Top 5 PDF Generator API Alternatives for HTML to PDF in 2026

PDF Generator API is a cloud-based service that helps businesses automate the creation of PDF documents using customizable templates and data.

It provides a browser-based WYSIWYG editor for designing professional PDFs without coding, along with a RESTful API for merging templates with JSON data.

If you’re already using PDF Generator API or exploring alternatives, you’re in the right place.

Hi, I’m Pedro, the founder of Templated. Our API can automate PDF generation, as well as image and video creation. In this post, we’ll focus only on PDF automation.

With years of research and practical experience in this space, I’ll walk you through some of the best alternatives to the PDF Generator API that you can try today.

Let’s get started!

Overview Comparison

Just before we dive in, here’s a quick comparison table to get you the idea of what’s coming in, the pros & cons of each and their ideal use case.

PDFMonkey — A Developer-Friendly HTML-to-PDF API

PDFMonkey is a lightweight API that specialises in HTML-to-PDF conversion with JSON data. You create templates using HTML/CSS (with placeholders for data), and PDFMonkey generates PDFs by merging your HTML template with your JSON payload.

It provides a simple web-based editor to write or paste your HTML template and preview it. PDFMonkey focuses on developer-friendliness and simplicity: anything that works in a web page can be turned into a PDF via the API.

It supports external resources (images, CSS, JS in templates) on paid plans, enabling complex designs using web tech. While it doesn’t have a drag-and-drop designer, it allows full freedom for those comfortable with HTML.

Pros

• Great Developer Experience: If you know HTML/CSS, PDFMonkey feels straightforward; you can leverage libraries like Tailwind CSS, embed images, use custom fonts via URLs, and essentially design the PDF as you would design a web page.

• Dynamic Data Handling: You can include placeholders in your HTML (like {{name}}) and send JSON data; PDFMonkey will merge them to generate personalized PDFs. It effectively converts HTML + JSON to PDF with ease, which works well for things like invoices, reports, or any templated document.

• Integrations and Automation: It offers integrations with Zapier and Make, and has guides for tools like GlideApps or Flutterflow, making it popular for small businesses automating documents without heavy code.

Cons

• No Visual Template Designer: There’s no drag-and-drop UI for designing; users must write HTML/CSS for templates. Non-technical users or those unfamiliar with HTML might find this a barrier. (However, one can design in a tool like Webflow or similar, then port the HTML over.)

• Limited Advanced Features: PDFMonkey is streamlined for generating PDFs, but it lacks some bells and whistles. For example, it doesn’t provide built-in AI layout suggestions, and its interface is minimal. It also doesn’t handle PDF editing tasks beyond generation. Document retention on lower plans is short (1 day for free/starter), meaning PDFs aren’t hosted long-term unless on higher plans.

Pricing

PDFMonkey’s pricing is simple and fixed. It offers a Free plan (20 docs/month, and up to 300/month during the initial trial).

Free Plan:

• 20 documents/month

• Up to 300 documents during the initial trial

Starter Plan:

• ~€5/month (≈ $5)

• Includes 300 documents/month

Pro Plan:

• €15/month (≈ $16)

• Includes 3,000 documents/month

Pro+ Plan:

• Includes 5,000 documents/month

• Additional features: unlimited document retention and team collaborators

Premium Plan:

• €300/month

• Includes 60,000 documents/month

• Geared toward high-volume enterprise needs

Boost Packs (Pay-as-you-go):

• €5 for 1,000 additional documents

• Available across all plans

All plans support unlimited templates

Ideal for:

Developers, startups, or hobby projects that need a quick and cost-efficient HTML-to-PDF API. It’s best for those who are comfortable designing in HTML/CSS and want granular control without a lot of abstraction.

Small businesses and indie developers often choose PDFMonkey for tasks such as automating invoices, generating simple reports, or any case where using web technologies to define PDF content makes sense. Its low-cost plans and free tier make it attractive for low-volume needs or prototypes.

2. Templated — Design-Friendly API for Dynamic PDF Documents

Templated offers a visual-first approach to automating PDF generation. It combines a drag-and-drop editor with a flexible JSON API, making it easy to create branded, multi-page PDFs without writing rendering logic. The platform is designed for teams that want visual control and developer flexibility in the same workflow.

As the team behind Templated, we’ve focused on making advanced document automation accessible to both developers and content teams — especially those who care about layout, branding, and creative flexibility.

