What if your document processing system could do more than categorize documents and extract data, no matter the format? That’s exactly what you can do with intelligent document processing (IDP) software. IDP tools adapt to varying structures and formats and understand content to summarize lengthy documents, identify anomalies, and flag errors. The best part? IDP software continuously improves in accuracy the more you use it.

In this article, we list down the top 10 IDP tools you should consider going into 2025. But first, let’s get some basics out of the way. We will use the terms “IDP tools,” “IDP software,” and “IDP solutions” interchangeably because:

• they all refer to technologies and techniques designed to automate the extraction and processing of information from documents
• we want to keep the focus on the capabilities and applications of intelligent document processing tools without getting bogged down by terminology nuances

What is intelligent document processing (IDP) software?

Intelligent document processing solutions, or IDP software, consist of advanced tools and techniques that automate the process of classifying documents and extracting data from them. To do so, they leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies in addition to (optical character recognition) OCR.

Your business is likely held back by traditional document processing solutions that are limited to handling structured documents and data. These systems work well as long as your documents follow a strict format or structure but struggle even with slight changes, let alone anything more complex. To work their way out of it, your teams must manually sort and process these documents, which takes time, increases the risk of errors, and, thus, slows down the overall operations.

IDP tools empower you to address these shortcomings by bringing within your reach the ability to process all kinds of documents and extract the data you need without any manual intervention.

Types of intelligent document processing solutions

Given their capabilities, the use cases they target, and the technologies they leverage, we can classify IDP solutions into multiple different categories:

Template-based IDP tools

If you regularly deal with a large number of documents that follow a consistent format, like invoices with similar structure, a template-based IDP tool can be a viable solution. However, not all template-based tools have the flexibility to handle document variations, warranting a need for an IDP solution with template-less data extraction capabilities or one that automatically creates templates.

AI-based IDP tools

AI-powered IDP tools leverage ML and NLP to extract key data from a variety of unstructured and semi-structured documents. For example, ML models can identify important clauses, dates, parties involved, and obligations, even though these elements are not laid out in fixed positions. Similarly, NLP techniques help the tool understand the meaning of the text and extract relevant data, such as identifying termination clauses or payment terms, regardless of how they are worded or structured within the document.

In contrast to template-based IDP software, these solutions are more flexible as they can learn and adapt to differently formatted documents.

Document management systems (DMS) with IDP capabilities

A document management system (DMS) stores and manages electronic documents and files. Some DMS integrate IDP functionality, offering end-to-end document handling, from capture and classification to extraction and archiving. However, since many organizations have established systems for document management, workflow automation, and data integration, making a significant financial investment in a full-featured DMS only to leverage IDP capabilities is not a viable solution.

Open-source IDP tools

Open-source IDP platforms provide customizable IDP frameworks, such as deepdoctection, that offer flexibility in terms of features, integrations, and workflows. While such solutions enable your organization to build its own IDP solution, security remains a major concern, especially if you’re in industries like finance, healthcare, or legal. Additionally, open-source IDP tools require technical expertise to set up, use, and maintain and typically do not come with dedicated customer support.

The 10 best intelligent document processing tools to consider in 2025

It’s only natural to find yourself overwhelmed when it comes to deciding on a software or platform for your organization—with AI coming into the picture, it only gets trickier. That’s why we have curated this list of the best IDP tools:

Astera

Astera is one of the top intelligent document processing (IDP) platforms with class-leading features and capabilities. Powered by Astera Intelligence, our IDP module:

• accelerates document processing by 8 times
• speeds up data extraction by 90%
• fast-tracks data preparation by 90%
• reduces errors by 97%

How an accounting firm leveraged Astera to reduce its data extraction time by 80%

A leading Accounting and tax firm benefited from Astera AI document processing solution to achieve an 80% reduction in data extraction time, a significant 10% decrease in error rates, and a 3x acceleration in tax return filing turnaround times.

View case study

Key features

Astera offers a breadth of features so that you can get that last bit of information out of your unstructured document without writing a single line of code or any third-party integrations:

• No need for any pre-defined templates to extract data from unstructured documents
• A single document processing and data extraction workflow for all your documents, whether structured or unstructured
• Effortlessly extract data from a wide variety of unstructured documents, including invoices, purchase orders, contracts, tax forms, shipping documents, and more
• Leverage AI to conduct smart searches within your documents
• Customize the AI prompts and use them as necessary
• If you need to extract specific data, all you have to do is specify the fields, and AI does the rest
• Built-in data integrity, validation, and security features ensure compliance with regulations
• Seamless integration into your existing document management system
• Conduct contextual data analysis by searching for and extracting key information from documents across your organization
• Handle a variety of formats, including PDF, EXCEL, CSV, JSON, RTF, TXT, and even EDI files

That’s not all—it keeps improving the more you use it. Although our IDP user-interface is straightforward and easy-to-use, even for business users, you can benefit from our award-winning customer support if you need assistance.

Pricing

Astera believes every business has unique requirements. As such, the best price is one that is commensurate with your specific use case. For detailed pricing information, get in touch with us.

Automation Anywhere

Automation Anywhere is a robotic process automation (RPA) platform that you can rework and use as an intelligent document processing (IDP) tool. This means there will be many prerequisites to take care of before you can start processing documents. Specifically, you will find yourself designing the workflow and then building, training, and deploying AI agents to process documents. Like other IDP software, it leverages NLP, ML, and OCR to process documents and extract data.

