ABBYY FineReader PDF

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to ABBYY FineReader PDF

A curated collection of the 5 best self hosted alternatives to ABBYY FineReader PDF.

ABBYY FineReader PDF is a cloud-based OCR and PDF document processing service that converts scanned documents into searchable and editable text, extracts tables, supports PDF editing and comparison, and automates document digitization workflows.

Alternatives List

#1
Stirling PDF

Stirling PDF

Open-source PDF platform to edit, convert, OCR, sign, redact, and automate PDF workflows via a web UI and REST API.

Stirling PDF screenshot

Stirling PDF is an open-source PDF platform for editing, converting, and automating PDF workflows through a web interface and a private REST API. It provides a broad toolkit for common PDF operations while keeping documents within your own environment.

Key Features

  • 50+ PDF tools including merge, split, compress, convert, and manipulate PDFs
  • OCR, redaction, and signing tools for document processing workflows
  • Browser-based UI plus server deployment with API access for integrations
  • Automation and reusable workflows/pipelines to batch process documents
  • Enterprise-oriented capabilities such as SSO and auditing (availability may depend on edition)
  • Multi-language interface (40+ languages)

Use Cases

  • Internal PDF processing service for teams that cannot use third-party SaaS tools
  • Automating high-volume document conversions and transformations via REST API
  • Standardizing repeatable PDF workflows (e.g., OCR + compress + redact) for operations

Limitations and Considerations

  • The project is open-core; some enterprise features and offerings may require a paid plan

Stirling PDF fits individuals through enterprises needing a configurable PDF toolkit with both a UI and API. It is especially useful when privacy, compliance, or on-prem processing requirements prevent sending documents to external services.

73.1kstars
6.2kforks
View Details
#2
BentoPDF

BentoPDF

Self-hostable, privacy-first PDF toolkit that runs fully in the browser for editing, merging, converting, and processing PDFs without server-side uploads.

BentoPDF screenshot

BentoPDF is a self-hostable PDF toolkit that runs entirely in the browser, enabling PDF editing, organization, conversion, and processing without uploading files to a server. It is designed for privacy-sensitive workflows where documents must remain on the user’s device.

Key Features

  • 100% client-side PDF processing for strong privacy (no server-side file handling required)
  • Large collection of PDF tools, including merge, split, rotate, extract, and page organization
  • In-browser PDF editor with annotations, highlights, comments, shapes, images, and search
  • Redaction tools for permanently removing sensitive content
  • Form workflows including creating fillable forms and filling forms (including XFA support)
  • Utilities such as watermarking, headers/footers, page numbers, metadata viewing, and PDF comparison
  • Optional image-processing capabilities (e.g., deskewing) using OpenCV

Use Cases

  • Internal self-hosted PDF utilities for teams handling confidential documents
  • Browser-based PDF editing and redaction for compliance-oriented environments
  • Converting and preparing documents (splitting, merging, watermarking) without file uploads

Limitations and Considerations

  • Performance depends on the user’s browser and device resources, especially for very large PDFs
  • Some advanced PDF operations may vary in fidelity depending on source document complexity

BentoPDF provides a comprehensive set of PDF tools while keeping document processing local to the user’s device. It is well-suited for organizations and individuals who want modern PDF workflows without relying on third-party cloud processing.

10.1kstars
761forks
View Details
#3
File Wizard

File Wizard

Self-hosted web UI for file conversion, OCR for PDFs/images, and local Whisper-based audio transcription, wrapping common CLI tools with background jobs and history.

File Wizard is a browser-based utility for converting files, running OCR on PDFs/images, and transcribing audio. It provides a simple web UI that orchestrates common command-line tools and local ML models, with job tracking and a persistent history.

