head to head · open source
PaddleOCR vs CL4R1T4S
PaddleOCR has 89,852 GitHub stars, 11,370 forks, 243 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. CL4R1T4S has 50,059 stars, 10,280 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. PaddleOCR leads on adoption by 79% (89,852 vs 50,059 stars). PaddleOCR is written in Python under Apache-2.0; CL4R1T4S is written in various languages under AGPL-3.0. PaddleOCR has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, CL4R1T4S 21%. PaddleOCR was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| PaddleOCR | CL4R1T4S | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 50K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 10K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PaddleOCR if
- You weight community size — 90K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick CL4R1T4S if
- You want the CL4R1T4S feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- You evaluated both and CL4R1T4S fits your workflow better
About PaddleOCR
PaddleOCR is an Apache 2.0 Python OCR and document AI toolkit that converts PDFs and images into structured, LLM ready JSON or Markdown across more than 100 languages, and it is built for developers who need to feed documents into RAG pipelines, agents, and document parsing services.
read the full PaddleOCR overview →
About CL4R1T4S
CL4R1T4S is an AGPL 3.0 repository of full extracted system prompts, guidelines and tools from the major AI models and agents — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, Cursor, Lovable, Replit and more — for anyone who wants to know what instructions sit behind the AI systems they use.
read the full CL4R1T4S overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PaddleOCR or CL4R1T4S more popular?
PaddleOCR has 89,852 GitHub stars and CL4R1T4S has 50,059. PaddleOCR has the larger community by that measure.
Are PaddleOCR and CL4R1T4S free?
Both are open source. PaddleOCR is licensed under Apache-2.0 and CL4R1T4S under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between PaddleOCR and CL4R1T4S?
PaddleOCR is written in Python and CL4R1T4S in various languages. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, PaddleOCR or CL4R1T4S?
Choose PaddleOCR if you want the larger community (89,852 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose CL4R1T4S if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.