TextShot takes a screenshot and copies its text to the clipboard using Python, on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The Best Text Grab Alternatives in 2026
Looking for something like Text Grab? Here are 24 alternatives, ranked by how closely they match it on purpose, features and platforms. Of these, 1 are free or have a free plan and 21 are open source.
Text Grab extracts text with OCR on Windows, with an optional background process and notifications.
Top picks at a glance
Quick comparison
| # | Alternative | Pricing | Open source | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TextShot | — | Yes | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 2 | Umi-OCR | — | Yes | — |
| 3 | GeekLink OCR | Free trial | Not stated | macOS, Web, Windows |
| 4 | Normcap | — | Not stated | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 5 | AnyTXT | — | Not stated | Linux, macOS, Web |
| 6 | Pea Zip | — | Yes | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 7 | grepWin | — | Yes | Windows |
| 8 | Szyszka | — | Yes | Linux, macOS, Windows |
| 9 | Desktop | — | Yes | Linux, Windows |
| 10 | CompactGUI | — | Yes | Windows |
All Text Grab alternatives
Umi-OCR processes screenshots, image batches, and PDF documents offline, with OCR support for multiple languages.
GeekLink OCR extracts burned-in video subtitles into time-synced SRT files, with local processing for Mac and Windows.
Normcap
github.com/dynobo/normcapNormCap captures text from the screen using OCR, with downloads for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
AnyTXT
anytxt.netAnytxt Searcher searches file contents on desktop systems, including text, PDF, Office, code, ebook, and image files.
PeaZip is a cross-platform archive manager for opening and extracting ZIP and RAR files, with additional archive features.
grepWin searches and replaces text on Windows using regular expressions.
Szyszka renames files in bulk, with rules for replacing, trimming, adding, numbering, and removing text; the project lists Linux, Mac, and Windows support.
IPFS Desktop is an application for Windows, Mac, and Linux that provides a desktop interface for IPFS.
CompactGUI uses Windows APIs to compress games and programs on disk while keeping them usable, according to its project description.
Flut Renamer batch-renames files on Linux, Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS, according to its project description.
RapidCRC Unicode creates and verifies file checksums on Windows, according to its repository description.
WinBtrfs provides an open-source Btrfs driver for Windows, according to the project description.
Delapp deletes files and folders on Windows, with Windows 7 or later listed as a requirement.
File Converter converts and compresses files through the Windows context menu, including operations on multiple files.
Cryptomator provides client-side encryption for cloud storage on Windows, macOS, and Linux, according to its project page.
Blazing fast terminal file manager written in Rust, based on async I/O.
The Rclone-based desktop app REM browses, organizes, and transfers files across cloud storage services.
sist2 indexes files and provides search tools, with its project page noting that development is in an early stage.
Unison synchronizes files, according to the project title and its file synchronization documentation.
Sushi.Net automatically shifts audio and subtitle tracks to help synchronize media playback.
Select and format fields from text with tuc, a command-line alternative to cut.
BasicSync is an Android app for running Syncthing, according to its repository description.
copyparty serves files with resumable uploads, deduplication, WebDAV, SFTP, FTP, TFTP, and media indexing.
Alternatives to similar tools
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Alternatives are suggested from the purpose and features described in our listings. Different pages for the same product appear once. Read each description to check whether it fits your task. How we choose alternatives · Suggest an alternative
























