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Summary
Discover free OCR software for pdf to identify and convert text from scanned PDFs and images, allowing you to extract and edit content effortlessly.



I. Recommended free OCR software that can analyze PDF files

free ocr software for pdf
Currently, many OCR software options on the market support PDF identification and analysis, offering diverse functions. Based on these varying functionalities, we’ve compiled a list of highly-rated and practical OCR software. You can choose the one that best suits your needs from these detailed function descriptions.

1. Renee PDF Aide

Renee PDF Aide is a multifunctional tool for PDF editing and format conversion. It uses advanced OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to convert scanned PDFs into formats like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, HTML, and TXT. You can convert entire PDF documents or specific pages at speeds up to 80 pages per minute. The software is user-friendly and versatile, allowing you to repair, optimize loading times, segment multi-page files, merge PDFs, adjust display angles, encrypt/decrypt PDFs, and add watermarks.
Renee PDF Aide also supports converting multi-language texts, including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. In OCR mode, selecting the correct recognition language greatly improves character recognition accuracy. The conversion efficiency is high, making it easy for beginners to use.
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How to use the OCR function of Renee PDF Aide?
Renee PDF Aide has two functions, one is to meet the basic editing needs of PDF files; the other is to convert PDF files into other common formats, let’s see how to use Renee PDF Aide OCR function to complete the analysis of PDF files.
Using Renee PDF Aide, you can convert PDF files into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, HTML, and TXT formats. Enable the OCR function before conversion to enhance text recognition accuracy. The operation steps are very simple and as follows:
Step 1: Download and install Renee PDF Aide, run the software, and select the “Convert PDF” option.
select to convert pdf with renee pdf converter
Step 2: On the format conversion page, select the desired output format (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Image, HTML, TXT). Import the files to be converted by clicking the “Add Files” button. Check the “Enable OCR” option to enhance text recognition during conversion.
convert pdf to the others with renee pdf aide
Instructions for enabling OCR technology:
A. Recognize text in images or scanned PDF. This option can recognize text in pictures or PDF scans, and the accuracy of text recognition can be further improved with the help of OCR technology.
B. Recognize embedded fonts (to avoid garbled codes). This option applies to the situation where there are built-in fonts in the PDF source file, which can avoid garbled characters after the format conversion is completed.
Step 3: Click the “Convert” button on the right to start converting the PDF format file into other commonly used format files.
enable ocr to recognize characters accurately in renee pdf aide

2. Soda PDF software

Soda PDF is a free OCR tool that converts scanned PDFs into editable formats like Excel, TXT, Word, and PowerPoint. It supports batch conversion, text and image modification, annotations, digital signatures, electronic passwords, and file sharing to Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, and more.
Soda PDF software

3. ABBYY PDF Transformer + software

ABBYY PDF Transformer+ integrates OCR technology, effectively distinguishing and analyzing text and images. It supports up to 189 OCR languages, including English, Greek, Albanian, Chinese, and Arabic. The software allows you to create, edit, and convert files, perform various editing operations, and set password protection to prevent unauthorized access.
ABBYY PDF Transformer

4. Google Docs

Google Docs offers OCR for images and PDFs. Simply upload the scanned file to Google Drive, which then opens in Google Docs and extracts the text using OCR. However, its accuracy is lower than other tools. If you need precise text recognition, consider other software.
Google Docs

5. Free OCR software

Free OCR is a small OCR software that extracts text from scanned images or PDF documents. You can use a scanner or your mobile phone to upload documents to the Free OCR tool for processing. However, this software is not suitable for complex content like tables or Excel documents. Additionally, downloading and installing the software requires third-party software, which may slow down your computer.
Free OCR

6. Simple OCR software

SimpleOCR is a popular OCR software. It allows you to edit image-based PDF scans, saving time for other tasks. However, its recognition and analysis capabilities are limited, leading to potential conversion errors that require secondary confirmation and modification.
Simple OCR software

7. PDF Converter Pro software

PDF Converter Pro is a top-rated software featuring advanced OCR technology. It converts scanned or image-based PDFs to formats like Excel, PPT, Word, TXT, HTML, and EPUB. It supports unlimited PDF uploads and batch conversions. Additionally, it can create PDFs from Excel, PowerPoint, Word, TXT, and EPUB files, decrypt encrypted documents, and merge multiple PDFs.
PDF Converter Pro

8. Online OCR online tool

OnlineOCR is a free online tool offering OCR functionality, allowing you to convert PDF files into editable formats like Word, Excel, and TXT. You can also extract images and texts from PDFs. It supports up to 46 languages, including English, Danish, Chinese, Korean, and Finnish. Registration is required to access all features.
OnlineOCR online format conversion tool

9. Evernote software

Evernote is a free OCR software that retains all content from the source document and allows personalized editing. It supports all mainstream platforms, including tablets and smartphones, enabling real-time synchronization across devices. Its robust OCR functionality makes it one of the most popular software on the market.
Evernote software

10. PaperPort Professional software

PaperPort Professional is a popular OCR PDF conversion tool offering multilingual OCR functionality, allowing easy editing of scanned PDF files with a few clicks. It supports simultaneous conversion of multiple files and a range of text and image editing operations. Additionally, it enables modification and form filling within PDF files.
PaperPort Professional software

II. Summary

The above introduces 10 free OCR software for distinguishing and analyzing PDF files. Unlike the others, Renee PDF Aide stands out as the top recommendation. It boasts cutting-edge OCR technology, significantly improving conversion accuracy. The software supports multiple languages, including English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, making it ideal for multilingual document processing. It can convert PDF files into various formats such as Word, TXT, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, Image, and EPUB.
The software offers various file editing functions, including repair, optimization, split, merge, rotate, encryption/decryption, watermarking, and image to PDF conversion. If you seek user-friendly OCR software, Renee PDF Aide is worth trying.