OCR ranking for handwriting recognition

Dernière mise à jour :

June 16, 2025

5 minutes

Recognizing handwriting remains one of the biggest challenges for OCR technologies. Between style variations, scanned documents of varying quality and demanding business contexts (health, HR, logistics...), not all solutions are the same. In this article, we compared the best OCRs capable of automatically reading and structuring handwritten documents in 2025, with a clear objective: reliability, time savings and integration into your business tools.

Comparison of the best OCRs that can easily read and structure handwriting automatically.

OCR for handwriting

Does OCR work on handwriting?

Unlike printed documents, handwritten text recognition poses many challenges: lack of standardization, varied writing styles, unequal scan quality... However, with the advances of AI, some solutions now go well beyond simple automatic reading. In this article, we analyze the real level of reliability of OCR technologies on handwriting, through concrete cases, comparative tests and business use feedback.

Pent to Print

❌ 1 error detected
Despite good overall recognition, the system shows weaknesses in certain cursive or low-contrast characters.

Handwriting OCR Comparison: Pen to PRINT tool screenshot with one error

Mindee

❌ 2 errors detected
Approximations on short handwritten words and imperfect segmentation in dense areas of the document.

Handwriting OCR Comparison: Mindee tool screenshot with two errors

OpenAI

No errors detected
Very good performance on all the handwritten text, with a faithful reproduction of the content.

Koncile

No errors detected
Thanks to a hybrid engine combining OCR + NLP + AI trained on business cases, Koncile renders the entire text without errors, even on complex fields.

Handwriting OCR Comparison: Koncile tool screenshot with zero errors

Comparative table of results: precision, speed, business context

This comparison highlights the differences in performance between the various OCR software for handwriting. While some tools still struggle with unclear or complex handwritten areas, others like OpenAI and Koncile show remarkable precision. The difference is often in the details: ability to interpret business contexts, management of writing variations, or even line-by-line reproduction. Such performance is also made possible through intelligent document processing, which combines OCR with AI to go beyond text capture and deliver contextualized, actionable data.

Solution Batch Processing Estimated Time (100 images) Handwriting Quality Recommended for OCR
Koncile OCR ✅ Yes 2–3 min ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ ✅ Excellent professional solution
ChatGPT (vision) ❌ No (manual) 10–20 min ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ 🔸 Suitable for occasional analysis
Mindee ✅ Yes (via API) 4–6 min ⭐⭐☆☆☆ 🔸 Good for printed docs, limited on handwriting
Pen to Print ❌ No (mobile app use) 20–30 min (manual) ⭐⭐☆☆☆ 🔸 Acceptable for clear handwriting

Which OCR should you choose according to your needs?

This comparison clearly shows that Not all OCRs are created equal Faced with the complexity of handwriting.

  • Pent to Print is accessible and fast, but shows its limits as soon as the document becomes less readable or structured.
  • Mindee Offers good performance on simple cases, but lacks reliability on more varied writing styles.
  • OpenAI Impressions with its ability to read without errors, but remains a raw technological brick, without business contextualization.
  • Koncile, for its part, goes further: its OCR engine powered by AI doesn't just read, it Interpreter, Structure and Control. Result: 0 errors detected and one immediate adaptability to HR, logistics or medical documents.

👉 The right choice will depend on your needs:

  • For general or occasional use: a tool like OpenAI or Pent to Print may suffice.
  • For sensitive, complex or business documents: Koncile remains the most reliable and operational solution.

Author and Co-Founder at Koncile
Jules Ratier

Co-fondateur at Koncile - Transform any document into structured data with LLM - jules@koncile.ai

Jules leads product development at Koncile, focusing on how to turn unstructured documents into business value.

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