Iteration Layer vs Nanonets
Nanonets offers schema-based extraction via open-source models — but typed fields, source citations, and EU hosting are missing.
No credit card required — start with free trial credits
Why developers switch from Nanonets
Nanonets uses open-source OCR models with generic schema definitions — not purpose-built typed fields.
17 typed fields vs. generic JSON Schema
Nanonets accepts a JSON schema but returns string values you still need to parse. We provide 17 purpose-built field types — dates as ISO dates, currencies as amount-plus-symbol objects, IBANs validated — with no post-processing needed.
Source citations on every field
Nanonets returns extracted values with no link back to the original document text. We return a verbatim source citation for every field, so you can audit and verify extraction results without re-reading the document.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Schema-defined extraction |
Yes
Define extraction fields via a purpose-built schema with 17 typed field types |
Yes
Accepts a JSON schema for structured extraction via their DocStrange API |
| Typed field support |
17 types
Choose from 17 typed schema fields including date, IBAN, currency, address, phone, email, and URL |
Generic types
JSON Schema primitive types only — extracted values are strings requiring manual type parsing |
| Confidence scores |
Per field
Confidence score between 0 and 1 for every extracted schema field |
Per field
Confidence scores provided per extracted field value |
| Source citations |
Yes
Verbatim source citation from the document for every extracted field |
No
No source citation linking extracted values back to document text |
| 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 |
40+ formats
Process 40+ formats — PDF, Office, EPUB, RTF, LaTeX, email, Jupyter, images, and more — in a single API endpoint |
PDF, images, Office
Supports PDF, images, and Office formats via their DocStrange parsing pipeline |
| 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 (Nanonets-OCR-s, OCR2) are open source on Hugging Face with self-hosted 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 |
| 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 |
Free + paid tiers
Free cloud tier with 10,000 docs/month, paid IDP platform billed per block execution |
| 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 with free trial credits. No credit card required.
Developer
For individuals & small projects
Startup
Save 40%For growing teams
Business
Save 47%For high-volume workloads
Or pay as you go from $0.022/credit with automatic volume discounts.
Still evaluating?
See how we compare — and where the competition still wins. Choosing the right tool shouldn't require a week of research.
Start building in minutes
Free trial credits included. No credit card required.