Top 9 Amazon Textract alternatives for data extraction

Amazon Textract is AWS's machine learning service that reads and processes documents automatically. It does more than just turn images into text like basic OCR tools. You can use it to pull data from forms and tables, process both typed and handwritten text, work with PDFs and scanned images, and handle documents in multiple languages. It even comes with ready-to-use tools for specific documents like invoices, IDs, and lending paperwork.

Our analysis of real-world implementations revealed Textract's clear strengths and limitations. It excels at processing structured financial documents and forms within the AWS ecosystem. The pricing starts at $1.50 per 1,000 pages for basic text extraction, scaling up for specialized document types like invoices or lending documents. On the other hand, he platform falls short when it comes to:

Let's look at the top Textract alternatives to help you pick the right tool for your document processing needs.

A quick comparison of Amazon Textract alternatives

(*Refer to scoring methodology at the bottom)

Now, let's examine each alternative in detail to understand their specific strengths, limitations, and ideal use cases. We'll analyze how they compare to Textract and help you determine which solution best fits your document processing needs.

1. Nanonets

Nanonets is an AI-powered document processing platform that goes beyond basic OCR to provide end-to-end automation. Unlike Textract's template-based approach, we use deep learning to understand document context and adapt to new layouts automatically. Our platform combines OCR, natural language processing, and machine learning to handle everything from data extraction to workflow automation.

Pricing: Free tier available for first 500 pages. Pro plan starts at $999/month for 10,000 pages.

Best suited for: Mid to large organizations in finance, healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing sectors processing varied document types.

How does Nanonets compare to Amazon Textract?

2. Rossum

Rossum's approach to document processing involves using cognitive data capture instead of traditional template-based extraction. The platform combines AI-powered understanding with extensive workflow automation to handle the entire document lifecycle - from receiving to processing to integration with business systems.

Pricing: Enterprise-focused pricing with custom quotes based on volume. Includes SLA guarantees and dedicated support.

Best suited for: Organizations across manufacturing, retail, and financial services that need comprehensive document automation. Rossum particularly excels in AP departments and shared service centers processing varied vendor documents.

How does Rossum compare to Amazon Textract?

3. Docparser

Docparser offers a rule-based approach using zonal OCR technology. While Textract uses machine learning to understand documents, Docparser lets you define exactly how and where to extract data using customizable parsing rules.

Pricing: Transparent tiered pricing starting at $39/month for 100 documents. Business plan at $159/month for 1,000 documents. Enterprise plans available.

Best suited for: Small to mid-sized businesses processing consistent document formats, especially in finance and operations.

How does Docparser compare to Amazon Textract?

4. Azure AI Document Intelligence

Azure AI Document Intelligence is part of Microsoft's cloud platform, Azure, which provides over 200 cloud services for businesses. It represents Microsoft's enterprise-focused approach to document processing, offering processing capabilities that run both in the cloud and on your own servers. You can deploy it through containers that suit your specific data storage and processing location requirements.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go based on pages processed. Free tier includes 500 pages monthly. Enterprise pricing available for high volumes.

Best suited for: Enterprises across healthcare, finance, and government sectors that need to process documents in the cloud and on their servers.

How does Azure Form Recognizer compare to Amazon Textract?

5. Google Cloud Document AI

Document AI represents Google's enterprise approach to document processing. Part of the company's cloud division, it combines OCR, natural language processing, and machine learning to transform unstructured documents into actionable data. It provides an end-to-end platform for document processing, analysis, and storage.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go based on document processing volume. Free tier available for testing. Enterprise pricing available for high volumes.

Best suited for: Enterprises processing varied document types at scale, especially those that require complex analysis. If an integration with Google Cloud makes sense to your business.

How does Google Cloud Document AI compare to Amazon Textract?

6. ABBYY FlexiCapture

ABBYY FlexiCapture is a powerful intelligent document processing platform that automates the capture, classification, and data extraction from a wide variety of document types and formats. Unlike Textract's cloud-only model, FlexiCapture offers both on-premises and cloud deployment options, making it suitable for organizations with strict data security and compliance requirements.

Pricing: Based on the number of pages processed annually, with the cost per page decreasing as volume increases. On-premises and cloud-based pricing models are available, with on-premises requiring a higher upfront investment but lower ongoing costs. Exact pricing is not publicly disclosed.

Best suited for: Enterprises and organizations with high-volume document processing needs and strict compliance requirements, like healthcare, finance, and government.

