Docling alternatives for coding agents.
If you want a Docling alternative that gives coding agents on-device reading without a Python setup, Metallurgy will read PDFs, scans, logs, audio and video on your Mac and return only what each task needs.
Docling at a glance
Docling is a free, open-source document parser that runs locally on macOS, Linux and Windows and outputs Markdown, JSON and more.
- Open source (MIT): Free
Metallurgy beside Docling
Docling is free and open source under the MIT licence, though individual models carry their own licences. Models download automatically on first use, and you can fetch them in advance for offline work. Metallurgy will be a one-time purchase with lifetime access, and its price has not been set yet.
| Feature | Metallurgy | Docling |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Not set yet | Free (MIT) |
| Runs on Windows and Linux | No | Yes |
| Documents stay on your machine | Yes | Yes |
| No extra API key | Yes | Yes |
| Reads scanned PDFs (OCR) | Yes | Yes |
| Reads audio and video | Yes | Yes |
| Returns only the part asked for | Yes | Partlypage limits |
| Ships an agent skill | Yes | Yes |
Yes Yes Partly Partly No No
Other options
- Claude’s built-in PDF readingClaude’s built-in PDF reading converts each page into an image plus extracted text, at standard token pricing with no additional PDF fees.
- MarkItDownMarkItDown is Microsoft’s free, open-source Python utility that converts many file types to Markdown for LLMs.
- LlamaParseLlamaParse is LlamaIndex’s cloud parsing service: $0 per month with 10,000 free credits each month, then $1.50 per 1,000 extra credits on Pay as you go.
- Mistral OCRMistral OCR is a cloud OCR API from Mistral AI at $4 per 1,000 pages, or $2 per 1,000 on OCR 3.
| Feature | Metallurgy | Claude’s built-in PDF reading | MarkItDown | Docling | LlamaParse | Mistral OCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Not set yet | Tokens for every page | Free (MIT) | Free (MIT) | Credits; 10k/mo free | $4 per 1,000 pages |
| Runs on Windows and Linux | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Documents stay on your machine | Yes | No | Partlybuilt-in converters | Yes | Partlyenterprise self-hosting | Partlyenterprise self-hosting |
| No extra API key | Yes | Yes | PartlyOCR needs LLM | Yes | No | No |
| Reads scanned PDFs (OCR) | Yes | Yes | PartlyLLM plugin | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reads audio and video | Yes | No | Partlyaudio, via cloud | Yes | Partlyaudio formats | No |
| Returns only the part asked for | Yes | Partlypage ranges | No | Partlypage limits | Partlypage selection | Partlyannotations, QnA |
| Ships an agent skill | Yes | –built in | PartlyMCP server | Yes | Yes | No |
Yes Yes Partly Partly No No
Metallurgy is coming soon.
It will be sold like every Handy Tools app: one fee, lifetime access.
It will need macOS 27 or later, Apple silicon.
Sources
Checked against each product’s own website and documentation on 13 November 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us and we’ll correct it.
- PDF support - Claude API docs
- Vision - Claude API docs
- Tools reference - Claude Code docs
- Advanced setup - Claude Code docs
- microsoft/markitdown README
- markitdown-mcp package README
- markitdown on PyPI
- docling-project/docling README
- Supported formats - Docling
- Advanced options - Docling
- Installation - Docling
- Agent skills - Docling
- MCP server - Docling
- docling-project/docling-mcp README
- docling on PyPI
- Pricing - LlamaIndex
- Pricing - LlamaParse documentation
- Billing and usage - LlamaParse documentation
- FAQ - LlamaParse documentation
- Supported document types - LlamaParse documentation
- OCR and languages - LlamaParse documentation
- Limitations - LlamaParse documentation
- Parse overview - LlamaParse documentation
- run-llama/llamaparse-agent-skills
- OCR processor - Mistral AI documentation
- Document AI overview - Mistral AI documentation
- API pricing - Mistral AI documentation
- OCR 4.1 model card - Mistral AI documentation
- Mistral OCR 4 announcement
Claude and Claude Code are trademarks of their owner. MarkItDown is a trademark of its owner. Docling is a trademark of its owner. LlamaParse is a trademark of its owner. Mistral OCR is a trademark of its owner. Metallurgy is not affiliated with them.