# OpenWA vs PaddleOCR

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | OpenWA | PaddleOCR |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 77/100 | 85/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #2 of 19 in API Management | #1 of 4 in OCR |
| GitHub stars | 16 343 | 91 859 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +337 | +418 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 3 | 8 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.26.0 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ | v3.7.0 · 11 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Easy ✓ | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

PaddleOCR scores 85/100 against 77/100 for OpenWA, so it is the safer default.

PaddleOCR ships more often: 8 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for OpenWA.

If you want the quickest setup, OpenWA is easier to run; PaddleOCR needs more configuration.

## Details

- [OpenWA](https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/openwa.md)
- [PaddleOCR](https://selfhost.directory/project/paddleocr) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/paddleocr.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/openwa-vs-paddleocr