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PdfParse

Rossum alternative for teams that want an invoice and PDF extraction API

PdfParse is a Rossum alternative for teams that want data from invoices and other PDFs delivered by API as JSON, Markdown and CSV, on a plan priced per page and started without a sales call. Rossum is built around transactional documents such as invoices and purchase orders, with a review interface for accounts payable teams and workflows around it. Keep Rossum if that review workflow is what you are buying. Look at PdfParse if you mainly need extraction inside your own software and want the monthly cost to be something you can calculate.

Run one of your own invoices first

Upload the invoice or statement that gives your current tool trouble. Check the fields, line items and tables against the source page before you read the rest.

Drop a PDF or scan

PDF, PNG or JPG up to 10 MB. Page one is parsed in full, right here.

Or try a sample file
Output

Optional. Comma separated field names, for example invoice_number, total, due_date.

Page one is parsed in your browser and never uploaded. No card needed to try page one.

What one call returns

Page one rendered with every block outlined, next to the JSON your code receives.

  1. Reading text layer
  2. Detecting layout
  3. Extracting tables
  4. Building JSON
Rendered page Page 1 of your document

Headings, paragraphs, tables and totals detected

heading
Invoice
paragraph
Harbor Street Joinery
14 Dock Lane
Portsmouth, NH 03801
key_value
Invoice no.INV-2026-0418IssuedOct 14, 2026DueNov 13, 2026
table
DescriptionQtyUnitAmount
Oak countertop, 2.4 m2640.001,280.00
Cabinet doors, shaker1285.001,020.00
On site fitting1450.00450.00
total
Subtotal2,750.00Tax 8.5%233.75Total dueUSD 2,983.75
paragraph
Payment by bank transfer within 30 days.
Quote the invoice number with your transfer.
Goods remain ours until paid in full.
footer
Harbor Street JoineryPage 1 of 2
Locked page

Pages 2 and later are parsed after you create an account.

Output 
{
  "document": {
    "pages": 2,
    "parsed_pages": 1,
    "language": "en"
  },
  "pages": [
    {
      "number": 1,
      "blocks": [
        { "type": "heading", "text": "Invoice", "bbox": [48, 52, 132, 84] },
        { "type": "paragraph", "text": "Harbor Street Joinery, 14 Dock Lane, Portsmouth" },
        { "type": "key_value", "pairs": {
            "Invoice no.": "INV-2026-0418",
            "Issued": "Oct 14, 2026",
            "Due": "Nov 13, 2026" } },
        { "type": "table", "columns": ["Description", "Qty", "Unit", "Amount"],
          "rows": [
            ["Oak countertop, 2.4 m", 2, 640.00, 1280.00],
            ["Cabinet doors, shaker", 12, 85.00, 1020.00],
            ["On site fitting", 1, 450.00, 450.00] ] },
        { "type": "total", "label": "Total due", "value": 2983.75, "currency": "USD", "confidence": 0.98 }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "fields": {
    "invoice_number": { "value": "INV-2026-0418", "confidence": 0.99, "page": 1 },
    "total": { "value": 2983.75, "confidence": 0.98, "page": 1 },
    "due_date": { "value": "2026-11-13", "confidence": 0.97, "page": 1 }
  }
}

Downloads from the demo include a watermark field and cover page one only.

Page one is parsed in your browser, so your file never reaches our servers.

Request
The same request from your code
Read the API reference 
$ curl https://api.pdfparse.ai/v1/parse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFPARSE_API_KEY" \
  -F file[email protected] \
  -F outputs=json,markdown,csv
200 OK, 1 page parsed

What you are really choosing between

Rossum and PdfParse overlap on extraction, but they are not the same kind of purchase. Rossum is a document processing platform for transactional documents. It includes capture of incoming documents, a validation screen where a person confirms fields, and connections to ERP and accounting systems. You buy an accounts payable workflow, and extraction is one part of it.

PdfParse is an API. A request goes in with a PDF or scan, and JSON, Markdown and CSV come back with text, tables, and on Growth, named fields with confidence and the source page. The review screen, the approval rules and the posting to your ledger are yours to build or keep in the system you already run.

That difference decides most cases.

