Unstructured vs 
MinerU
Unstructured vs MinerU compared for 2026 — features, license, ease of use, performance and which one to choose. Turn any file into LLM-ready data vs PDF to Markdown with formulas and tables.
Updated regularly · curated by OpenSourceAI.tech
Unstructured vs MinerU at a glance
| Spec | Unstructured | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document AI & OCR | Document AI & OCR |
| Type | ETL for documents | Document extractor |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Runs locally | Self-hosted | Yes |
| Primary language | Python | Python |
| Ease of use | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Best for | teams ingesting many file types into one pipeline | scientific PDFs with formulas |
| GitHub stars | 15.2k | 76.2k |
How Unstructured and MinerU score
| Criterion | Unstructured | MinerU |
|---|---|---|
| Popularity | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Maintenance | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ease of use | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Privacy | 4.5 | 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
Unstructured
Unstructured extracts and normalizes content from PDFs, HTML, Word, emails and more into clean elements ready for embedding and RAG ingestion.
- One API for dozens of file formats
- Chunking strategies designed for RAG
- Widely adopted in the LLM data stack
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
Unstructured is eTL for documents, while MinerU is document extractor. Their licenses differ (Apache-2.0 vs AGPL-3.0), which matters if you ship a commercial product. They also differ in how they run (Self-hosted vs Yes). In short, Unstructured fits teams ingesting many file types into one pipeline, and MinerU fits scientific PDFs with formulas.
Which should you choose?
Choose Unstructured for teams ingesting many file types into one pipeline. 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 Unstructured or MinerU easier to use?
Both sit at a similar level (Intermediate). Your choice should come down to fit rather than difficulty.
Are Unstructured and MinerU free?
Unstructured is free and open source (Apache-2.0), and MinerU is free and open source (AGPL-3.0). Neither charges for the core software.
Can I run Unstructured and MinerU locally?
Unstructured: self-hosted · MinerU: yes. Both can be used without sending your data to a third-party cloud where their setup allows.
Unstructured vs MinerU — which should I pick in 2026?
Choose Unstructured for teams ingesting many file types into one pipeline. Choose MinerU for scientific PDFs with formulas.
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