MinerU vs 
Tesseract
MinerU vs Tesseract compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. PDF to Markdown with formulas and tables vs The classic OCR engine.
Updated regularly · curated by olud.ai
MinerU vs Tesseract at a glance
| Spec | MinerU | Tesseract |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document AI & OCR | Document AI & OCR |
| Type | Document extractor | OCR engine |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Primary language | Python | C++ |
| Ease of use | Intermediate | Beginner |
| Best for | scientific PDFs with formulas | simple, reliable OCR in any language |
| GitHub stars | 75.3k | 75.4k |
How MinerU and Tesseract score
| Criterion | MinerU | Tesseract |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Maintenance | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 3.5 | 5.0 |
| Privacy | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| License freedom | 3.5 | 5.0 |
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
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
Tesseract
Tesseract is the long-standing open-source OCR engine, supporting over 100 languages and still the baseline for text extraction from images.
- 100+ languages supported
- Battle-tested over two decades
- Runs anywhere, no GPU needed
Key differences
MinerU is document extractor, while Tesseract is oCR engine. Their licenses differ (AGPL-3.0 vs Apache-2.0), which matters if you ship a commercial product. MinerU leans more intermediate-friendly, whereas Tesseract is more suited to beginner users. In short, MinerU fits scientific PDFs with formulas, and Tesseract fits simple, reliable OCR in any language.
Which should you choose?
Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas. Choose Tesseract for simple, reliable OCR in any language.
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 MinerU or Tesseract easier to use?
Tesseract is generally the easier of the two to get started with, while MinerU rewards more setup with more control.
Are MinerU and Tesseract free?
MinerU is free and open source (AGPL-3.0), and Tesseract is free and open source (Apache-2.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run MinerU and Tesseract locally?
MinerU: yes · Tesseract: yes. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
MinerU vs Tesseract — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas. Choose Tesseract for simple, reliable OCR in any language.
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