Question Rossum fits better PdfParse fits better
Who uses it daily AP clerks reviewing documents in a screen Developers and ops people calling an API
Main document type Invoices, purchase orders and similar transactional files Invoices plus statements, forms, contracts, reports and scans
Output you need Validated records posted to an ERP JSON, Markdown and CSV for your own pipeline or LLM
How you buy Quote from sales, plan built around volume and workflow Page plans on a pricing page, try page one before paying
Who owns the review step The platform Your application

Rossum details come from its public documentation and product pages. Confirm current packaging and terms with the vendor, because platform pricing is quoted individually.

What a monthly workload costs on PdfParse

We cannot print a Rossum price, since it is quoted individually, so here is the arithmetic you can check on our side and then compare with a quote.

Say your team gets 1,200 supplier invoices a month at an average of 3 pages, so 3,600 pages. That is above Starter (2,000 pages) and inside Growth (7,000 pages), so the plan is Growth at $149 per month billed monthly, about $0.041 per page, or roughly half of that billed yearly. At 400 invoices of 3 pages, 1,200 pages, Starter at $49 covers it, about $0.041 per page as well.

A scanned invoice counts as one page like a clean PDF export, and tables come back as rows and CSV. Ask for a Rossum quote on the same 1,200 invoices and set the two numbers next to each other on PDF extraction API pricing. The quote should state what is included, such as validation seats, integrations and support, so you compare like with like.

Checklist before you switch or sign

These are the questions that matter more than a feature list.

  1. 1 How many documents and pages arrive each month, and how fast is that growing. Count pages, not files.
  2. 2 What share of them are scans or phone photos. OCR quality on bad input is the first thing to test.
  3. 3 Who reviews the data. If a clerk must confirm every field, a review screen has real value. If your software validates totals itself, you may not need one.
  4. 4 How many suppliers and layouts you see. A schema that works across layouts saves more than a template per supplier.
  5. 5 Where the data goes. Posting to an ERP, a database, a spreadsheet or an LLM each need different output. PDF to JSON and PDF to CSV show both.
  6. 6 What happens when the extraction is wrong. Confidence and a source page for each field let a reviewer jump to the number.
  7. 7 What the price is when volume doubles.

Run the same 50 documents through both tools, including the ugly ones, and count the fields that were right without correction. That one number beats any comparison table, ours included.

Invoice data extraction with an API

For invoices the fields teams usually need are supplier, invoice number, dates, currency, subtotal, tax, total and line items with quantity and unit price. The invoice extraction API page shows a sample response. Line items are tables, and tables that continue over pages are where simple tools lose rows, so test a multi page invoice first.

Once the numbers are extracted, keep your own checks. Line items should add up to the subtotal, tax should match the rate, and the total should equal both. Those checks catch an extraction slip before it reaches your books. When finance wants the quarter's figures in a deck, a presentation tool such as Docslide can turn the exported report into slides.

When Rossum is the better buy

Stay with Rossum when your accounts payable team lives in its review screen, when you need the connectors it already has to your ERP, or when procurement prefers one vendor for capture, validation and posting. Replacing that with an API means building the review and posting steps, and for a team without developers that is a poor trade.

When an API is the better buy

Move to PdfParse when you have developers, when invoices are only one of several document types, when you want Markdown for RAG pipelines next to structured fields, or when a predictable per page bill matters more than a bundled workflow. For a wider view of hosted options read the Azure Document Intelligence alternative and the ABBYY alternative comparisons, which follow the same method.

What is the best alternative to Rossum

PdfParse is a good alternative when you want an API returning JSON, Markdown and CSV from invoices and other PDFs on page based plans. Rossum is stronger when you want a ready accounts payable workflow with a review screen and ERP connectors. Test both on the same 50 documents.

How much does Rossum cost

Rossum prices are quoted individually and depend on volume and the features you include, so there is no single list price to quote. Ask for a quote on your monthly page count, and ask what is included. PdfParse starts at $49 per month for 2,000 pages.

Can PdfParse extract invoice line items

Yes. Tables come back as rows and CSV, including tables that continue over several pages, and Growth adds schemas for named fields such as total, tax and supplier with confidence and source page. Always validate that line items add up to the total in your own code.

Does PdfParse have a review screen like Rossum

No. PdfParse returns data and confidence by API, and your application owns the review step. If your team needs a ready review interface for AP clerks, that is a point in Rossum's favor.

Is PdfParse good for scanned invoices

Yes. OCR runs in the same call, and a scanned page costs the same as a digital one. Test your worst phone photos and scans first, because input quality changes accuracy in every tool.

Check the output on your own invoices

Try page one in your browser without a card, count the pages you process each month and pick the plan that fits.