Pros

• Visual Template Editor Offers a clean, drag-and-drop interface that allows you to build complex, multi-page PDF layouts without writing any HTML or CSS. You can design headers, footers, sections, images, and custom text blocks visually, which makes it easy for non-technical users to collaborate on templates. Recently, we introduced a new feature that allows you to import existing designs from tools like Canva, jump-starting a project and avoiding the need to start from scratch.

• Flexible API with JSON-Based Control Developers can control every part of the template dynamically via JSON. You can pass in values to change text, images, colors, fonts, and even show or hide elements conditionally. For more info on the API, you can read the documentation here.

• AI Template Generator Includes a built-in AI template generator that can help you get a quick invoice from scratch, if you don’t have one for now. For example, describe a sales report or certificate, and the AI will build a visual layout that you can then edit visually or through the API.

• Integration with No-Code Tools Templated integrates with popular no-code tools like Zapier, Make, Airtable, and n8n, which makes it easy to plug into existing automation workflows. If you still don’t want to use them, we have native integration within our dashboard with a spreadsheet that you can use.

Cons

• Lacks Traditional PDF Form Support Templated is built for new document generation, not for filling out or modifying existing PDFs. It does not currently support traditional PDF form parsing, input mapping, or digital signatures. If your workflow involves processing static PDFs or legal forms, you might need an additional tool for those tasks.

• Still maturing in document-specific edge cases Compared to some long-established PDF tools, this API may not yet support certain niche requirements like adding watermarks programmatically, complex table generation via data loops, or page scripting logic. It is designed more for visual presentation than technical compliance-heavy tasks.

Pricing

Templated’s pricing is credit-based. Each render counts as one credit, whether it’s a PDF page, an image, or a second of video. Plans scale based on usage, and all features are available from the start.

Free Trial

• 50 render credits

• No credit card required

• Full access to editor and API features

Starter Plan

• $29/month

• Includes 1,000 render credits

• Best for small teams or early-stage usage

Growth Plan

• $79/month
• Includes 5,000 render credits
• Suitable for teams scaling automation or templates

Pro Plan

• $179/ month

• Includes 25,000 render credits

• Ideal for production workloads and advanced workflows

Enterprise Plan

• Custom pricing based on needs

• Supports high-volume rendering

• Includes private templates, white-label editor, team permissions, and SLA support

Credits and Limits

• One credit equals one PDF page, one image, or one second of video

Template limits depend on the plan

• Starter allows up to 15 templates

• Scale allows up to 100 templates

• Enterprise offers unlimited templates

• Team member limits also vary by plan

• Credits reset monthly and do not roll over

Ideal Use Case

Templated is a great choice for developers, SaaS teams, and marketing-focused companies that want a balance of design control and programmatic automation. It’s especially well-suited for use cases like generating branded PDF reports, proposals, certificates, onboarding packets, and user-facing content where layout and visual polish matter.

Because templates are visually editable and API-driven at the same time, Templated bridges the gap between design teams and engineering, making it easy to scale document production without sacrificing aesthetics or flexibility.

3. API2PDF — Lightweight HTML and Document Conversion API for Developers

API2PDF is a service that provides a simple REST API for converting HTML content, URLs, and documents into PDF files.

Developers can send raw HTML or a web page URL to API endpoints (choosing either the Headless Chrome or wkhtmltopdf engine) and receive a PDF result via a temporary download link.

Runs on a serverless infrastructure, which means it can scale to handle very high volumes with low latency, tens of thousands of PDF requests per second, without the need for the user to manage any servers.

It wraps popular open-source PDF engines (wkhtmltopdf, Chrome, LibreOffice) behind a web API, so developers get on-demand PDF generation without the hassle of installing or maintaining those tools themselves

Pros

• Multiple Rendering Engines: API2PDF gives you a choice of PDF engines for HTML-to-PDF conversion, either wkhtmltopdf or Headless Chrome, allowing flexibility to handle different HTML/CSS scenarios.

• Broad Feature Set: Beyond basic HTML conversion, API2PDF supports common PDF operations through its API. You can convert Office files and images to PDF, merge multiple PDFs into one, and even perform tasks like generating PDF thumbnails or adding passwords to PDFs.

• Developer-Friendly Integration: The service is designed by developers for developers, exposing straightforward REST endpoints that are easy to call from any language. Official client libraries are provided for languages like Python, Node.js, .NET, and PHP to speed up integration.

