PaddleOCR vs 
MinerU
PaddleOCR vs MinerU compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. Industrial OCR with tiny models vs PDF to Markdown with formulas and tables.
Updated regularly · curated by olud.ai
PaddleOCR vs MinerU at a glance
| Spec | PaddleOCR | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document AI & OCR | Document AI & OCR |
| Type | OCR toolkit | Document extractor |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Primary language | Python | Python |
| Ease of use | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Best for | production OCR on constrained hardware | scientific PDFs with formulas |
| GitHub stars | 86k | 75.3k |
How PaddleOCR and MinerU score
| Criterion | PaddleOCR | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Maintenance | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Privacy | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| License freedom | 5.0 | 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
PaddleOCR
PaddleOCR is an industrial-strength multilingual OCR toolkit with ultra-lightweight models that run from servers down to edge devices.
- Ultra-light models deployable on edge devices
- 80+ languages, battle-tested in industry
- Complete tooling from training to serving
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
PaddleOCR is oCR toolkit, while MinerU is document extractor. Their licenses differ (Apache-2.0 vs AGPL-3.0), which matters if you ship a commercial product. In short, PaddleOCR fits production OCR on constrained hardware, and MinerU fits scientific PDFs with formulas.
Which should you choose?
Choose PaddleOCR for production OCR on constrained hardware. 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 PaddleOCR or MinerU easier to use?
Both sit at a similar level (Intermediate). Your choice should come down to fit rather than difficulty.
Are PaddleOCR and MinerU free?
PaddleOCR is free and open source (Apache-2.0), and MinerU is free and open source (AGPL-3.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run PaddleOCR and MinerU locally?
PaddleOCR: yes · MinerU: yes. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
PaddleOCR vs MinerU — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose PaddleOCR for production OCR on constrained hardware. Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas.
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