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Comparison
Compared
Document Intelligence · Parser
Criteria
7 rows in 3 groups
Basis
Public documentation · October 2026

An Azure Document Intelligence alternative with no model to train.

Document Intelligence, formerly Form Recognizer, reads a document with a prebuilt model or one you train on labeled samples. Parser returns the fields you named in a template, checked by your rules, by webhook or API.

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Free plan: 10 credits a month, no card required.

01
Comparison
Criterion by criterion

Document Intelligence and Parser, row by row.

The same 7 questions asked of each.

Azure AI Document Intelligence and Parser compared by criterion
CriterionAzure AI Document IntelligenceParser
Reading the document
What you get back
An analyze result: text, layout, tables and selection marks. Prebuilt and custom models add named fields; key-value pairs and query fields are add-on capabilities.
The fields you named in an extraction template, as JSON, Excel or CSV.
A new document type
A prebuilt model where one exists (invoice, receipt, bank statement, pay stub, contract, US tax and mortgage forms), or a custom model trained on labeled samples, five to start.
A new extraction template that lists the fields you want back.
A long document
Up to 2,000 pages and 500 MB per document on the paid tier. The free tier reads the first 2 pages of a request.
Read whole, in one pass: up to 1,000 pages per document on Pro, no limit on Enterprise.
Checking and delivery
Checking values
A confidence score per field. Business rules and a review step are yours to build.
Validation rules you define check each value before it enters your system.
Getting data in and out
Asynchronous REST calls from your code: submit the document, then poll for the result.
In by upload, e-mail or API. Out by webhook or REST API, as JSON, Excel or CSV.
Setup and price
Before the first document
An Azure subscription, a Document Intelligence resource, and a labeled dataset for any custom model.
A sign-up and a template. The Free plan needs no card.
How it is billed
Per page, by model. Add-ons such as high-resolution reading and query fields are priced separately.
Free, Starter $9.90/month and Pro $100/month run on credits that follow the work, with a minimum of 1 per extraction; Enterprise is by contract.

The Azure AI Document Intelligence column states what its public documentation says, as of October 2026: learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-services/document-intelligence/service-limits · learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-services/document-intelligence/model-overview · azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/ai-document-intelligence. Check them before you decide; they change. List prices are not printed here.

02
The build
What sits in between

What sits between Document Intelligence and your system.

The work an OCR API leaves to your code, and where it lives in Parser.

  • 2.1

    Models

    Pick a prebuilt model, or label samples and train a custom one for each layout it does not cover. Retrain when layouts change.

    In Parser An extraction template lists the fields; no samples to label.

  • 2.2

    Polling

    Submit, poll for the result, back off on 429 responses, retry what failed.

    In Parser Send the file by upload, e-mail or API; read the result by webhook or GET.

  • 2.3

    Checks

    Confidence thresholds, cross-field rules (line items that add up to the total) and a queue for the values that fail.

    In Parser Validation rules you define check each value before it enters your system.

  • 2.4

    Delivery

    Format the result and move it to the system that needs it.

    In Parser JSON, Excel or CSV, by webhook or REST API.

Where each one fits.

03
Fit
Where each one makes sense
  • 3.1

    Azure AI Document Intelligence

    Fits when your team runs on Azure, a prebuilt model covers your document or you can label samples for a custom one, and your engineers will own the checks and the delivery.

  • 3.2

    Parser

    Fits when you want the fields, the checks and the delivery without building them. Free plan, no card required.

    Parser, start free
04
Questions
Asked by teams leaving Document Intelligence

Questions from teams comparing Document Intelligence.

  • Yes. Form Recognizer was renamed Azure AI Document Intelligence; the comparison above uses its current documentation. Parser needs no Azure subscription: sign up, define a template, and send files by upload, e-mail or REST API.

  • Each extraction is charged in credits for the work the model actually does, with a minimum of 1. At the Starter rate a one-page invoice is about $0.08 and a sparse 50-page contract about $0.09; a dense one-page table is about $0.31. Measured on synthetic documents. Real documents vary: the same dense document varied by up to 50% between two runs. Free includes 10 credits a month, Starter 125 and Pro 1,500.

  • Parser reads the whole document at once, up to your plan's page limit: 10 pages on Free, 100 on Starter, 1,000 on Pro and no limit on Enterprise.

  • Yes. The Free plan includes 10 credits a month and needs no card: create an account, list the fields you want in a template, and send the same files.

  • Documents are deleted after 7 days, and your data never trains AI.

Create your free account.

List the fields you want, send a file, and read the result.

Start freeSee plans

Free plan · 10 credits a month · no card

  • Self-serve

    Free, Starter ($9.90/month) and Pro ($100/month) start when you sign up. No card required for Free.

  • Enterprise

    By contract · your own model key · an engineer for your team · setup done for you if you want it · POC on your documents.