the benefits of using OCR software is that you can convert PDFs into editable and searchable formats, such as Word, Excel, HTML, etc. This can help you save time and money, and maintain the same workflow as you would with paper documents.

Type of OCR Software trial

OCR software trials are different ways of testing the features and performance of OCR software before making a purchase. There are three main types of OCR software trials:

Free trials

These are trials that allow you to use the OCR software for a limited period, typically between 7 to 30 days, without paying anything. Free trials are a good way to try out the basic functionality of the OCR software and see if it meets your needs. However, free trials may have some limitations, such as restricted features, limited pages, or watermarks on the output.

Paid trials

These are trials that require you to pay a small fee, usually between $1 to $10, to use the OCR software for a longer period, usually between 30 to 90 days. Paid trials are a good way to access the full functionality of the OCR software and test its accuracy, speed, and compatibility. However, paid trials may not be refundable, so you should be careful before committing to payment.

Subscription-based trials

These are trials that allow you to use the OCR software for a fixed period, usually between 6 to 12 months, by paying a monthly or yearly fee. Subscription-based trials are a good way to enjoy the benefits of the OCR software without having to buy a permanent license. However, subscription-based trials may be more expensive in the long run, and you may lose access to the OCR software once the trial period ends.

Best OCR Software

Some of the features and use cases of the best OCR software in 2024 are:

Nanonets for Intelligent Document Processing

Nanonetsis an OCR software powered by artificial intelligence, capable of swiftly extracting data from documents and images. It supports various document types, such as invoices, receipts, ID cards, forms, etc.

It also offers a web interface, an API, and integrations with Zapier, Google Sheets, and Dropbox. Nanonets can be used for automating data entry of unstructured data, digitizing historical records, or creating searchable databases.

OCR Software Trial (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 1 - Nanonets webpage

Nanonets is easy to use and it requires no coding skills. Users can simply upload their documents or images, select the fields they want to extract, and train the model with a few clicks. Nanonets also provides pre-trained models for common document types, such as invoices and receipts, that can be customized to fit the user’s needs.

Nanonets offers a free trial for up to 100 pages per month, and a flexible pricing plan based on the number of pages and models used. Nanonets is a powerful and affordable solution for OCR tasks.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC serves as OCR software, facilitating the transformation of scanned documents into PDF files with editable content. It also lets you edit, annotate, sign, and share PDFs. It supports multiple languages, fonts, and layouts. It also integrates with Adobe Cloud, Microsoft Office, and Google Drive. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC can be used for creating professional PDFs, collaborating on projects, or signing contracts.

OCR Software Trial (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 2 - Adobe Acrobat webpage

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a reliable and secure OCR software, with advanced features such as redaction, encryption, and digital signatures. It also allows users to compare, combine, and organize PDFs.

It offers a free trial for 7 days, and a subscription plan starting from $12.99 per month or $239.88 per year. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC is a comprehensive and versatile solution for PDF management.

OmniPage Ultimate

OmniPage Ultimate is a professional OCR solution that can handle large volumes of documents and complex layouts. It can convert paper, PDFs, and images into various formats, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, etc. It also offers advanced features, such as batch processing, document comparison, document classification, and data redaction. OmniPage Ultimate can be used for managing document workflows, enhancing document security, or improving document quality.

OCR Software Trial (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 3 - OmniPage Ultimate webpage

OmniPage Ultimate is a fast and accurate OCR solution, with a high recognition rate and a low error rate. It also supports multiple languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

It offers a free trial for 15 days, and a one-time purchase price of $499. OmniPage Ultimate is a powerful and efficient solution for OCR tasks.

ABBYY FineReader PDF

ABBYY FineReader PDF is a software that combines OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and PDF editing capabilities. It allows you to convert scanned documents and images into editable and searchable PDF files. It also lets you edit, annotate, sign, and share PDFs. It supports multiple languages, fonts, and layouts.

ABBYY FineReader PDF also integrates with cloud services, such as Microsoft Office 365, Google Drive, and Dropbox12. Some of the use cases of ABBYY FineReader PDF using OCR, are digitizing historical documents, extracting data from forms, creating searchable databases, creating professional PDFs, collaborating on projects, signing contracts, tracking changes, verifying revisions, and detecting plagiarism.

OCR Software Trial (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 4 - ABBYY FineReader webpage

ABBYY FineReader PDF is a powerful and reliable software, with advanced features such as redaction, encryption, and digital signatures. It also allows users to compare, combine, and organize PDFs.

It offers a free trial for 7 days, and a subscription plan for $14.99 per month or $179.88 per year1. ABBYY FineReader PDF is a comprehensive and versatile solution for PDF management.

IronOCR

IronOCR is a C# OCR library that uses the Tesseract 5 engine to read text from images and PDFs. It supports 125 languages, various document types, and computer vision features. It also offers comprehensive documentation, tutorials, demos, and a free trial, for easy integrations within C# / .NET applications.

IronOCR can be used for developing custom OCR applications, intelligent character recognition, working with scanned PDFs or a Word doc, integrating OCR functionality into existing .NET projects, or performing computer vision tasks. Click here to see a complete list of features.

OCR Software Trial (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 5 - IronOCR features

IronOCR is a flexible and user-friendly OCR library, with a simple and fluent API. It allows users to customize the OCR settings, such as language, rotation, skew, contrast, and noise. It also provides methods to extract text, images, barcodes, and tables from documents and images.

It offers a free trial for 30 days and a licensing plan based on the number of developers and projects. IronOCR is a robust and modern solution for C# OCR tasks.

Conclusion

In the domain of OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software, a diverse array of tools has emerged to cater to various needs. Nanonets distinguishes itself with its powerful AI-driven capabilities, particularly beneficial for automating data entry and digitizing historical records. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC shines brightly in the realm of comprehensive PDF editing, seamlessly integrating with popular cloud services. OmniPage Ultimate stands out for managing large volumes of diverse documents, offering advanced features such as efficient batch processing and sophisticated document classification. ABBYY FineReader PDF is a versatile solution, seamlessly blending OCR and PDF editing, making it suitable for tasks ranging from digitizing historical documents to collaborative project work.

Importantly, IronOCR offers a unique proposition for developers, presenting a C# OCR library powered by the Tesseract 5 engine, enabling the creation of custom OCR applications with robust language support and advanced computer vision features. Each of these OCR solutions plays an integral role in enhancing productivity and efficiency in our contemporary digital landscape. You can try IronOCR for free if satisfied with the product.