# Google Cloud Document AI vs Mindee API

> Google Cloud Document AI scores 73.9 (BB) to Mindee's 61.3 (C) for ocr. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-09

Google Cloud Document AI scores 73.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Mindee API's 61.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mindee API leads on schema & documentation, payments & pricing and maintenance & community. Both do ocr.

- Google Cloud Document AI: grade BB, 73.9/100, rank #82 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-cloud-document-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-cloud-document-ai.json
- Mindee API: grade C, 61.3/100, rank #469 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mindee.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mindee.json
- Best document parsing, OCR and extraction APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/document-extraction/index.md
- All 109 documents comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/document-extraction/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Google Cloud Document AI (BB)

Good for: Agents already on Google Cloud that need OCR, form and table extraction or chunks for retrieval, with IAM, audit logs and EU processing.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 90 against 65
- Security & auth, 80 against 40
- Transparency & trust, 90 against 65

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: An online request reads at most 15 pages (30 with `imagelessMode`). Longer files need a batch job through Cloud Storage

### Mindee API (C)

Good for: Teams with a fixed set of document types (invoices, receipts, IDs) who want short retention and EU processing.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 86 against 81
- Payments & pricing, 25 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 85 against 80

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install

Watch for: Every call needs a model_id created in the web platform first


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Google Cloud Document AI | Mindee API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 90 | 65 | Google Cloud Document AI +25 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 86 | Mindee API +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 68 | Google Cloud Document AI +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 80 | 40 | Google Cloud Document AI +40 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 25 | Mindee API +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 80 | 85 | Mindee API +5 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 90 | 65 | Google Cloud Document AI +25 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **73.9 · BB** | **61.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Google Cloud Document AI | Mindee API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Google Cloud | Mindee |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api-v2.mindee.net/v2` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| Price for ocr | $1.50 per 1,000 pages | not published |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Google Cloud Platform Terms of Service. The client libraries are Apache-2.0 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-02 | 2025-06-23 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-28 | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 499k npm/wk, 793k PyPI/wk | 42 stars, 33k npm/wk, 5.5k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**Mindee API.** Extracted data kept 12 hours by default (1 to 24 configurable), deletable on fetch, source files never stored. Every call needs a model_id created in the web platform first.

## Before you call either

### 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

### Mindee API

1. Create the model in the Mindee app and store its `model_id`; the API can't create one for you
2. Enqueue returns 202; poll the job or use a webhook, and keep polling under 1,200 a minute
3. Send `Authorization: $MINDEE_API_KEY` with no Bearer prefix
4. Turn on confidence scores only when needed, since they cost 1.5 credits a page instead of 1
5. Keep schemas to 25 fields or fewer, the documented recommendation

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Google Cloud Document AI or Mindee API?

Google Cloud Document AI scores 73.9 (BB) on agent readiness against Mindee API's 61.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Mindee API leads on schema & documentation, payments & pricing and maintenance & community.

### Do Google Cloud Document AI and Mindee API need an API key?

Google Cloud Document AI uses an OAuth sign-in. Mindee API needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Google Cloud Document AI and Mindee API without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Google Cloud Document AI. Mindee API has a hosted endpoint at https://api-v2.mindee.net/v2.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-document-ai-vs-mindee.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-cloud-document-ai-vs-mindee.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "google-cloud-document-ai", "b": "mindee"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare google-cloud-document-ai mindee`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-cloud-document-ai.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mindee.json

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