Side by side

Extend vs Unstract

Both stand on intelligent document processing software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Extend

Free plan APILinuxMac+1

Extend combines document processing pipelines with several developer tools and deployment choices. Its free tier includes credits, while ongoing usage and Scale plans have listed per-credit and monthly costs.

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Unstract

Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2

Unstract offers several deployment paths and combines extraction workflows with optional human validation. Its plan limits and page overage charges are worth checking against expected document volume.

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The facts

	Extend	Unstract
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Yes
Runs on	API, Linux, Mac, Web	API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web
Lowest paid plan	Scale: $500 a month	Document Studio Starter annual: $416 a month
Plans published	3	17
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	extend.ai	unstract.com
On intelligent document processing software	#2 of 31	#1 of 31

Extend: what it does well

Supports 35+ file types across all plans.
Workflows can classify, route, validate, and deliver results.
Offers API, SDKs, dashboard, CLI, and MCP server.
Managed cloud, BYOC, and Hybrid deployment options.
Free plan includes 10,000 credits.

What to know first

Fully air-gapped deployment is not offered.
Pay As You Go charges $0.0125 per additional credit.
Scale costs $500 a month.
Enterprise pricing is custom and not listed.

Unstract: what it does well

Deploy extraction projects as APIs or ETL pipelines.
Supports human review, approval, and validation.
Offers managed cloud, on-premise, and self-hosted editions.
Cloud data is encrypted and not used for training.

What to know first

Open Source is limited to one self-hosted user.
Starter monthly includes 5,000 pages per month.
Starter overage is $0.10 per page.

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