# PaddleOCR vs unleash

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

| | PaddleOCR | unleash |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 85/100 ✓ | 75/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 4 in OCR | #1 of 8 in Feature Flags |
| GitHub stars | 91 901 ✓ | 13 914 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +460 ✓ | +88 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 8 | 15 ✓ |
| Latest release | v3.7.0 · 11 Jun 2026 | v8.3.0 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Python | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

PaddleOCR scores 85/100 against 75/100 for unleash, so it is the safer default.

unleash ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 8 for PaddleOCR.

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

PaddleOCR is growing faster right now (+460 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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