The best OCR apps for Mac
By Vishva Variya · Updated
Short answer
To copy text from one image, macOS Live Text is free: open it in Preview or Quick Look and select the words. To grab text from anywhere on screen, TextSniper (from $7.99) or CleanShot X ($35) do it in a keystroke. For scanned documents and searchable PDFs, Prizmo. To search the text inside thousands of saved screenshots and photos, Peekaboo or Searchable index them on-device.
How we picked. Prices, macOS requirements and features from each vendor’s own site or App Store listing, checked November 3, 2026. OCR on a Mac means three different jobs: grabbing text from the screen, converting documents, and searching images already saved. Each app is listed for the one it does best. Peekaboo is our app; it’s listed with its gaps, like the others.
Before you buy anything: Live Text (built in)
On macOS 12 Monterey and later, Preview, Quick Look, Photos and Safari let you select and copy text in images, on-device. It works one image at a time, and you have to find the image first.
At a glance
| App | Best for | Price | Requires |
|---|---|---|---|
| TextSniper | Best for: Grabbing text from anywhere on screen | Price: From $7.99 one-time (1 Mac) | Requires: macOS 10.15 or later |
| CleanShot X | Best for: Screenshots with text capture built in | Price: $35 one-time (1 year of updates); Pro $10/user/month billed annually | Requires: macOS 13 or later |
| Peekaboo | Best for: Searching the words inside every saved screenshot and PDF | Price: $24.99 one-time (launch price $9.99 until Nov 13) | Requires: macOS 14 Sonoma |
| Prizmo | Best for: Scanning documents to searchable PDF or Word | Price: Free; Pro $49.99/year or Pro Pack $99.99 | Requires: macOS 14 or later |
| Searchable | Best for: Cheap on-device image search by text and similarity | Price: Free; $9.99/year or $19.99 lifetime | Requires: macOS 15 or later |
TextSniper: Grabbing text from anywhere on screen
Grab text from any part of the screen: images, PDFs, video, plus QR codes.
- Capture text from any screen region
- QR and barcode reading
- Text to speech
Gaps: It captures text from a region of the screen; its site doesn’t describe searching or indexing image files already saved on disk.
From $7.99 one-time (1 Mac) · macOS 10.15 or later · source: textsniper.app, verified 2026-11-02
CleanShot X: Screenshots with text capture built in
The screenshot and recording tool, with on-device text capture from anything on screen.
- Screenshots, scrolling capture and screen recording
- Annotation and background tool
- On-device OCR of anything on screen
- Capture history and cloud links
Gaps: Its text recognition copies what you capture on screen; it doesn’t search the text inside images already saved on your Mac.
$35 one-time (1 year of updates); Pro $10/user/month billed annually · macOS 13 or later · source: cleanshot.com, cleanshot.com/pricing and its changelog, verified 2026-11-03
Peekaboo: Searching the words inside every saved screenshot and PDF
Peekaboo runs Apple Vision text recognition over your screenshots, photos and PDFs in the background, on your Mac, so “screenshot with tracking number” finds the image. Select any number of images and copy all their text at once.
- Searches text inside every saved image and PDF
- Bulk copy text from many images at once
- Combines words with kind, date and source in plain English
- On-device, nothing uploaded
Gaps: No screen capture: it reads images already saved, not what’s on screen right now. No handwriting or document export.
$24.99 one-time (launch price $9.99 until Nov 13) · macOS 14 Sonoma
Prizmo: Scanning documents to searchable PDF or Word
Scanning and OCR studio: searchable PDFs, Word export, 30 on-device languages, cloud handwriting.
- On-device OCR in 30 languages
- Searchable PDF and Word export
- Cloud OCR with handwriting (Pro)
- Scanners, cameras and Continuity Camera
Gaps: Handwriting and its widest language support use cloud OCR, which needs the Pro Plan.
Free; Pro $49.99/year or Pro Pack $99.99 · macOS 14 or later · source: Mac App Store listing (id6648781292), verified 2026-11-03
Searchable: Cheap on-device image search by text and similarity
On-device image search by description, by similar image, and by the text in the picture.
- Semantic search over images, on-device
- Find an image by a similar image
- Searches text inside images
- Low price, including a $19.99 lifetime option
Gaps: It searches images only, not documents or other files.
Free; $9.99/year or $19.99 lifetime · macOS 15 or later · source: Mac App Store listing (id1641258618), verified 2026-11-03
Questions
How do I get text from an image on a Mac?
- Open the image in Preview or press Space for Quick Look, hover over the text until the cursor changes, select it and press ⌘C. That’s Live Text, on macOS 12 and later.
Is there a free OCR app for Mac?
- Live Text is built in and free. Prizmo and Searchable are free downloads with paid upgrades.
Which OCR app works offline?
- Live Text, TextSniper, CleanShot X, Searchable and Peekaboo all describe on-device recognition. Prizmo is on-device for 30 languages and uses the cloud for handwriting and wider language support.
Can I search all my screenshots by their text?
- Spotlight finds some, inconsistently. Peekaboo and Searchable index every image’s text so you can search it like file names.