Best Free OCR for Mac: 8 Options, and When Paying Makes Sense

The best free OCR on a Mac is already installed: Live Text lets you select and copy text in images in Preview, Photos, Quick Look and Safari on macOS 12 and later. It stops at those apps, though, and the free third-party tools each have a catch: a free tier with paid extras, a licence rule, or an unsigned download.

Short answer: start with Live Text, it costs nothing. If you copy text from the screen often (apps, video calls, dialogs, videos), my pick is Optic, a low one-time price instead of free: $4.99, a one-time purchase, no subscription. For completely free screen OCR, Shottr can be used for free, OwlOCR has a free Core tier, and TRex and NormCap are open source.

Disclosure: I build Optic, so the pick is my opinion and Optic is not free. Competitor details last checked: 2026-10-10, from each vendor's own pages and App Store listings.

Free OCR for Mac at a glance

Sources, read on 2026-10-10: Apple's Preview user guide, shottr.cc and shottr.cc/purchase.html, owlocr.com, github.com/amebalabs/TRex, github.com/dynobo/normcap, and each app's Mac App Store listing (Apple's lookup API). "Not stated" means the vendor's pages did not say, not that the answer is no.

Free and built in: Live Text in Preview

Open an image or scanned PDF page in Preview, move the pointer over the text and select it like normal text, then press Command-C. The same works in Photos, Quick Look and Safari on macOS 12 Monterey and later. Apple notes that Live Text "isn't available in all regions or languages".

It is free and private, but it only works inside those apps and on images. It does not reach text in other apps' windows, Zoom or Teams screen shares, dialogs or game screens. More: Mac Live Text limitations and Mac Preview OCR limitations.

My pick if you OCR the screen often: Optic (paid, low one-time price)

Optic is not free. I include it because "free" searches often come from people who copy text from the screen several times a day and do not want a subscription. Optic is a menu bar app: choose Capture Text, drag a box over any area of any connected display, and the text is on your clipboard.

• $4.99, a one-time purchase: no subscription, no in-app purchases, no free tier with upgrade reminders.
• Apple's Vision framework on the Mac, 21 languages, Code mode for indentation, line-break options; no network access, no account, no analytics.
• Reads QR, Micro QR, Aztec, Data Matrix and PDF417 codes on screen, too. History of the last 20 captures, which can be read aloud.
• Needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Where a free tool fits better: Optic does not open image or PDF files, has no batch mode and makes no searchable PDFs. For those, OwlOCR's free Core tier or Textify are closer to the job.

Get Optic on the Mac App Store

Free to use: Shottr

Shottr is a screenshot and annotation app with OCR whose OCR "also reads QR codes" (shottr.cc, checked 2026-10-10). You can use it for free; after 30 days it asks you to consider upgrading, and the vendor says a paid one-time Basic licence is required for commercial use (shottr.cc/purchase.html). Runs on macOS 10.15 and later. Its FAQ says it needs the internet to validate a licence and sends telemetry you can turn off.

Free tier: OwlOCR

OwlOCR grabs screen areas, opens images and PDFs, exports searchable PDFs and reads QR codes and barcodes (App Store listing, checked 2026-10-10). The Core app is free; Pro ($19.99 per year or $49.99 once, owlocr.com) adds batch OCR, more Finder Quick Actions and a local AI OCR model. Needs macOS 13.3. The strongest free option here for files and PDFs.

Open source: TRex and NormCap

• TRex – Copy the Uncopyable by Ameba Labs: menu bar OCR with QR and barcode reading; the source is on GitHub under the MIT licence with a Homebrew install, and a $7.99 build is on the Mac App Store, which needs macOS 14.6 (GitHub README and listing, checked 2026-10-10).
• NormCap: an "OCR powered screen-capture tool" for Linux, macOS and Windows, using the Tesseract OCR engine and zxing-cpp for QR and barcode detection. Its README says the macOS build is unsigned, so you have to allow it on first start (github.com/dynobo/normcap, checked 2026-10-10).

Free downloads from the Mac App Store

• Textify: OCR for images and PDFs you select or paste, batch conversion to searchable PDF, works offline per its listing; free download, macOS 10.15 (checked 2026-10-10). Built around files, not drawing a box on screen.
• iOCR – OCR & Translation: screenshot OCR, Finder and clipboard image OCR, and a translation window that can use online services; free download, macOS 10.14 (listing, checked 2026-10-10).
• EasyScreenOCR: screen OCR with language detection, translation and image batches; free with Pro plans at $6.99 per month, $19.99 per year or $29.99 lifetime; macOS 13.0 (listing, checked 2026-10-10). More: EasyScreenOCR alternatives for Mac.

How we checked

I read each vendor's own page and Mac App Store listing on 2026-10-10 and took only what they state; I did not test accuracy or speed of the other apps. Optic facts come from its code and store listing (facts). The full paid and free comparison is in best screen OCR apps for Mac.

FAQ

What is the best free OCR for Mac?

Live Text, built into macOS 12 and later, for images in Preview, Photos, Quick Look and Safari. For free screen OCR beyond those apps, Shottr (free to use) and OwlOCR (free Core tier) are the usual picks, and TRex and NormCap are open source. If you OCR the screen often, my pick is Optic, which is not free but costs $4.99, a one-time purchase once. If you copy text from the screen often, my pick is Optic, a paid app at $4.99, a one-time purchase one-time (I build it).

Is there free OCR software for Mac?

Yes: Live Text is built in, OwlOCR has a free Core tier, Shottr can be used for free, Textify and iOCR are free downloads, and TRex and NormCap are open source. Check each one's paid tier: several put batch or commercial use behind a licence. If you OCR the screen often, my pick is Optic, a low one-time price ($4.99, a one-time purchase) instead of free.

Does Mac have built-in OCR?

Yes, Live Text, on macOS 12 Monterey and later. It works in Preview, Photos, Quick Look and Safari, on images and paused video frames, and Apple notes it is not available in all regions or languages.

Is there a free OCR for Mac that works on the whole screen?

Shottr, OwlOCR's Core tier, iOCR and the open-source TRex and NormCap all capture a screen area. Live Text does not; it works only inside Apple's apps. My pick for screen OCR is Optic, a paid app at $4.99, a one-time purchase.

Which free Mac OCR works offline?

Live Text runs on the Mac. Textify's and TRex's listings say they work offline, and NormCap uses the local Tesseract engine. Optic (paid) has no network access at all. Shottr needs the internet to validate a paid licence.

Why pay for OCR on a Mac if Live Text is free?

Because Live Text only works inside Apple's apps and on images. If you need text from other apps, meetings, dialogs or videos, a screen OCR app does that. My pick is Optic at $4.99, a one-time purchase, one-time.

Get Optic on the Mac App Store · Best screen OCR apps for Mac · All Optic facts