FixMyScan vs ABBYY FineReader

Two tools for different jobs

FineReader is what many people reach for when a scan has to become text they can work with. It reads a page, rebuilds the layout and lets you edit or export the result. FixMyScan does not try to rebuild anything. It keeps each page as a picture of the original, makes that picture easy to read on e-ink, and slips searchable text underneath.

So the question is less “which OCR is better” and more “do you want to work on the text, or read the book?”

What FineReader does better

From ABBYY’s product page and specifications:

• Languages. 198 OCR languages, 53 with dictionary support, including Latin, Greek and “Old German”. FixMyScan reads 19, including English, German, French, Latin, Italian, Spanish, Fraktur and Ancient Greek.
• Text and tables out. It extracts text and tables from PDFs and converts them to other formats.
• A full PDF editor. Create, edit and organise PDFs, build fillable forms, redact, protect and sign.
• Compare documents, even across formats.
• Automation. On Windows, a Hot Folder runs recurring jobs, per ABBYY’s user guide. FineReader Server handles large volumes.
• Offline. It is a desktop app on Windows and Mac, so your files stay on your computer.

If you need editable text from a scan, a language outside FixMyScan’s 19, or OCR on your own machine, FineReader is the better choice.

Where a book on an e-reader needs more

Reading a scanned book on a Kindle, Kobo or reMarkable runs into problems that are about the page, not the text:

• The margins make the text small, because a PDF shrinks to fit the screen.
• Grey or yellowed paper turns into a dull background on e-ink.
• Long colour scans are too big: Send to Kindle takes 200 MB on its website and 50 MB by email.

Whether FineReader crops a whole book in one step is not confirmed on ABBYY’s own pages. An older ABBYY community answer, from the FineReader 14 era, says cropping was manual. We have not checked the current version. ABBYY’s pages do not mention e-reader output.

How FixMyScan treats the book

1. Upload the scan. PDF or DjVu, up to 1,000 pages, in a browser on any computer.
2. Draw the crop once. You see the pages stacked, so a single box frames the text on all of them.
3. Read it. Pages arrive straightened, with white paper and black text, and pictures left in greyscale. Every word has a hidden text layer for search, highlight and look-up.

The page sequence and printed page numbers stay intact, so a reference to page 214 still finds page 214. The OCR language is chosen for you, including Fraktur and Ancient Greek mixed with Latin.

The output is also small, because black-and-white pages compress well: a 300-page book we processed on 2 November 2026 went from 13.0 MB to 9.0 MB. One book is not a benchmark, and we have not measured FineReader’s output.

Price compared

ABBYY prices as its pricing page showed them on 4 November 2026, in euros. US dollar prices not checked. FineReader has a 7-day free trial with no payment required.

What FixMyScan will not do

It will not give you editable text, a Word file or a table. It does not edit or sign PDFs. It reads print, not handwriting, and it does not reflow the book into an EPUB. It works on one book at a time.

Your file does leave your computer. It stays private to your account and is deleted 24 hours after your book is ready, or 24 hours after upload if you never convert it.

Which fits you

Best suited for: FineReader if you need editable text, many languages, or OCR that never leaves your desk. FixMyScan if you want to read scanned books on an e-reader and would rather not set up desktop software for it.

Not sure your PDF needs OCR? The free scanned PDF checker tells you in your browser. If grey pages are the problem, see how to clean up a scanned PDF.

Questions