Pricing

Pricing information is not available on Automation Anywhere’s website, so you’ll need to get in touch with their team.

UiPath

UiPath offers Document Understanding to process documents using AI. Like Automation Anywhere, it is primarily an RPA platform, meaning you’ll need to work your way through quite a lot of settings. It offers multiple features for IDP, including the ability to extract, interpret, and process data from different documents. However, users have reported that they needed to go through UiPath Academy courses to be able to use it for their use case.

This means that the learning curve is not as short or smooth. What’s even more important to note is that the platform itself is complex as far as the initial setup and configuration are concerned. The lack of adequate documentation, lower accuracy with unstructured documents, and frequent updates make it harder to justify the expensive pricing.

Pricing

While pricing information is available for the Pro version, it’s unclear if it includes Document Understanding. In any case, you’ll need to contact them for accurate information.

Rossum

Rossum markets itself as an AI document processing platform aimed at automating data entry and improving productivity. It’s generally easy to use and works well with structured documents. However, it’s not one of the cheaper IDP tools out there, especially considering that the initial setup is not straightforward, the accuracy with unstructured documents is not on par with similar tools, and there are language restrictions.

Pricing

Rossum offers four tiers, with the Starter tier starting at USD 18k per year. You’ll need to get a quote to get the pricing information on the rest of the plans.

OpenText Intelligent Capture

OpenText Intelligent Capture, previously known as Captiva, is primarily a data capture platform that uses ML to collect and distribute data to the intended user. While it can extract data from multiple documents, it struggles to accurately capture data from unstructured documents, especially handwritten information. It also lacks the ability to intelligently detect duplicates in data.

The tool’s flexibility is tied to custom scripting, which means you’ll need to be able to code to make full use of it. According to user reviews on popular channels like G2 and PeerSpot, the service is more expensive compared to other similar tools.

Pricing

For up-to-date pricing information, you’ll need to get a quote. 

ABBYY

ABBYY offers Vantage as its intelligent document processing platform. Like Astera, it’s targeted at enterprises that receive hundreds of thousands of documents regularly. While businesses can integrate it with their existing systems, like an RPA tool, ABBYY Vantage struggles with handwritten text and lacks support for multiple languages. According to user reviews, the tool’s AI/ML capabilities require a lot of training before it can automatically extract data from similar documents, like invoices.

Pricing

Pricing information is available on demand.

Gramener Doc Genie

Gramener offers a generative AI-based IDP tool called Doc Genie. It is capable of data extraction, classification, and analysis from various documents. Like other IDP solutions, it leverages OCR, NLP, and ML algorithms to understand the context and extract the required data from the documents.

Pricing

Pricing information is not available on the vendor’s website.

Google Document AI

Google leverages generative AI to extract data from structured and unstructured documents. You can integrate Document AI with other Google services and benefit from a tightly knit ecosystem. It can extract data from different types of documents, such as invoices, contracts, bank statements, etc.

While Google offers flexible pricing options, the expenses can quickly get out of hand when used for large projects, especially if the usage is not monitored. Additionally, it’s not the best IDP offering for people who come from a non-technical background. Also worth noting is that it offers minimal multilingual support and requires manual intervention.

Pricing

Google provides comprehensive pricing information depending on the product’s usage.

Antworks CMR+

Antworks CMR+ is another intelligent document processing software that aims to automate documentation processes. It can process a wide variety of documents, such as invoices and safety data sheets.

The tool positions itself as the IDP software for non-technical users. However, user reviews online suggest that it’s not particularly easy to use and there’s a need for an extensive training course or guide. It also struggles with extracting data from documents that are not in English.

Pricing

Pricing information is not available on the vendor’s website.

DataSnipper

DataSnipper is an intelligent automation add-on for extracting data and verifying it in Excel. While it’s easy to use, its performance is not optimal. User reviews online suggest that it frequently crashes when a large number of documents are added.

Pricing

DataSnipper offers multiple tiers. However, pricing information is not available on the website.

So, which IDP tool should you get?

The decision to select a particular IDP solution for your organization is multifaceted—you must consider multiple factors:

Functionality and features

First and foremost, it’s critical to ensure that the selected tool offers the necessary features and capabilities to support your use case. Most IDP tools offer multiple features; however, not all are perfected. Your due diligence should include thorough testing of the features that are most important for your organization.

Price

Somewhat connected to the tool’s capabilities and features is its price. Ensure that the tool offers value for money, especially if your organization is a startup or a small business as most tools offer flexible pricing and costs quickly add up.

Ease of use

If streamlining document processing company-wide is your goal, then consider looking at IDP tools or platforms that empower business users to be able to extract the data they need. Although many vendors market their products as low-code/no-code, they still come with a steep learning curve.

Security and compliance

Complying with regulatory requirements is non-negotiable. Not all tools are equal when it comes to data security and compliance; therefore, spend time evaluating IDP software that’s compliant with industry standards.

Customer support

Before committing to a tool, verify that the vendor is reputable and has a reliable track record. Additionally, evaluate if the product is updated regularly to ensure that integrating new document sources does not become a bottleneck in the foreseeable future.

The bottom line

Not all intelligent document processing tools are built the same way—some offer features and cater to use cases that others don’t. The best IDP tool for you will be the one that not only supports your business requirements but does so most efficiently, such as Astera.

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