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ToolGPA

Docalysis vs PDF.ai (2026): which should you pick?

As of Nov 12, 2026, PDF.ai grades higher than Docalysis: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA

PDF.ai grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.

Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.

Docalysis

Chat with PDF, text, CSV and Word files and get answers from them

Free plan · from $14/mo
Full detailsdocalysis.com

PDF.ai

Chat with PDFs and parse them through an API

Free plan · from $10/mo
Full detailspdf.ai

Which one is for you

Pick Docalysis if

  • Fits if you want quick answers out of a long PDF
  • Works for someone who occasionally asks questions of a handful of files

Look elsewhere if

  • Tight if you stay free: 50 question credits a month and files up to 5 MB
  • Skip it if your files are slides or other formats, as only PDF, TXT, CSV and DOCX are listed
  • Watch out: documents are kept indefinitely on Amazon S3 until you delete them
  • Watch out: batch processing and the Business plan have no published price
  • Pricey if you want bigger files, which means Plus at $14 a month

Pick PDF.ai if

  • Fits if you ask questions of one PDF at a time
  • Works for developers who want a PDF parsing API

Look elsewhere if

  • Tight if you stay free: 1 PDF and OCR on 2 pages per file
  • Watch out: the Ultimate plan's API is non-commercial only, and commercial use needs the credit add-on
  • Watch out: the chatbot widget is a separate paid plan
  • Watch out: monthly-billing prices weren't readable, and the pricing page would not load for us

How we grade them

2.2GPADocalysisFair2.4GPAPDF.aiFair
Value for money
C$14 a month billed monthly for Plus, $35 for Ultimate. Plus is above the research dearer-quarter line of $12.50, though below the dearest tenth at $20.
CPro is $10 a month billed yearly, the research middle. Ultimate is $20 per user, which is where the dearest tenth begins.
Free plan and trial
CA free plan with 50 question credits and 600 uploaded pages a month, and files up to 5 MB and 150 pages. You'll hit that on a few long papers.
CThe Hobby plan is $0 for 1 PDF and 100 questions a month. That's one document at a time, so a normal reader outgrows it quickly.
Features
CChat with one file or many, share and embed. The listing only supports PDF, TXT, CSV and DOCX and has no app, and batch work is arranged by hand.
CChat with a PDF, OCR, chat with all PDFs, capture and ask, an API and a chatbot widget. The listing shows only 1 PDF on Hobby and OCR capped at 2 pages per file, but the core chat job is covered.
Ease of use
BNo store rating on record. Upload a file and ask: nothing to set up.
BNo store rating on record. Upload a PDF and ask: nothing to set up.
Platforms and integrations
CWeb only, with no integrations or apps listed.
BWeb and a browser extension, with an API.
Best forasking questions of a PDF, Word, CSV or text fileasking questions of PDFs

The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Docalysis and PDF.ai. How we grade

Price against what you get

Docalysis starts at $14 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PDF.ai starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.

PDF.ai scores higher and starts $4 a month lower. Of the other AI research tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Docalysis for less, and 3 score higher than PDF.ai for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$1$2$5$10$20$50More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessDocalysisPDF.ai

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

  • The best score at each price
  • Has a free plan
  • No free plan
The full chart of AI research tools, and the best at every price

Where they differ

  • PDF.ai also covers research.
In commonFree planWebPublic APIAI featuresChat assistantDocuments

At a glance

DocalysisPDF.ai
PricingFree planFree plan
Starts at$14 per month, billed monthly$10 per month, billed yearly
Free plan50 question credits and 600 uploaded pages a month, files up to 5 MB and 150 pages each.Hobby: 1 PDF, 100 questions a month, 10 MB files and OCR on 2 pages per file.
Free trialNone listedNone listed
Web
Browser extension
Made byDocalysisPDF.ai
Price read fromdocalysis.compdf.ai
CheckedNov 12, 2026Nov 12, 2026

Worth knowing

Docalysis

  • Only PDF, TXT, CSV and DOCX files are listed as supported, and the vendor lists no mobile or desktop app.
  • The free plan caps files at 5 MB and 150 pages and allows 50 chat messages a month.
  • Documents are kept indefinitely by default and stored on Amazon S3 until you delete them; a specific retention policy has to be requested.
  • Batch processing and the Business plan are arranged through the vendor, with no published price.

