Testing Imagetotext.cc Claim to Be the Best Online OCR Tool

Imagetotext.cc is an online OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool that claims to be the best.

It initially sounded like a false claim, and honestly, at this point, I am fed up with every other tool calling itself the “best” in this niche.

However, like the curious mind I am, I decided to give the imagetotext.cc tool a try and see what the fuss is all about.

Let’s see if there’s any room to deem it the king tool by going through a series of elaborate tests and a lot of other things in this post.

What is Imagetotext.cc?

To make it simpler for your folks who have no interaction with OCR tools, imagetotext.cc is a web-based OCR solution that extracts text from images to make the textual data editable, updatable, and storable.

While this sounds like a far-fetched theory, making infographics, visuals, handwritten notes, etc., indexable data is pretty much possible today with or without imagetotext.cc.

So, why should one use this tool over others? Let’s find out with its testing and comparison to other tools in terms of features and benefits it provides to the users.

Testing Imagetotext.cc

I tried various types of images with this online image to text converter to see if the company’s claims for its accuracy are right or not. Some of these are shown below.

Blurry/Low-Res Image

According to the developers, the tool can handle the lowest resolution of images or clicks that come out a bit blurry. So, I started exploring and tried the following photo for the test.

Image:

Result:

As visible, the tool was accurate in getting out the text even when the first line in the image was blurred out. The resolution of this image was also on the lower side, about 329 x 228 pixels, but still, the functionality we got was impressive.

Handwritten Note

Next, I wanted to try out a piece of handwritten note that I found for an English class student studying in 5^th grade.

Image:

Result:

While the words extracted are accurate, there’s no correlation or arrangement between the terms as found in the original image. This takes us to the point that OCR tools are still under development in terms of maintaining the textual formatting or structure, so technically, it isn’t a problem limited to only the imagetotext.cc tool.

Printed Document with Mathematical Syntax

Finally, it was time to dabble in and conclude my testing with some mathematical text. This was to prove another claim that the company made, that their tool handles difficult syntax with ease. The image I used for this test is shown below.

Image:

Result:

The claim that imagetotext.cc handles mathematical syntax well is indeed correct. The terms displayed and the variables used were accurate, making it a reliable tool to use in this regard.

Key Features That I Believe Make Imagetotext.cc a Worthy Option

After my thorough testing with the tool, I came to discover and experience the key features that it provides the users. First things first, it is free to use with unlimited tries, however, this isn’t the only highlight. It contains many other crucial features that I discovered, like:

Batch Processing

In the free version, imagetotext.cc supports uploading and processing of 3 images only. However, the company provides a cap of 50 images at a time starting at $4.99 per month (more on this later).

I checked both the free and the paid versions. Honestly, the processing speed for free is good, but the paid one is even better. All the images are quickly extracted, ready to be downloaded in the .txt form or copied to the clipboard for further use.

Image Cropping

Many tools in the OCR space are seen without the option for allowing users to crop their uploaded images. This isn’t necessarily a problem if a tool doesn’t have this feature, however, it is a handy option to have for better and more accurate text extraction from images.

Expanding the Output Pane

The same is the case with this option, in which you can expand the output window to see the extracted text all at once. Other competitors like imagetotext.io (both have pretty similar names) don’t have this feature, which sometimes makes me annoyed.

Detection of Mathematical Syntax

While this isn’t a standout feature, imagetotext.cc’s accuracy is tested to prove that it accurately gets mathematical syntax from my handwritten Calculus 1 notes. Pretty clever technique to make notes digital and easily storable on digital devices like laptops, smartphones, etc.

Other Tools Available on the Platform

One of the key highlights of imagetotext.cc is that many other tools on this platform can be utilized for elevated functionality. For instance, imagetotext.cc’s image translator is a handy tool to translate images from one language to another.

Similarly, you can utilize the image inverter as a graphic artist to help choose the best color hue for an upcoming project for color accuracy. The use cases are endless.

Things I Found Lacking for Imagetotext.cc

So far, I have developed that the imagetotext.cc is a functional and reliable tool for daily tasks. However, some aspects didn’t live up to my mark which I want to discuss with you before moving on to the ‘best’ part.

No Support for Fetching Images Online

Unlike other tools in the space like imagetotext.io, this tool doesn’t allow users to get the images directly from a live web link (URL). This takes away some credit from its claim to be the best.

Not Available as an Extension

In comparison to other OCR tools like jpgtotext.com, imagetotext.cc doesn’t come as a Chrome or Edge extension. This is a downside considering that other options in the market also come as a downloadable app, which adds to the user’s convenience of digitizing documents on the go.

No Support for Additional Tools

Having the potential for scanning a QR code on similar platforms leaves imagetotext.cc behind in the race to be the best. Imagetotext.info is a case in point that allows users to quickly scan QR codes on its platform, improving the user experience to the next level.

Final Verdict

Let’s quickly have a recap of what I just discussed about imagetotext.cc. It is a free online OCR tool that allows an unlimited number of scans, however, you can only do 3 at a time in the free version and 50 at a time in the paid version.

The web-based tool is accurate in picking up scientific/mathematical syntax and recognizing text from low-resolution images. However, it lacks in areas like the option to be integrated into browsers as an extension. Or, to be downloaded as an app on Google PlayStore, Apple’s App Store, etc.

Final verdict: Imagetotext.cc may not be the best OCR tool as of now. However, it does have the potential to become one of the best in the future if devs invest enough time and resources in eliminating the mentioned downsides.