We tested the leading UiPath alternatives for manufacturing teams that need document extraction without deploying an entire RPA platform. Here are our top picks.
The best UiPath alternative for manufacturing teams in 2026 is Lido. Where UiPath Document Understanding requires Studio, Orchestrator, and robot licenses just to extract data from a PDF, Lido processes any PO or invoice format in seconds without templates, model training, or an RPA platform.
You already run UiPath RPA across your organization and need document processing as one module within a broader automation platform.
You need the same PO and invoice extraction UiPath offers but without deploying an RPA platform, with faster processing, reliable accuracy on scanned and handwritten documents, and ERP-ready output from day one.
ABBYY Vantage is an enterprise IDP platform with pre-trained document skills for invoices, POs, and shipping documents. Offers on-premise deployment for manufacturers with strict data residency requirements.
Nanonets is an ML-powered extraction platform with pre-trained models for invoices and receipts. Custom document types like manufacturing POs require model training with sample documents.
Rossum is an AI document extraction platform focused on transactional documents. Strong on invoice processing with a built-in review interface for human validation.
Docsumo is an AI extraction platform with pre-trained models for financial documents. Includes review workflows and ERP integrations for accounts payable automation.
The fundamental difference is architectural. UiPath Document Understanding is a module within an RPA platform. Lido is a standalone extraction tool built for operations teams.
ACS Industries is the world's largest vertically integrated wire mesh manufacturer. Their operations team was processing 400 purchase orders per week across every format - PDFs, spreadsheets, images, and plain-text emails. UiPath Document Understanding took 1.5 minutes per page to digitize, had a 10% failure rate on scans, and confused characters like "S" and "5" that caused ERP errors.
After switching to Lido, the results were immediate:
ACS Industries "Thanks to Lido, we're processing approximately 400 weekly POs automatically with complete accuracy."
Upload your POs. Results in seconds, not minutes per page.
Try Lido free →You already run UiPath across your organization. If your company has invested in UiPath for end-to-end RPA and document processing is one module within a broader automation strategy, adding Document Understanding to an existing deployment makes sense.
You need the full RPA workflow builder. If your manufacturing automation extends beyond document extraction into process orchestration, attended automation, and cross-system workflows, UiPath's platform covers that scope.
Step 1. Sign up at lido.app. No credit card required. You get 50 free pages.
Step 2. Upload your most challenging POs - the scanned ones, the handwritten ones, the formats UiPath struggled with. Describe the fields you need in plain English.
Step 3. Compare accuracy and speed. ACS Industries migrated from UiPath in days, not months. There is no data to move, no models to retrain, no RPA workflows to rebuild.
Scanned invoices, handwritten forms, mixed formats. 50 free pages, no credit card.
Try Lido free →Lido is the strongest UiPath alternative for manufacturing teams. ACS Industries, the world's largest vertically integrated wire mesh manufacturer, switched from UiPath to Lido and now processes 400 POs per week automatically with complete accuracy, saving 30 hours per week. Lido works as a standalone tool without requiring an RPA platform, processes documents in seconds instead of minutes, and offers transparent pricing with transparent per-page pricing.
Manufacturing teams switch from UiPath because Document Understanding requires the full RPA platform (Studio, Orchestrator, robot licenses) just to process documents, takes approximately 1.5 minutes per page for digitization, has character confusion issues that cause ERP errors, and uses opaque consumption-based pricing with a 60,000-page minimum bundle. These limitations make it impractical for mid-market manufacturers processing POs, packing slips, and vendor documents at scale.
Lido achieves 99.5% to 100% accuracy on typed manufacturing documents, compared to UiPath's approximately 10% failure rate on scanned PDFs and documented character confusion issues. Lido assigns confidence scores to each extracted field, routing uncertain entries to human review while high-confidence data flows through automatically. ACS Industries processes 400 POs per week through Lido with complete accuracy.
Switching from UiPath to Lido takes days, not months. There is no data to migrate, no models to retrain, and no RPA workflows to rebuild. ACS Industries completed their migration quickly because Lido works as a standalone tool. You upload documents, describe what fields to extract, and get structured output immediately. Lido offers 50 free pages with no credit card required to test with your actual manufacturing documents.
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