Compare software

Scans to PDF vs Rescribe: catalog facts
Scans to PDFRescribe
Free

Free and open source under the GPL-3.0-or-later licence.

Free

Free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence.

Linux, Command line Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
  • Separate compression of text and background keeps scanned PDFs small
  • Adds an invisible OCR layer so documents become searchable
  • Tuned for historical printed books
  • Outputs searchable PDF and plain text
  • Color and grayscale scans need preparation in other tools for good results
  • Linux only
  • macOS users may need to authorize the app in security settings
  • Extra languages and scripts are a separate download
Downloadable app Downloadable app
Open source Open source
License: GPL-3.0-or-later License: GPL-3.0
No account needed No account needed
Works offline Not stated if it works offline

Checked October 1, 2026

Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.