Side by side
Surya vs Tesseract OCR
Both stand on ocr api software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxMac+1
Surya offers structured document OCR outputs and multiple interfaces, but deployment depends on a supported inference backend. Review the model-weight license conditions separately from the Apache-licensed code.
Visit Surya Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+4
Tesseract is a free OCR engine with broad language and format support, command-line access, and developer interfaces. It is not a standalone GUI app, and PDF input requires conversion or another tool.
Visit Tesseract OCRThe facts
| Surya | Tesseract OCR | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted | Android, API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Team: $400 a month | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | github.com | tesseract-ocr.github.io |
| On ocr api software | #9 of 29 | #13 of 29 |
Surya: what it does well
- Project describes support for 90+ languages.
- Returns layout and reading-order details.
- Includes table geometry and structured output.
- Python, CLI and Streamlit interfaces are available.
What to know first
- Specialized for documents, not natural scenes.
- OCR and layout need a running inference backend.
- Model weights have a separate license.
Tesseract OCR: what it does well
- Free and distributed under Apache License 2.0
- Recognizes more than 100 languages
- Accepts a range of common image formats
- Offers multiple output formats, including PDF
- C and C++ APIs and language wrappers are listed
What to know first
- No graphical user interface is included
- Cannot read PDF files directly
- Earlier than 5.5 versions are unsupported
- Image quality may affect OCR results
Alternatives to Surya Alternatives to Tesseract OCR The whole list