PDF API
PDF API converts HTML templates and JSON data into PDFs through a REST API.
What PDF API is
PDF API converts HTML templates and JSON data into PDFs through a REST API. Developers can submit raw HTML or use reusable dashboard templates with Handlebars-style variables, loops, and conditionals. Page size, orientation, margins, headers, and footers are configurable, and Chromium rendering supports modern CSS such as Flexbox, Grid, and custom properties. Listed uses include invoices, receipts, contracts, NDAs, financial reports, shipping labels, and tickets. The cloud service offers webhooks for PDF generation and deletion and for approaching quota limits; signatures can be checked with the X-PDF-Signature header. Generated files are held behind temporary URLs and removed when the URL expires, by default after 24 hours, or when the DELETE endpoint is used. PDF API is described as EU-hosted and GDPR compliant. Its free plan costs nothing and allows 500 PDFs per month. Sandbox requests do not count toward the monthly quota, but their watermarked PDFs are purged after one hour. Guides cover Node.js, Python, PHP, and Go; the REST API works with any HTTP client.
Good
- Reusable templates support variables, loops, and conditionals.
- Configurable page layout includes headers and footers.
- Free plan allows 500 PDFs per month.
- EU-hosted and described as GDPR compliant.
- Integration guides cover four programming languages.
Watch out
- Free tier is limited to 500 PDFs monthly.
- Sandbox PDFs are watermarked.
- Sandbox PDFs are purged after one hour.
Who it suits
PDF API is aimed at developers and teams generating documents such as invoices, reports, and contracts from applications. It suits users who want to render HTML and JSON through a cloud REST API.
Verdict
PDF API combines HTML-to-PDF rendering, reusable templates, and quota-related webhooks in a cloud service. Check plan quotas and sandbox restrictions against the volume and workflow you need.
Plans and prices
From PDF API's own pricing page, checked 7 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | €15 a month | 2,000 PDFs/month · overage 3€ per 1k · hard cap 57€ max · standard email support · 190€ yearly |
| Pro | €82 a month | 20,000 PDFs/month · overage 2€ per 1k · hard cap 297€ max · priority email support · 990€ yearly |
| Scale | €249 a month | 100,000 PDFs/month · overage 0.80€ per 1k · no hard cap (unlimited) · premium SLA & onboarding · 2,990€ yearly |
| Free | Free | 500 PDFs/month · no overage · community support |
The facts
Each one read from PDF API's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Compliance
- GDPRchecked 22 Sep 2026
- CSS support
- The service uses Chromium and supports modern CSS including Flexbox, Grid, and custom properties.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Data location and compliance
- The maker describes the service as EU-hosted and GDPR compliant.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Data retention
- The site says generated PDFs are stored in a secure bucket behind temporary presigned URLs, then wiped when the URL expires (default 24 hours) or the DELETE endpoint is used.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- cloudchecked 22 Sep 2026
- Intended users
- The site describes the service as built for developers and targets teams generating invoices, reports, contracts, and other documents from applications.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Key features
- HTML and CSS to PDF rendering · Raw HTML or saved-template rendering · JSON data injection with Handlebars-style variables · Configurable page size, orientation, margins, headers, and footers · Temporary, time-limited PDF download URLs · Reusable templates stored in the dashboard · Sandbox mode for testing and CI/CD · Webhooks for PDF generation, deletion, and quota eventschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Language guides
- The maker provides integration guides for Node.js, Python, PHP, and Go, and says the REST API works with any HTTP client.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Product
- PDF API converts HTML templates and JSON data into PDFs through a REST API.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Rate limits
- The documented per-minute limits are 10 requests for Free, 60 for Starter, 300 for Pro, and 1,000 for Scale; concurrency limits are 2, 5, 20, and 50 respectively.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Rendering
- The site says its persistent pool of Chromium instances and Rust backend generate documents in under 300ms.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Sandbox
- Sandbox requests do not count against the monthly quota; sandbox PDFs are watermarked and automatically purged after one hour.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Support
- Free includes community support, Starter standard email support, Pro priority email support, and Scale premium SLA and onboarding.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Templates
- Reusable dashboard templates support Handlebars-style variables, loops, conditionals, and JSON data.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The site lists invoices and receipts, contracts and NDAs, financial reports, shipping labels, and tickets as document use cases.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Webhooks
- Webhooks notify users when PDFs are generated or deleted and when quota is approaching its limit; authenticity can be checked with the X-PDF-Signature header.checked 7 Oct 2026
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