PaddleOCR vs Unstract
Short answer
PaddleOCR: OCR toolkit and document AI engine that turns scans, images and PDFs into LLM-ready text, Markdown or JSON. Unstract: No-code LLM platform that turns invoices, forms and other documents into structured JSON. Both are in our Document processing category.
Choose PaddleOCR if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and larger community (91.7k vs 7.3k GitHub stars).
PaddleOCR publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
PaddleOCR vs Unstract side by side
| PaddleOCR | Unstract | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document processing | Document processing |
| What it is | OCR toolkit and document AI engine that turns scans, images and PDFs into LLM-ready text, Markdown or JSON. | No-code LLM platform that turns invoices, forms and other documents into structured JSON. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Network copyleft (AGPL) |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. | Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Unstract and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source code under AGPL-3.0. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 91.7k | 7.3k |
| Last commit | Sep 16, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Latest release | v3.7.0 | v0.197.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 8 GB RAM |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Optional. The server uses a GPU by default if available, otherwise the CPU. | Not required by the platform itself; LLMs are reached through the provider you configure (cloud API or a local server such as Ollama). |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €35.99/mo |
| Deploy method | pip + PaddleX serving (HTTP API) | Docker Compose (run-platform.sh) |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only (OIDC paid · SAML paid) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full PaddleOCR guide → | Full Unstract guide → |
Key differences
- License: PaddleOCR: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Unstract: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)).
- Official hardware: PaddleOCR: not published. Unstract: minimum 8 GB RAM.
- Est. server cost: PaddleOCR: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Unstract: from €35.99/mo.
- Deploy: PaddleOCR: pip + PaddleX serving (HTTP API) · pip + PaddleX serving (HTTP API). Unstract: Docker Compose (run-platform.sh) · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: PaddleOCR: 91.7k. Unstract: 7.3k.
- Last commit: PaddleOCR: Sep 16, 2026. Unstract: Oct 26, 2026.
- Latest release: PaddleOCR: v3.7.0 (Jun 11, 2026). Unstract: v0.197.0 (Oct 25, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Document processing; GPU: optional / see notes; Status: Active.
PaddleOCR vs Unstract: FAQ
PaddleOCR or Unstract: which should a small business choose?
Choose PaddleOCR if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and larger community (91.7k vs 7.3k GitHub stars). PaddleOCR publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, PaddleOCR or Unstract?
PaddleOCR: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Unstract: from €35.99/mo. Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do PaddleOCR and Unstract need?
PaddleOCR: not published. Unstract: minimum 8 GB RAM.
What is the license difference between PaddleOCR and Unstract?
PaddleOCR: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. Unstract: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Unstract and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source code under AGPL-3.0. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is PaddleOCR or Unstract more actively maintained?
PaddleOCR: Active, last commit Sep 16, 2026. Unstract: Active, last commit Oct 26, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 26, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, PaddleOCR or Unstract?
PaddleOCR installs via pip + PaddleX serving (HTTP API) (pip + PaddleX serving (HTTP API)); Unstract via Docker Compose (run-platform.sh) (multi-container stack). PaddleOCR lists 4 known gotchas and Unstract lists 4; see each app page.
Related
Sources
- PaddleOCR GitHub repository: github.com/PaddlePaddle/PaddleOCR
- PaddleOCR documentation: www.paddleocr.ai/
- PaddleOCR license: github.com/PaddlePaddle/PaddleOCR/blob/main/LICENSE
- PaddleOCR hardware requirements, PaddleOCR deploy instructions: www.paddleocr.ai/latest/en/version3.x/inference_deployment/serving/serving.html
- Unstract GitHub repository: github.com/Zipstack/unstract
- Unstract documentation: docs.unstract.com/unstract/unstract_platform/quick_start
- Unstract license: github.com/Zipstack/unstract/blob/main/LICENSE
- Unstract hardware requirements, Unstract deploy instructions: github.com/Zipstack/unstract#readme
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-26): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.