• High Scalability, No Rate Limits: Thanks to its serverless architecture, API2PDF can automatically scale to large workloads without queuing. Notably, the service imposes no fixed rate limits or strict file size caps on API calls. Each conversion is allowed up to 2 GB of RAM and 90 seconds of runtime, which is sufficient for most jobs.

Cons

• Limited Workflow/Template Features: This API focuses narrowly on PDF conversion and doesn’t offer a built-in template designer, document editor, or workflow management interface.

• Requires Developer Effort: As an API-only service, using API2PDF requires programming. There is no no-code or point-and-click interface for business users; it’s intended to be called from your application’s backend. Organizations without a development team, or those looking to empower non-technical staff to generate PDFs via a GUI, may find this tool less accessible.

• External Service Dependence: Using API2PDF means your PDF generation is outsourced to a third-party cloud service. While the API is reliable, companies with strict data privacy requirements or those operating in air-gapped environments might be uncomfortable sending HTML/data to an external API for rendering.

Pricing

Free Trial

• One month of free usage credit upon sign-up

• No credit card required

Base Fee

• 1 dollar per month for minimum usage

• Required to keep the service active after the trial

Usage-Based Charges

• $0.001 per megabyte of PDF output

• $0.00019551 per second of processing time

Additional Notes

• No hard limits on file size or rate limits

• Billing is based on account balance, with manual or auto top-up options

• Enterprise plans with custom volume pricing available on request

Ideal Use Case

API2PDF is a strong fit for developers and backend teams looking for a simple, programmatic tool to generate PDFs at scale. Its pay-per-use model and wide engine support make it especially appealing for infrastructure-focused applications, batch jobs, or systems that require flexibility in rendering logic.

Because it is fully API-driven and offers access to multiple render engines like Headless Chrome, LibreOffice, and wkhtmltopdf, API2PDF works best for those prioritizing control, pricing transparency, and large-scale PDF generation rather than template-driven visual editing.

4. PDFShift — A Fast, Developer-Centric PDF Generation API

PDFShift offers a clean, developer-focused solution for turning dynamic HTML into high-quality PDFs. It is built for teams who want full control over design and logic without the overhead of visual template tools.

With reliable rendering, support for modern web standards, and fast response times, it fits perfectly into SaaS platforms or backend systems that need scalable PDF automation with minimal setup.

Pros:

• High-Fidelity, Fast PDF Generation: Users consistently praise PDFShift for producing very accurate, professional-looking PDFs from HTML with minimal effort. The rendering engine handles modern CSS and dynamic content well, so charts, forms, or responsive layouts in your HTML all translate correctly into the PDF.

• Easy for Developers to Integrate: PDFShift is designed with developers in mind. Its API is simple and well-documented, with clear examples in multiple languages. There’s also an interactive Playground for testing without writing code.

• Flexible and Feature-Rich: The service offers a lot of flexibility for customising PDFs. Developers can use their own HTML/CSS (no rigid template constraints) and add features like custom headers/footers with page numbers, or inject JavaScript (for charts, etc.) to ensure the output looks perfect.

• Scalable for High Volume: Its architecture supports parallel processing and asynchronous generation, which is a big plus for scalability. You can queue up many documents at once (or even convert multiple HTML pages in a single API call), and use webhooks to handle large batch jobs efficiently.

• Strong Support and Continuous Improvement: As a somewhat indie service (launched in 2018), PDFShift is focused on its niche and offers responsive support. Users often mention helpful, quick replies from the founder/developer team.

Cons:

• Free Plan Limits & File Size Caps: The free tier only includes 50 conversions (credits) per month and is capped to ~2 MB output size per PDF. This is sufficient for trial and small use, but not for any significant volume. Even on paid plans, there’s a 5 MB size limit per PDF file — large reports with high-res images or lengthy documents might need to be split up.

• Credit-Based Pricing Model: PDFShift uses a credit system (1 credit per document up to 5 MB), which can be a bit confusing at first and may not scale perfectly for all cases. For example, a single large PDF counts as multiple credits, which could exhaust a quota faster than expected.

• No Built-In Template Designer: Unlike some competitors, PDFShift does not offer a graphical template editor or a no-code template design interface. All designs are done in HTML/CSS by the user.

