Software applications designed for macOS that offer optical character recognition capabilities without cost enable users to convert images containing text into machine-readable text. These utilities facilitate the extraction of textual content from scanned documents, PDFs, and image files, rendering the text editable and searchable. An example includes using such an application to digitize a printed contract into an editable document.
The availability of no-cost options democratizes access to OCR technology, enabling individuals and organizations with limited budgets to benefit from document digitization and automation. Historically, OCR software was expensive, restricting its use to larger enterprises. The emergence of complimentary solutions has broadened access, fostering increased efficiency and productivity for a wider range of users.