PDF.ai API

Free plan API

What PDF.ai API is

PDF.ai API v2 is a cloud service for processing PDFs through HTTP endpoints, including parsing, structured extraction, section finding, and question answering. Parse converts PDFs to Markdown or JSON and supports OCR, table formatting, and image extraction. Extract takes a JSON schema and returns structured fields with citations to source segments. Split locates pages matching named section descriptions and returns confidence levels. Ask answers questions about one or more documents, but each document must be parsed first. Requests use an X-API-Key header; the maker says a generated key is displayed only once. Endpoint examples are provided in cURL, Python, Node.js, and PHP. Reusing Parse results with the same document ID and settings costs zero credits; cached IDs can also avoid parsing charges for Extract and Split. The Free plan costs nothing, billed $0/month, with 200 credits/month and no credit card required. The Paid plan is $599 a month, billed $599/month, with 100,000 credits/month at $0.006/credit. A Custom plan is listed as billed Contact us for more than 100,000 credits/month.

Who it suits

PDF.ai API suits developers automating PDF workflows, integrating document processing into a product, or running batch jobs that return JSON over HTTP. Its credit model and endpoints may fit teams needing extraction, section identification, or document Q&A.

What it does well

Parse supports OCR, tables, and image extraction
Extract returns citations linked to PDF segments
Free plan includes 200 credits/month
Examples cover cURL, Python, Node.js, and PHP
Cached Parse results can cost zero credits

What to know first

Ask requires documents to be parsed first
Parse and other operations consume credits
Generated API key is shown only once

Limits

The Free plan has 200 credits per month. Parse, Extract, Split, and Ask consume credits according to page counts, quality, schema size, images, and whether parsing can be reused from cache.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Free	$0/month · 200 credits/month · no credit card required	Free
Paid	$599/month · 100,000 credits/month · $0.006/credit	$599 a month
Custom	Contact us · More than 100,000 credits/month	On request

As api.pdf.ai lists them, read 7 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Open https://api.pdf.ai/
Choose the Free, Paid, or Custom plan
Generate an API key and save it when shown
Send requests with the X-API-Key header
Use the endpoint examples for cURL, Python, Node.js, or PHP
Parse each document before using Ask

Verdict

PDF.ai API combines PDF parsing, structured extraction, section finding, and Q&A in one HTTP API. Review the operation-specific credit charges and key handling before building it into a workflow.

Questions

Is PDF.ai API free?

A Free plan costs nothing, billed $0/month, and includes 200 credits monthly with no credit card required. Paid is listed at $599/month for 100,000 credits, while Custom is billed by contacting the maker.

Which platforms does it support?

The listed platform is API, with cloud deployment.

What does Parse do?

Parse converts PDFs to Markdown or JSON and supports OCR, table formatting, and image extraction.

Can it answer questions about PDFs?

Ask answers questions across one or more documents, but each document ID must have been parsed first.

How are API requests authenticated?

Requests use an X-API-Key header. The maker says a generated key is displayed only once.

Does it offer document privacy controls?

The maker says uploads are encrypted during storage and transmission and offers a private-document option that keeps documents out of cloud storage.

Facts from PDF.ai API's own pages

API purpose: PDF.ai API v2 provides PDF parsing, structured extraction, section splitting, and question answering through HTTP endpoints. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Ask and Split costs: Ask costs 3 credits per page across queried documents, while Split costs 2 credits per page, with parsing charges added when a cached document ID is not supplied. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Authentication: API requests use an X-API-Key header, and the maker says a generated key is shown only once. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Caching: Parse results reused with the same document ID and settings cost zero credits, and cached document IDs can avoid parse charges for Extract and Split. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Credit usage: Parse costs 1 credit per page at standard quality or 2 at advanced quality; optional image LLM processing adds 1 credit per 5 images, rounded up. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Developer examples: The endpoint documentation includes examples in cURL, Python, Node.js, and PHP. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Document Q&A: Ask answers questions about one or more previously parsed documents, and every document ID must have been parsed first. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Extraction: Extract accepts a JSON schema and returns structured data with citations linking fields to source segments in the PDF. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Extract limits: Extract costs 2 credits per page for schemas with five or fewer fields and 4 credits per page for schemas with more than five fields, plus parsing credits when needed. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Intended use: The maker describes API v2 as suited to automation, integration into a user's product, and batch processing that returns JSON over HTTP. · pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Parse: The Parse endpoint converts PDFs to Markdown or JSON and supports OCR, table formatting, and image extraction. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Privacy: The maker says uploaded documents are encrypted during storage and transmission and offers a private document option that keeps documents out of its cloud storage. · pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026
Section finding: Split identifies pages matching named section descriptions and returns confidence levels. · api.pdf.ai, 7 Oct 2026