Yes, OCR.space Free OCR API has a permanent free tier alongside its paid plans. The free plan includes 500 requests per day per IP address, 25,000 requests per month, and 1 MB file size limit. FreeTier.co estimates the free tier at about $15/mo, and no credit card is required to sign up.
About
OCR.space Free OCR API is a web and API service for converting images and PDF documents into text. It supports POST and GET endpoints, multipart file upload, URL-based submission, and Base64 input, with JSON responses that include parsed text, overlay coordinates, and optional searchable PDF output.
The free offering is aimed at developers who need OCR for interactive use or light automation. The pricing page states a free API key with 25,000 requests per month, a 1 MB file size limit, a 3-page PDF limit, and 2,500 Engine 3 conversions per month in addition to the Engine 1/2 quota.
- 25,000 requests per month
- 1 MB file size limit
- 3-page PDF limit
- 2,500 Engine 3 conversions monthly
- JSON OCR response format
- Searchable PDF with watermark
- POST, GET, URL, and Base64 input
Free Tier Value
This free tier is genuinely usable, with 25,000 requests per month, OCR API access, JSON output, overlays, orientation detection, table-friendly parsing, and searchable PDF creation. The main limits are the 1 MB file cap, 3-page PDF cap, and the watermark on searchable PDFs, so it lands well below the $30/month PRO plan but still feels worth about half of that, or roughly $15/month. A credit card is not required, and the offer is perpetual but capped.
What's included in the free tier
Verified
- Free OCR API key registration.
- 500 requests per day per IP address.
- 25,000 requests per month.
- 1 MB file size limit.
- 3-page PDF limit.
- Searchable PDF creation with watermark.
- JSON-formatted OCR results.
- Support for image and PDF uploads via URL, file, or Base64.
- Support for OCR languages including English by default.
- Optional overlay data with word bounding boxes.
- Optional orientation detection.
- Optional table-friendly line-by-line parsing.
- Access to OCR Engine 1, 2, and 3.
- 2,500 Engine 3 conversions per month in addition to the 25,000 standard free-plan conversions.
See OCR.space Free OCR API pricing for current limits.
Paid plans
PRO
- requests/month
- 300,000
- file size
- 5 MB
- PDF pages
- 3
- 300,000 requests per month
- 5 MB file size limit
- 3-page PDF limit
- Searchable PDF creation
- Faster processing on dedicated servers
- 100% uptime SLA or money back
PRO PDF
- requests/month
- 300,000
- file size
- 100 MB+
- PDF pages
- 999+
- 300,000 requests per month
- 100 MB+ file size limit
- 999+ PDF page limit
- Searchable PDF creation
- Faster processing on dedicated servers
- 100% uptime SLA or money back
Enterprise
- requests/month
- Custom
- file size
- 100 MB+
- PDF pages
- 999+
- Custom request volume
- 100 MB+ file size limit
- 999+ PDF page limit
- Searchable PDF creation
- Custom OCR fine tuning
- Dedicated enterprise support
Pricing extracted from OCR.space Free OCR API's pricing page. Always verify current pricing before committing.
Common questions
Is OCR.space Free OCR API free forever?
Yes. OCR.space Free OCR API has a permanent free tier alongside its paid plans, though the allowance typically resets each month.
Does OCR.space Free OCR API require a credit card?
No. You can start on OCR.space Free OCR API's free tier without entering card details.
What happens when you exceed OCR.space Free OCR API's free tier?
You move to a paid plan. OCR.space Free OCR API's cheapest paid plan is PRO at $30 / month.
What is OCR.space Free OCR API's free tier worth?
OCR.space Free OCR API's free tier is worth about $15 per month. That maps to an FTV score of 63/100. The FTV score is explained at freetier.co/ftv.