Key Features

  • Convert between many document, image, audio, and video formats by wrapping external tools (configurable via a YAML settings file)
  • OCR for PDFs and images using Tesseract and OCRmyPDF, including generating searchable PDFs
  • Audio transcription using local Whisper models (faster-whisper), with subtitle-style outputs supported by Whisper tooling
  • Drag-and-drop web interface with responsive dark UI
  • Background job processing with real-time status updates and stored job history
  • Optional OAuth/OIDC-based access control configuration (can run without auth in local-only mode)
  • Optional CUDA-enabled container image for GPU-accelerated transcription

Use Cases

  • Convert office documents and ebooks into consistent archival formats (PDF, EPUB, DOCX)
  • Turn scanned PDFs into searchable documents with OCR
  • Create transcripts/subtitles from meeting recordings and other audio files

Limitations and Considerations

  • Not safe to expose publicly without strong authentication and isolation; wrapping converters can introduce arbitrary command execution risk if misconfigured
  • Conversion fidelity and supported formats depend on the installed external tools and their build options
  • Transcription performance varies significantly by model size and whether GPU acceleration is available

File Wizard fits well for homelabs and internal teams that want a single, lightweight web interface to run conversions, OCR workflows, and local speech-to-text processing. Its tool-based architecture makes it extensible, but it should be deployed with careful security controls when used beyond local environments.

777stars
42forks
View Details
#4
Fast Music Remover

Fast Music Remover

Self-hosted web app that removes background music and reduces noise from videos or audio (including URLs), using FFmpeg and DeepFilterNet-based enhancement.

Fast Music Remover is a lightweight media processing service that removes background music and reduces noise from audio or video content. It provides a simple web interface backed by a C++ processing core and a Python web server for easy local or containerized use.

Key Features

  • Background music filtering and general noise reduction for improved speech clarity
  • Accepts both uploaded files and remote media via URL (e.g., online video sources)
  • Web UI for submitting jobs and previewing the processed output
  • C++ “MediaProcessor” core for efficient processing, orchestrated by a Python backend
  • Uses FFmpeg for media probing, extraction, and handling common audio/video formats
  • Docker and Docker Compose deployment option for quick setup

Use Cases

  • Cleaning dialogue in recorded talks, lectures, or interviews by reducing music and noise
  • Processing online videos to make speech more intelligible for listening or transcription
  • Preparing cleaner audio tracks for editing workflows or downstream ML speech tasks

Limitations and Considerations

  • Output quality depends on source material and the characteristics of background music/noise
  • Real-time processing is indicated as a planned/experimental capability rather than a stable feature

Fast Music Remover is a practical choice for users who want a straightforward, browser-based way to enhance spoken audio by removing background music and reducing noise. Its container-friendly deployment and modular processing approach make it suitable for both casual use and iterative experimentation.

689stars
50forks
View Details
#5
OpenReader WebUI

OpenReader WebUI

Next.js web app that reads EPUB, PDF, DOCX, MD and TXT using pluggable TTS providers, offering real-time read-along highlighting, word timestamps, and audiobook export.

OpenReader WebUI screenshot

OpenReader WebUI is a web application that converts documents into spoken audio using pluggable text-to-speech providers. It supports EPUB, PDF, DOCX, Markdown and plain text files and provides a read-along experience with configurable narration and export options.

Key Features

  • Supports EPUB, PDF, DOCX, MD and TXT document formats with in-page read-along highlighting
  • Multi-provider TTS support (OpenAI-compatible endpoints, Deepinfra, Kokoro/Orpheus FastAPI and other OpenAI-style APIs)
  • Word-by-word timestamps (optional) produced server-side for precise highlighting
  • Smart sentence-aware narration to merge sentences across pages/chapters for smoother playback
  • Audiobook export to m4b/mp3 with resumable, chapter-based generation and audio caching
  • Local-first storage using Dexie/IndexedDB with optional server-side /docstore for shared documents
  • Optimized Next.js TTS proxy that requests audio server-side and caches audio for repeat playback
  • Theming and UI customization options with Tailwind-based interface

Use Cases

  • Listen to ebooks and documents hands-free with synchronized read-along highlighting
  • Produce downloadable audiobooks from personal document collections with chapter structure
  • Integrate local or cloud TTS providers for accessible reading workflows and study aids

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires an accessible TTS API provider or compatible OpenAI-style endpoint; quality and latency depend on the chosen provider
  • Word-level highlighting is optional and requires a separate whisper.cpp binary for timestamp generation
  • DOCX conversion and some exports rely on external tooling (LibreOffice for DOCX, FFmpeg for m4b creation)
  • Performance and parallel processing depend on available server hardware and TTS provider throughput

OpenReader WebUI is focused on flexible, high-quality TTS for documents with strong local-first behavior and configurable provider support. It is best suited for users who can provide or run a compatible TTS API and who need precise read-along and audiobook export features.

267stars
36forks
View Details

Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running