PDF.ai

  • Monthly-billing prices were not readable; the prices shown are those billed yearly.
  • The Ultimate plan's API is for non-commercial use only; commercial use needs the credit add-on.
  • The chatbot widget is a separate paid plan.

Key features

Docalysis

Chat with a document
Upload a PDF, TXT, CSV or DOCX file and ask questions about it in a conversation. Each chat message uses one question credit.
Multi-file chat
Move several files into a folder and chat with the folder to ask questions across all of them. This is available on every plan, including Free.
Many languages
The FAQ lists English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic and others; the chat switches to the language you write in.
Share and embed
A file made public can be shared by link or placed on a website with embed code, so visitors can ask it questions.
Batch processing
For hundreds or thousands of files, the vendor runs a set of questions you supply over documents in a cloud drive and returns a CSV of answers. This is arranged by contacting the vendor.
Bonus credits
When a month's question credits or page uploads run out, extra bonus credits can be bought instead of changing plan. They are used only after the plan's own credits.

PDF.ai

Chat with PDFs
Ask questions about an uploaded PDF; limits on uploads and questions depend on the plan.
OCR
AI-powered OCR for scanned files, from 2 pages per file on Hobby up to 100 on Enterprise.
Chat with all PDFs
Ultimate and above can question the whole library at once.
Capture and ask
Ultimate and above can capture a screenshot and ask about it.
API
Parsing, extraction and splitting API; commercial use is an add-on from $50 a month for 1,000 credits.
Chatbot widget
Ultimate users can add a paid widget so visitors chat with PDFs hosted on a site.

Plans

Docalysis

  • Free$0

    50 question credits and 600 page uploads a month, 5 MB and 150 pages per file, multi-file chat.

  • Plus$14

    per month, billed monthly

    500 question credits and 3,000 page uploads a month, 20 MB and 600 pages per file, multi-file chat, email support.

  • Ultimate$35

    per month, billed monthly

    1,500 question credits and 8,000 page uploads a month, 50 MB and 1,800 pages per file, multi-file chat, email support.

  • BusinessCustom

    Custom limits, team administration and phone support. Price varies; contact the vendor.

PDF.ai

  • Hobby$0

    1 PDF, 100 questions a month, 10 MB max file, OCR on 2 pages per file.

  • Pro$10

    per month, billed yearly

    100 PDFs, 1,000 questions a month, 50 MB files, OCR on 10 pages per file.

  • Ultimate$20

    per user / month, billed yearly

    Unlimited PDFs and questions, advanced AI model, chat with all PDFs, team members.

  • Enterprise$30

    per user / month, billed yearly

    Unlimited use, 100 MB files, OCR on 100 pages per file, white-labeled PDF embed.

Ways to pay less

Docalysis

  • Annual discount

    20% off with yearly billing

    The pricing page has a One Year option marked 20% off the monthly prices for Plus and Ultimate; the yearly amounts are not shown in the page text.

PDF.ai

  • Annual discount

    Save 25% with yearly billing

    The pricing page shows a Payment frequency toggle with Annually labeled as saving 25%.

Common questions

Which is cheaper, Docalysis or PDF.ai?

As of Nov 12, 2026, PDF.ai is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $14 a month for Docalysis. Docalysis starts at $14 per month, billed monthly, and PDF.ai starts at $10 per month, billed yearly.

Which has a free plan, Docalysis or PDF.ai?

As of Nov 12, 2026, both Docalysis and PDF.ai have a free plan.

Which platforms do Docalysis and PDF.ai run on?

As of Nov 12, 2026, only PDF.ai lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.

More comparisons

How this page was made

  • The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
  • The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
  • Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
  • The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.
How we review and grade