PaddleOCR vs Surya
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted self-hosted ai options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | PaddleOCR | Surya |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Self-Hosted AI | Self-Hosted AI |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 90,116 | ★ 21,415 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Cloud Vision, AWS Textract | Google Cloud Vision, AWS Textract |
What are PaddleOCR and Surya?
PaddleOCR
PaddleOCR is an open-source optical character recognition toolkit supporting more than 80 languages with lightweight detection and recognition models. It can be self-hosted as an OCR service for document and image processing.
- 80+ language support
- Lightweight mobile models
- Table and formula recognition
- Self-hostable service
Surya
Surya is an open-source OCR toolkit that performs text detection, recognition, layout analysis, and reading order detection in over 90 languages. It runs locally and is designed for document understanding pipelines.
- 90+ language OCR
- Layout and table detection
- Reading order analysis
- Runs offline
PaddleOCR vs Surya: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for PaddleOCR versus GPL-3.0 for Surya. PaddleOCR is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Surya. PaddleOCR is the more established project (first released 2020), while Surya arrived in 2024. PaddleOCR has the considerably larger community, at 90,116 GitHub stars versus 21,415. PaddleOCR lists first-class Docker deployment; Surya does not.
Why pick each one
Choose PaddleOCR if…
- Supports 80+ languages
- Lightweight fast models
- Commercial-friendly license
Watch out for
- PaddlePaddle framework required
- Docs partly in Chinese
Choose Surya if…
- Over 90 languages supported
- Layout analysis included
- Runs fully locally
Watch out for
- GPU strongly recommended
- GPL license restrictions
Frequently asked questions
Is PaddleOCR or Surya better?
Neither is universally better. PaddleOCR has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are PaddleOCR and Surya free and open-source?
Yes. PaddleOCR is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Surya under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PaddleOCR and Surya with Docker?
PaddleOCR: yes. Surya: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, PaddleOCR or Surya?
PaddleOCR has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Surya. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.