Iteration Layer vs Nanonets
Nanonets also outputs markdown via their open-source DocStrange library — the differences are image descriptions, Office support, and EU hosting.
Why developers switch from Nanonets
Nanonets DocStrange outputs markdown, but has no image descriptions and no EU hosting option.
Image description field
When you convert an image file, we return both the OCR-extracted markdown and a natural language description of the image content — what's in the photo, what the chart shows, what the diagram communicates. Nanonets DocStrange returns text extraction only.
EU hosting with GDPR compliance
Nanonets has no EU-only hosting option for their cloud API. We process all documents on EU servers with zero data retention and a Data Processing Agreement available for every customer.
40+ input formats
Nanonets DocStrange focuses on PDF and image input. We support DOCX, PPTX, ODT, ODS, XLSX, EPUB, RTF, LaTeX, EML, MSG, Jupyter notebooks, and many more formats in the same API call.
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 | Nanonets |
|---|---|---|
| Markdown output |
Clean markdown
Returns well-structured markdown with preserved headings, tables, and lists from any document |
Clean markdown
Returns LLM-optimized markdown with semantic tags via their open-source DocStrange library |
| Image description |
Yes
Returns a natural language description of image content alongside OCR markdown for image files |
No
Text extraction only — no semantic description of visual image content |
| Supported input formats |
40+ formats
Process 40+ formats — PDF, Office, EPUB, RTF, LaTeX, email, Jupyter, images, and more — in a single API endpoint |
PDF, images
Supports PDF and image files via their OCR models |
| Table preservation |
Markdown tables
Tables are extracted and rendered as clean markdown table syntax |
Markdown tables
Strong table extraction with markdown and HTML output options |
| MCP server |
Yes
MCP server available for integration with AI agents and assistants |
No
No MCP server available for AI agent integration |
| Open-source models |
Proprietary
Closed-source managed SaaS platform |
Open source
OCR models on Hugging Face with a fully self-hosted local processing option |
| Self-hosted option |
SaaS only
Available only as a managed SaaS platform |
Yes
DocStrange library supports fully offline local processing via GPU or CPU |
| Free tier |
Trial credits
Free trial credits for evaluation |
10,000 free docs
One-time free cloud allowance of 10,000 documents plus unlimited self-hosted usage |
| EU hosting |
EU only
All processing happens exclusively on EU-hosted servers |
No
No EU-only hosting option for the cloud API |
| Pricing model |
Per page
Simple, predictable per-page pricing |
Free + paid tiers
Free cloud tier with 10,000 docs/month, paid IDP platform billed separately |
| Infrastructure required |
None
Fully managed API with no deployment or infrastructure to manage |
Optional
Managed cloud API available, or self-hosted with GPU recommended for best performance |
| GDPR / Data privacy |
Zero retention
No files or results stored beyond temporary 90-day logs |
Self-host for privacy
Cloud API has no EU-only option — self-hosted mode available for data-sensitive use cases |
| Data used for training |
Never
Your data is never used to train or improve AI models — guaranteed for all plans |
Enterprise only
Customer data is used for model training by default; opt-out requires an Enterprise contract ($100,000 minimum) |
Pricing
Start usage-based. Switch to a subscription when your volume becomes predictable.
Usage-based
Graduated pricing. Your effective rate decreases automatically as monthly usage grows.
- No monthly commitment
- Pay only for credits used
- Automatic volume discounts as usage grows
Predictable volume
Fixed recurring credit packs with lower effective credit prices for steady usage.
- Lower effective per-credit prices
- Fixed recurring credit packs
- Predictable monthly budget
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