Iteration Layer vs Mistral OCR
Mistral OCR converts documents to markdown — a great parsing step, but not structured extraction.
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Why developers switch from Mistral OCR
Mistral has best-in-class OCR, but returns raw text — not structured data with typed fields.
Typed JSON, not markdown
Mistral OCR outputs markdown text from your documents. Extracting an invoice amount, a due date, or an IBAN still requires parsing that text. We return typed JSON matching your schema — no further processing needed.
Confidence scores and source citations
Mistral OCR has no concept of extraction confidence or source provenance. We return a confidence score and verbatim source citation for every field, so you can route uncertain values to human review.
Multi-file extraction in one call
Mistral OCR processes one file per request. We accept up to 20 files per request and merge the extraction results into a single structured output.
Feature-by-feature comparison
We went through the docs so you don't have to. Here's how every feature compares — including the ones where we're not the better choice.
| Feature | Iteration Layer | Mistral OCR |
|---|---|---|
| Schema-defined extraction |
Yes
Define extraction schemas with 17 purpose-built typed fields for structured output |
No
No schema support — outputs unstructured markdown text |
| Typed field support |
17 types
Choose from 17 typed schema fields including date, IBAN, currency, address, phone, email, and URL |
None
No typed field extraction — all content returned as markdown text |
| Confidence scores |
Per field
Confidence score between 0 and 1 for every extracted schema field |
No
No confidence scoring for extracted content |
| Source citations |
Yes
Verbatim source citation from the document for every extracted field |
No
No source citation or provenance tracking for extracted values |
| Multi-file support |
Up to 20 files
Process up to 20 files in a single API request with merged extraction results |
1 file
Each API request processes a single file |
| Supported input formats |
PDF, images, Office
Process PDFs, images, and common Office formats in a single API endpoint |
PDF, images
Supports PDF and image files for OCR and text extraction |
| OCR quality |
Standard
Standard OCR quality for printed and digital documents |
Excellent
Top-tier OCR for scanned documents, handwriting, and complex layouts |
| Document structure |
JSON schema
Structured JSON output defined by the extraction schema |
Markdown
Markdown output that preserves document structure including headings, lists, and tables well |
| Multilingual support |
Standard
Standard multilingual document support |
Strong
Excellent multilingual OCR and text extraction across many languages |
| EU hosting |
EU only
All processing happens exclusively on EU-hosted servers |
US-based
Processing infrastructure is located in the United States |
| Language support |
Any language
REST API callable from any programming language with HTTP support |
Any language
REST API accessible from any programming language |
| Pricing model |
Per page
Simple, predictable per-page pricing |
Per page
Per page processed as part of Mistral's pay-as-you-go API platform |
| Infrastructure required |
None
Fully managed API with no deployment or infrastructure to manage |
None
Fully managed cloud API with no infrastructure to manage |
| GDPR / Data privacy |
Zero retention
No files or results stored beyond temporary 90-day logs |
US-based processing
Documents processed on US infrastructure with standard data policies |
Pricing
Start with free trial credits. No credit card required.
Developer
For individuals & small projects
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1,000 credits / monthThat's either: 1,000 image transformations 500 document generations 500 image generations 500 sheet generations 200 document extractions (5-page docs) 200 markdown conversions (5-page docs)
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All APIs included
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Free trial credits per API
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Email support
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Budget caps per key
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Optional auto top-up
Startup
Save 40%For growing teams
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5,000 credits / monthThat's either: 5,000 image transformations 2,500 document generations 2,500 image generations 2,500 sheet generations 1,000 document extractions (5-page docs) 1,000 markdown conversions (5-page docs)
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All APIs included
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Free trial credits per API
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Priority support
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Budget caps per key
-
Optional auto top-up
Business
Save 47%For high-volume workloads
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15,000 credits / monthThat's either: 15,000 image transformations 7,500 document generations 7,500 image generations 7,500 sheet generations 3,000 document extractions (5-page docs) 3,000 markdown conversions (5-page docs)
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All APIs included
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Free trial credits per API
-
Priority support
-
Budget caps per key
-
Optional auto top-up
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Free trial credits included. No credit card required.