PDF generation API: seven options compared on free tier, entry plan and template style

What a PDF generation API does, and the two kinds on sale

A PDF generation API is a hosted service that takes your data, usually JSON, plus a layout, and returns a finished PDF over HTTP. The layout is the part that differs. Template APIs give you an editor where you design the document once and then send only data. HTML-to-PDF APIs expect you to send finished HTML and CSS, and they render it.

That split decides most purchases. If a designer or an operations person will change the invoice layout, a template editor saves developer time. If your application already produces HTML, a conversion API is the shorter path, and the HTML to PDF API comparison covers that group in more depth.

Free tier and entry price of seven PDF generator APIs

All figures below were read on each vendor's own pricing page on 3 October 2026 and are monthly-billing prices in US dollars unless the row says otherwise. Prices can change.

Two more names belong on a shortlist but not in a dollar table. PDFMonkey and PDF Generator API both showed euro prices on the pages we loaded, so we do not quote them here. PDFMonkey's page does state a free plan of 20 documents a month, and PDF Generator API counts one credit per block of five pages.

What each API is best at, and one limit to check

• CraftMyPDF: layouts built without HTML, with Zapier, Make.com and Bubble.io on every plan including Free. Limit: template counts are capped, at 6 on Lite and 15 on Plus.
• APITemplate.io: 3,000 PDFs on the entry plan, the largest entry allowance among the three template APIs in this table, and a choice of visual or HTML editing. Limit: team features start on the Standard plan.
• DocuGenerate: teams whose templates already live in Word. Limit: 5 templates on Plus, and batch generation is not on the free plan.
• DocRaptor: print-grade HTML rendering on the Prince engine, with no charge for document size. Limit: 125 documents on the entry plan is a small allowance.
• Doppio: the largest free allowance here, 400 documents. Limit: plans below Pro pause rendering at the quota instead of billing overage.
• Api2Pdf: usage billing with no tiers, using headless Chrome or wkhtmltopdf. Limit: cost depends on file size and render seconds, so it is harder to forecast.
• PDFShift: simple HTML conversion with a sandbox mode for free watermarked tests. Limit: one credit covers 5 MB, so a 14 MB file uses three.

Where CraftMyPDF fits and where it does not

CraftMyPDF fits when the people who own the document are not the people who write the code. Its editor is drag and drop, the API call is one POST with a template ID and JSON, and one PDF costs one credit whatever the page count. The CraftMyPDF pricing breakdown shows how the six plans scale.

It does not fit when you already maintain HTML templates you are happy with. Re-drawing them in an editor is extra work, and DocRaptor, PDFShift or a self-hosted renderer will use what you have. It is also not the cheapest per document at the entry level: APITemplate.io includes 3,000 PDFs for $24 against 1,200 for $29.

Which PDF generation API to pick, by buyer type

• Small team, no front-end developer: CraftMyPDF or APITemplate.io. Both free plans allow 50 documents a month and 3 templates, so start there.
• Templates already in Word: DocuGenerate.
• Developers with existing HTML and strict print layout: DocRaptor.
• Developers with existing HTML and spiky, low volume: Api2Pdf or Doppio's free plan.
• Volume too low to justify any subscription: an open source library. The guide to generating a PDF from a template explains when that is enough.

For a wider list built around CraftMyPDF specifically, see the CraftMyPDF alternatives page.