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

A Google Document AI alternative with no processor to pick.

Document AI splits the work into processors, each with its own page limit and rate. Parser reads the whole document into the fields you named, 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 AI and Parser, row by row.

The same 7 questions asked of each.

Google Document AI and Parser compared by criterion
CriterionGoogle Document AIParser
Reading the document
What you get back
A Document object: OCR text plus, by processor, key-value pairs, tables and entities. Form Parser returns generic key-value pairs; Custom Extractor and the specialized parsers return named fields.
The fields you named in an extraction template, as JSON, Excel or CSV.
A new document type
A specialized parser where one exists (invoice, expense, bank statement, pay slip, W-2), or a Custom Extractor and its schema.
A new extraction template that lists the fields you want back.
A long document
15 pages per online request on most processors. Batch limits run from 10 to 1,000 pages by processor: Form Parser 100, Custom Extractor 200, Layout Parser 500.
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 entity. 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
API calls from your code. Batch jobs read from and write to Cloud Storage, up to 1 GB per file.
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
A Google Cloud project with billing, the API enabled, a processor created for each document type, and Cloud Storage for batch jobs.
A sign-up and a template. The Free plan needs no card.
How it is billed
Per page, by processor: each processor type has its own rate.
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 Google Document AI column states what its public documentation says, as of October 2026: docs.cloud.google.com/document-ai/limits · docs.cloud.google.com/document-ai/docs/processors-list · cloud.google.com/document-ai/pricing. Check them before you decide; they change. List prices are not printed here.

02
The build
What sits in between

What sits between Document AI and your system.

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

  • 2.1

    Processor choice

    Decide which processor reads which document, and route each file to it. A file over the online limit goes to a batch job.

    In Parser One extraction template per kind of document; any file goes through the same API.

  • 2.2

    Field mapping

    Turn entities and key-value pairs into your field names, and keep the schema current as layouts change.

    In Parser The template lists the fields; the result comes back under those names.

  • 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

    Collect batch output from Cloud Storage, format it 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

    Google Document AI

    Fits when your team runs on Google Cloud, a specialized parser covers your document, and your engineers will own the routing, 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 AI

Questions from teams comparing Document AI.

  • No. Parser is a hosted service: sign up, define a template, and send files by upload, e-mail or REST API. There is no processor to create and no Cloud Storage bucket to set up.

  • 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.