Docling vs 
MinerU
Docling vs MinerU compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. IBM-grade document understanding vs PDF to Markdown with formulas and tables.
Updated regularly · curated by OpenSourceAI.tech
Docling vs MinerU at a glance
| Spec | Docling | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document AI & OCR | Document AI & OCR |
| Type | Document parsing toolkit | Document extractor |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Primary language | Python | Python |
| Ease of use | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Best for | teams building document pipelines for RAG | scientific PDFs with formulas |
| GitHub stars | 63.9k | 76.2k |
How Docling and MinerU score
| Criterion | Docling | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Maintenance | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Privacy | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| License freedom | 5.0 | 3.5 |
Scores are computed automatically from public signals — GitHub stars (popularity), recent commit activity (maintenance), license type (freedom), local-first design (privacy) and onboarding complexity (ease of use). Indicative, not a verdict.
What each one is
Docling
Docling parses PDFs, DOCX, PPTX and images into structured representations with layout, tables and reading order, designed to plug straight into RAG frameworks.
- Rich structured output: layout, tables, reading order
- First-class integrations with LangChain and LlamaIndex
- Backed by IBM Research, MIT-licensed
MinerU
MinerU extracts text, tables, formulas and images from PDFs into Markdown or JSON, handling scientific documents particularly well.
- Extracts formulas as LaTeX
- Strong table structure recovery
- Handles scanned documents
Key differences
Docling is document parsing toolkit, while MinerU is document extractor. Their licenses differ (MIT vs AGPL-3.0), which matters if you ship a commercial product. In short, Docling fits teams building document pipelines for RAG, and MinerU fits scientific PDFs with formulas.
Which should you choose?
Choose Docling for teams building document pipelines for RAG. Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas.
There is rarely one winner — many setups use both. The right pick depends on your hardware, your team's skills, and whether you value simplicity or control.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docling or MinerU easier to use?
Both sit at a similar level (Intermediate). Your choice should come down to fit rather than difficulty.
Are Docling and MinerU free?
Docling is free and open source (MIT), and MinerU is free and open source (AGPL-3.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run Docling and MinerU locally?
Docling: yes · MinerU: yes. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
Docling vs MinerU — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose Docling for teams building document pipelines for RAG. Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas.
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