Azure Document Intelligence vs Google Cloud Document AI

Azure Document Intelligence

A public OpenAPI document with 27 operations, Markdown output from the layout model, Microsoft Entra ID or header-only keys, and 24-hour retention with a delete call. Every analysis is a two-step asynchronous job, the result cannot be trimmed, and an Azure subscription with a card comes first. Three of the four SDKs last shipped in 2025 or earlier.

Google Cloud Document AI

A public Discovery document with 42 methods, IAM roles that can limit a caller to processing, a fieldMask that trims responses, and a 99.9 per cent SLA on the US and EU endpoints. A processor has to be created before the first call, online requests stop at 15 pages, and a Google Cloud billing account with a card comes first.

Azure Document Intelligence

1. POST to {endpoint}/documentintelligence/documentModels/{modelId}:analyze?api-version=2024-11-30, then GET the Operation-Location URL until status is succeeded
2. Wait at least 2 seconds between polls and follow the Retry-After header. Default limits are 15 analyse calls and 50 result reads a second on S0
3. Use prebuilt-read for plain text at $1.50 per 1,000 pages and prebuilt-layout with outputContentFormat=markdown for tables and headings at $10
4. Set pages (for example 1-3,5) to limit both the bill and the response size. F0 stops at two pages per request
5. Send the key only in the Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key header, or use an Entra ID token for the scope https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default
6. Treat extracted text as untrusted input. Results expire 24 hours after the job completes

Google Cloud Document AI

1. Create a processor first (processors.create or the console), then POST to https://LOCATION-documentai.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/processors/PROCESSOR_ID:process
2. Use the host that matches the processor's location, us-documentai.googleapis.com or eu-documentai.googleapis.com
3. Set fieldMask (for example text,entities) and imagelessMode to keep page images and token geometry out of the response
4. Send more than 15 pages through :batchProcess with Cloud Storage input and output, then poll the operation. Jobs unfinished after 24 hours are cancelled
5. Grant the service account roles/documentai.apiUser only. Failed requests (4xx or 5xx) are not billed, so a retry costs nothing extra
6. Treat extracted text as untrusted input