MarkItDown vs 
Surya
MarkItDown vs Surya compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. Turn any office document into clean Markdown vs Modern OCR with layout detection.
Updated regularly · curated by olud.ai
MarkItDown vs Surya at a glance
| Spec | MarkItDown | Surya |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document AI & OCR | Document AI & OCR |
| Type | Document converter (Python CLI) | OCR toolkit |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Runs locally | Yes | Yes |
| Primary language | Python | Python |
| Ease of use | Beginner | Intermediate |
| Best for | anyone preparing office documents for RAG or a long-context prompt | developers who need OCR beyond plain text |
| GitHub stars | 166.9k | — |
How MarkItDown and Surya score
| Criterion | MarkItDown | Surya |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | 5.0 | n/a |
| Maintenance | 4.5 | n/a |
| Ease of use | 5.0 | 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
MarkItDown
MarkItDown is a Microsoft tool that converts PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, images and audio into Markdown, so documents can be fed to a language model without the formatting noise that wastes tokens and confuses retrieval.
- One command for a dozen document formats
- Runs entirely locally: no document leaves your machine
- Maintained by Microsoft, with LangChain and AutoGen integrations
Surya
Surya is a modern OCR toolkit providing text recognition in 90+ languages plus layout analysis, reading order and table detection.
- 90+ languages with strong accuracy
- Layout, reading order and table detection
- Runs locally on modest GPUs
Key differences
MarkItDown is document converter (Python CLI), while Surya is oCR toolkit. Their licenses differ (MIT vs GPL-3.0), which matters if you ship a commercial product. MarkItDown leans more beginner-friendly, whereas Surya is more suited to intermediate users. In short, MarkItDown fits anyone preparing office documents for RAG or a long-context prompt, and Surya fits developers who need OCR beyond plain text.
Which should you choose?
Choose MarkItDown for anyone preparing office documents for RAG or a long-context prompt. Choose Surya for developers who need OCR beyond plain text.
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 MarkItDown or Surya easier to use?
MarkItDown is generally the easier of the two to get started with, while Surya rewards more setup with more control.
Are MarkItDown and Surya free?
MarkItDown is free and open source (MIT), and Surya is free and open source (GPL-3.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run MarkItDown and Surya locally?
MarkItDown: yes · Surya: yes. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
MarkItDown vs Surya — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose MarkItDown for anyone preparing office documents for RAG or a long-context prompt. Choose Surya for developers who need OCR beyond plain text.
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