How SmartDoc Compares
SmartDoc combines the accuracy of specialized document AI with the flexibility of LLMs. Parse documents once, extract unlimited times. Every field traces back to its source location—no black-box guessing.
why SmartDoc
SmartDoc
Complex documents with tables, diagrams, and varied formats.
Complex tables and diagrams
Multi-format handling
Repeatable workflows
Alternative
Traditional OCR
High volume extraction from fixed-format documents.
Fixed templates only
Per-format configuration
No semantic understanding
Alternative
Multimodal LLMs
Ad-hoc questions and one-off document analysis.
One-off tasks only
No structured output
Context window limits
Alternative
Manual
Human review for low-volume, subjective judgments.
<50 documents/month
Subjective interpretation
No automation needed
Comparison at a Glance
✓ Strong = Full capability
✓ Moderate = Partial capability
~ Basic = Limited capability
✗ Not supported
| Feature | SmartDoc | OCR | LLMs | Manual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parsing Performance | ||||
| Parsing accuracy | ✓ 99%+* | 85-95% | 90-95% | 96-98% (human) |
| Processing time** | Seconds to minutes | Seconds | Seconds to minutes | 15 min - 1+ hour |
| Long documents (50+ pages) | ✓ Strong - up to 150 pages | Page-by-page | Context window limits | Hours |
| Parse once, extract many | ✓ Strong - core efficiency | ✗ Reprocess each time | ✗ Reprocess each time | N/A |
| Batch processing | ✓ Strong | ✓ Strong | ~ Basic | Sequential |
| Handle new document formats | ✓ Strong - no templates needed | Template config per format | Prompt engineering | Staff training |
| Visual Content Handling | ||||
| Simple tables (with gridlines) | ✓ Strong | ✓ Moderate | ✓ Moderate | Slow |
| Complex tables Merged cells, no gridlines | ✓ Strong | ~ Basic | ~ Basic | Very slow |
| Multi-column layouts | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ✓ Moderate | Manual |
| Simple charts (bar, line, pie) | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ✓ Strong | Manual |
| Complex charts Stacked bar, waterfall | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ✓ Moderate | Manual |
| Flow diagrams, org charts | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ✓ Moderate | Manual |
| Technical drawings CAD, floor plans | ✓ Moderate | ✗ | ~ Basic | Specialist required |
| Handwritten text | ✓ Strong | ~ Basic | ✓ Moderate | Manual |
| Signatures & stamps | ✓ Strong - detects presence | ✗ | ✓ Moderate | Manual |
| Barcodes & QR codes | ✓ Strong | ~ Basic | ✗ | Scanner |
| Poor quality scans | ✓ Moderate | ~ Basic | ✓ Moderate | Difficult |
| Extraction Capabilities | ||||
| Define schema in plain English | ✓ Strong - prompt to schema | ✗ Templates required | ✓ Moderate - prompt engineering | N/A |
| Structured JSON output | ✓ Strong - consistent format | ✓ Moderate - raw JSON | ~ Basic - varies by session | Manual entry |
| Reusable extraction schemas | ✓ Strong | ✓ Moderate - templates | ✗ Re-prompt each time | N/A |
| Multiple extractions on same doc | ✓ Strong - no re-parse needed | ✗ Re-parse required | ✗ Re-process required | N/A |
| Visual grounding Highlight source location | ✓ Strong - every field | ~ Basic - partial | ✗ | ✗ |
| Confidence scores per field | ✓ Strong (coming in v2) | ✓ Moderate | ✗ | N/A |
| Document Comparison | ||||
| Automated compliance checking | ✓ Strong - built-in workflow | ✗ | ~ Basic - requires prompt setup | Hours of review |
| Structured gap analysis output | ✓ Strong - Pass/Fail/Unclear | ✗ | ~ Basic - conversational format | Manual compilation |
| Reusable evaluation checklists | ✓ Strong - institutionalized | ✗ | ✗ Re-prompt each time | Staff training required |
| Compare multiple docs at once | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ~ Basic - context limits | Very slow |
| Chat & Q&A | ||||
| Ask questions about document | ✓ Strong - grounded answers | ✗ | ✓ Strong | N/A |
| Answers cite page/location | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ✗ | Manual lookup |
| Query across multiple documents | ✓ Strong | ✗ | ~ Basic - context limits | Hours |
| Multilingual Support | ||||
| English | ✓ Strong | ✓ Strong | ✓ Strong | ✓ Strong |
| Chinese, Japanese, Korean | ✓ Strong | ✓ Moderate | ✓ Strong | Specialist required |
| Bahasa, Thai, Vietnamese | ✓ Moderate | ~ Basic | ✓ Moderate | Specialist required |
| Tamil, Arabic | ~ Basic | ~ Basic | ✓ Moderate | Specialist required |
| Cost & Pricing | ||||
| Pricing model | Per-page | Per-page or API call | Token-based | Labor cost |
| Cost predictability | ✓ Strong - fixed per page | ✓ Strong | ~ Basic - varies by doc length | Varies |
| Re-extraction cost | ✓ Strong - minimal (no re-parse) | Full reprocessing cost | Full reprocessing cost | Full labor cost |
| Setup & Integration | ||||
| Setup complexity | Low - SaaS | High - template configuration | Low | None |
| API integration | Simple REST API | Complex | Simple REST API | N/A |
*Based on DocVQA benchmark performance. Actual results depend on document quality and complexity.
**Depends on document complexity and length.
See SmartDoc on Your Documents
We'll run SmartDoc on your actual documents and show you the extraction results with visual grounding.