Nowen ReadervsPaddleOCR
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Nowen Reader | PaddleOCR | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 51/100 | 85/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 19 in Ebook Management | #1 of 4 in OCR |
| GitHub stars | 180 | 91 864 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +423 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 8 |
| Latest release | v1.2.3 · 25 Oct 2026 | v3.7.0 · 11 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |
Which one should you pick?
PaddleOCR scores 85/100 against 51/100 for Nowen Reader, so it is the safer default.
Nowen Reader ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 8 for PaddleOCR.
If you want the quickest setup, Nowen Reader is easier to run; PaddleOCR needs more configuration.
PaddleOCR is growing faster right now (+423 stars in 30 days).
Nowen Reader details →PaddleOCR details →
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