Marker vs 
MinerU
Marker vs MinerU compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. Convert PDFs to clean Markdown fast vs PDF to Markdown with formulas and tables.
Updated regularly · curated by olud.ai
Marker vs MinerU at a glance
| Spec | Marker | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document AI & OCR | Document AI & OCR |
| Type | PDF-to-Markdown converter | Document extractor |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Primary language | Python | Python |
| Ease of use | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Best for | developers feeding documents into RAG pipelines | scientific PDFs with formulas |
| GitHub stars | — | 75.3k |
How Marker and MinerU score
| Criterion | Marker | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | n/a | 4.5 |
| Maintenance | n/a | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Privacy | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| License freedom | 3.5 | 3.5 |
Scores are computed automatically from public signals — GitHub stars (popularity), recent commit activity (maintenance), license type (freedom), local-first design (privacy) and onboarding complexity (ease of use). Indicative, not a verdict.
What each one is
Marker
Marker converts PDFs and office documents to clean Markdown, JSON and HTML with high accuracy, handling tables, equations and multi-column layouts.
- High-accuracy PDF to Markdown, tables included
- Handles equations and complex layouts
- Fast batch conversion on GPU or CPU
MinerU
MinerU extracts text, tables, formulas and images from PDFs into Markdown or JSON, handling scientific documents particularly well.
- Extracts formulas as LaTeX
- Strong table structure recovery
- Handles scanned documents
Key differences
Marker is pDF-to-Markdown converter, while MinerU is document extractor. Their licenses differ (GPL-3.0 vs AGPL-3.0), which matters if you ship a commercial product. In short, Marker fits developers feeding documents into RAG pipelines, and MinerU fits scientific PDFs with formulas.
Which should you choose?
Choose Marker for developers feeding documents into RAG pipelines. Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas.
There is rarely one winner — many setups use both. The right pick depends on your hardware, your team's skills, and whether you value simplicity or control.
Frequently asked questions
Is Marker or MinerU easier to use?
Both sit at a similar level (Intermediate). Your choice should come down to fit rather than difficulty.
Are Marker and MinerU free?
Marker is free and open source (GPL-3.0), and MinerU is free and open source (AGPL-3.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run Marker and MinerU locally?
Marker: yes · MinerU: yes. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
Marker vs MinerU — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose Marker for developers feeding documents into RAG pipelines. Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas.
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