How does ABBYY FlexiCapture compare to Amazon Textract?

7. Tungsten Capture (formerly Kofax Capture)

Tungsten Capture is a document scanning and data extraction solution that automates the conversion of paper documents into digital data. It focuses on high-volume document scanning, OCR, and data capture.

Pricing: Pricing is based on the number of pages scanned annually, with volume discounts available. Additional costs may apply for add-on modules, professional services, and maintenance. Exact pricing is not publicly disclosed, but it typically involves a significant upfront investment and ongoing maintenance fees.

Best suited for: Organizations with high-volume, centralized document scanning requirements, such as shared service centers, BPOs, and large enterprises with dedicated scanning departments.

How does Tungsten Capture compare to Amazon Textract?

8. Laserfiche

Laserfiche is a comprehensive enterprise content management (ECM) and business process automation platform that includes robust document capture and processing capabilities. It offers an end-to-end solution that combines intelligent document capture, secure storage, workflow automation, and records management.

Pricing: Offers both on-premises and cloud-based deployment options, with pricing based on the number of users and specific modules required. You can get a free trial for its cloud-based solution.

Best suited for: Organizations across industries, particularly those with complex document management and compliance requirements, such as government agencies, educational institutions, financial services firms, and healthcare providers.

How does Laserfiche compare to Amazon Textract?

9. Hyperscience

Hyperscience is an intelligent document processing platform that combines AI, ML, and human-in-the-loop workflows to automate data extraction, classification, and validation. It offers an end-to-end solution that handles complex, variable, and low-quality documents with high accuracy and automation rates.

Pricing: Offers custom pricing.

Best suited for: Enterprises with complex, high-volume document processing needs, particularly those dealing with variable, unstructured, or low-quality documents. Industries such as financial services, insurance, healthcare, and government may be able to automate claims processing, account opening, and invoice processing, with high accuracy and efficiency.

How does Hyperscience compare to Amazon Textract?

How to choose the best Amazon Textract alternative?

At Nanonets, we process millions of documents monthly for over 500 enterprises, including 35% of Fortune 500 companies. This gives us unique insights into what works (and what doesn't) in document processing. We've seen firsthand how businesses struggle to find the right document processing solution, especially when evaluating Amazon Textract alternatives.

For the purpose of this comparison, we evaluated Textract alternatives based on:

1. Real performance data from processing millions of documents
2. Direct feedback from enterprise clients who switched platforms
3. Independent user reviews from G2, Capterra, Gartner, and TrustRadius
4. Hands-on testing by our document processing experts

Scoring methodology*

We've evaluated each alternative across five key parameters that matter most to organizations switching from Textract:

1. Ease of use: How quickly teams can start using the tool without extensive AWS expertise
2. Ease of setup: Implementation effort, especially compared to Textract's AWS-centric setup
3. Quality of support: Availability and responsiveness of support, a common pain point with Textract
4. Meets requirements: Ability to handle document processing needs beyond Textract's capabilities
5. Product direction: Continuous improvement and feature development pace

Key decision factors

Based on common challenges organizations face with Textract, consider these aspects:

Document complexity requirements

• Do you need better handwriting recognition than Textract offers?
• Are you processing complex tables or forms?
• Do you need to handle multiple languages effectively?

AWS dependency considerations

• How tightly integrated are you with AWS services?
• Would a cloud-agnostic solution offer more flexibility?
• Do you need on-premises deployment options?

Cost structure preferences

• Is Textract's per-page pricing model working for your volume?
• Do you need more predictable pricing?
• What's your monthly document processing volume?

Integration needs

• Beyond AWS services, what systems need to connect?
• Do you need pre-built connectors to common business tools?
• How important is API flexibility?

Automation requirements

• Do you need workflow automation capabilities?
• Is batch processing important for your use case?
• Do you require human-in-the-loop features?

While commercial solutions offer comprehensive features and support, organizations with technical resources or financial constrainst may also consider open-source alternatives for document processing.

Tesseract OCR, maintained by Google, is one of the most established open-source OCR engines available. Another option is EasyOCR, which offers a Python library for OCR with support for handwriting recognition and multiple languages.

However, unlike the commercial alternatives discussed above, open-source solutions typically require significant technical expertise to implement and maintain and often need additional development work to match features like form field extraction, table analysis, and workflow automation that come standard with commercial platforms.

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