OCR API — Image to Text
FreemiumExtract text from images and scans in English, Hindi and Marathi, and pull out emails, phone numbers, URLs, PAN and GSTIN.
Documentation
Extract text from images and scans in English, Hindi and Marathi, and pull out emails, phone numbers, URLs, PAN and GSTIN.
What you get
- Text extraction from photos, screenshots and scans (JPG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, BMP)
- English, Hindi and Marathi — combine languages with
+ - Structured data — emails, phone numbers, URLs, dates, amounts, PAN and GSTIN
- Orientation detection for rotated scans
- Send a file upload, an image URL or base64
Great for business-card scanners, receipt and invoice capture, KYC forms and document search.
Quick start
Subscribe to a plan (the Basic plan is free), then call the API at https://ocr-image-to-text.p.apihiver.com with your key in the X-API-Key header:
curl -X POST "https://ocr-image-to-text.p.apihiver.com/v1/extract" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-F file=@image.jpgEndpoints
| Method | Path | What it does |
|---|---|---|
POST | /v1/extract | Extract text from an image (upload, URL or base64) |
GET | /v1/languages | OCR languages installed on this server |
POST | /v1/extract-data | Read an image and pull out emails, phone numbers, URLs, dates, amounts, PAN and GSTIN |
POST | /v1/orientation | Detect page rotation and script (e.g. a scan that's upside down) |
Open the Endpoints tab to see every parameter, example request and example response, and to try the API live.
Sending a file
Endpoints that take an image accept any of:
- multipart/form-data with the image in the
filefield, plus options as form fields - JSON
{"url": "https://…"}pointing at a public image (private/internal addresses are refused) - JSON
{"base64": "…"}(adata:URL prefix is fine)
Max size: 25 MB. Files are processed in memory and never stored.
Errors
Every error is JSON with the same shape:
{"error": {"code": "INVALID_INPUT", "message": "Provide a file upload, 'url', or 'base64'."}}| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | INVALID_INPUT | A parameter is missing or has the wrong format — the message says which |
| 401 | UNAUTHORIZED | Missing or invalid X-API-Key |
| 413 | TOO_LARGE | The file is over the size limit |
| 429 | — | Plan quota or rate limit reached (see the X-RateLimit-* headers) |
| 502 / 503 / 504 | — | A data source or the API server is temporarily unavailable — retry after a few seconds |
Data & privacy
Data comes from the Tesseract OCR engine, running on our servers. Images are not stored.
OCR API — Image to Text FAQ
- Is the OCR API — Image to Text free?
- Yes. The Basic plan is free and includes 50 requests per month — no card needed. Paid plans start at ₹499 per month for 2,000 requests.
- How much does the OCR API — Image to Text cost?
- Basic: free for 50 requests; Pro: ₹499/month for 2,000 requests; Ultra: ₹1,999/month for 10,000 requests; Mega: ₹4,999/month for 30,000 requests. Billing is monthly and you can cancel any time.
- How do I use the OCR API — Image to Text?
- Subscribe to a plan on APIHiver, create an API key in the Console, then send requests to https://ocr-image-to-text.p.apihiver.com with your key in the X-API-Key header. You can also try every endpoint in the browser playground first.
- What endpoints does the OCR API — Image to Text have?
- It has 4 endpoints: Extract text from an image (upload, URL or base64) (POST /v1/extract); OCR languages installed on this server (GET /v1/languages); Read an image and pull out emails, phone numbers, URLs, dates, amounts, PAN and GSTIN (POST /v1/extract-data); Detect page rotation and script (e.g. a scan that's upside down) (POST /v1/orientation).
- What are the OCR API — Image to Text rate limits?
- Basic: 1 request per second; Pro: 2 requests per second; Ultra: 4 requests per second; Mega: 8 requests per second. Monthly quotas depend on the plan; every response includes X-RateLimit headers showing what's left.
- Can I use one API key for the OCR API — Image to Text and other APIs?
- Yes. One APIHiver key works for every API you subscribe to, so you don't need a separate account or key per provider.
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Endpoints
4 endpoints — full list is in the sidebar on larger screens.