• Niche Focus on HTML Conversion: The product excels at converting HTML content to PDF or images, but it’s not a full document management suite. It doesn’t provide features like collaborative template management with roles, built-in e-signing, or editing PDFs after generation (some broader platforms do).

Pricing

Free Plan

• 50 PDF conversions per month

• File size limited to 2 megabytes per PDF

• Access to core features, including JavaScript injection and encryption

• No credit card required

Startup Plan — $9/month

• Includes 500 PDF conversions

• File size limit increased to 5 megabytes

• Adds async response support and batch processing

• Overage cost is 4 cents per additional conversion

Boost Plan — $24/month

• Includes 2,500 conversions per month

• Lower per-conversion rate of around 3 cents

• Same features as Startup

• Overage cost is 3 cents per additional conversion

Growth Plan — $39/month

• Includes 5,000 conversions per month

• Ideal for production-scale document output

• Overage cost is 2.5 cents per additional conversion

Business Plan —$ 99/per month

• Includes 25,000 conversions per month

• Priority support included

• Overage cost is 2 cents per additional conversion

Enterprise Plan

• Custom volume packages available on request

• Options for bulk credits starting at 500,000 per month

• Tailored pricing and SLAs for high-volume or specialized needs

Ideal Use Case

PDFShift is a practical fit for SaaS products and internal tools that need to deliver downloadable PDF reports or exports with consistent styling. If it is a project dashboard, invoice builder, or data visualization layer, PDFShift fits well. Let's developers convert HTML outputs directly into PDFs without compromising design or speed.

Since it relies entirely on code and supports modern web standards, it works especially well for engineering-led teams that prefer to keep full control over document layout, structure, and logic within their codebase.

5. PDFNoodle — Lightweight API to Convert HTML and Templates into PDFs

PDFNoodle combines a modern approach to PDF generation with a balance of visual editing and API-first control. It allows teams to create branded, data-driven documents by linking structured inputs to reusable templates, all without manually handling rendering logic.

Built with scalability and simplicity in mind, the platform supports JSON-based inputs, versioning, and template management from a unified dashboard — making it easy to maintain consistency across high-volume document workflows.

Pros

• No-Code Editor for PDF Layouts: PDFNoodle provides a visual, drag-and-drop interface that lets you design PDF templates without touching code. Users can create structured layouts using image uploads, text blocks, and styling controls — ideal for teams that prefer a GUI over coding HTML or CSS.

• Reusable Components and Conditional Blocks: You can build modular templates with sections like headers, footers, or branded blocks that are easy to reuse across documents. Conditional logic lets you show or hide elements dynamically based on input data, making templates smarter and more adaptable.

• Multilingual and RTL Support: PDFNoodle natively supports multiple languages, including right-to-left scripts like Arabic and Hebrew. This makes it especially useful for international businesses or applications with localized document output needs.

• Hosted PDFs with Shareable Links: Each rendered PDF is automatically hosted and accessible via a public or private link. This eliminates the overhead of managing file storage or implementing download endpoints yourself.

Cons

• Limited Visual Customization: PDFNoodle lacks a visual template editor, which means all layout and styling must be handled through code. This can slow down collaboration with non-technical team members or designers.

• No Built-In Integrations: Unlike some alternatives that offer native support for tools like Zapier or Make, PDFNoodle does not provide direct integrations or automation guides, making setup more hands-on for non-developers.

• Sparse Public Documentation: While the core API is functional, the available public-facing docs and onboarding resources are relatively minimal. New users may need to rely on experimentation or direct support to fully understand capabilities.

• Fewer Workflow Features: Features like conditional rendering, logic-based element control, or built-in data formatting are not part of the core offering, limiting dynamic control over the final output.

Pricing

Free Trial • 7-day full access to all features • No charges if cancelled before trial ends • Credit card required to start

Starter Plan — $35/month • Includes 1,000 documents per month • Standard support with 60 requests/min rate limit

Business Plan — $70/month • Includes 10,000 documents per month • Priority support, 240 requests/min, S3 upload integration

Scale Plan — $249/month • Includes 50,000 documents per month • White-label editor, Slack support, 360 requests/min

Ideal Use Case

PDFGeneratorAPI is best suited for companies that want to empower end users to edit and manage document templates visually while keeping the generation logic backend-driven. It’s ideal for multi-tenant platforms, SaaS tools, and enterprise applications that need secure, role-based access to branded templates — especially when template management needs to be delegated to non-developers without losing API control.

Conclusion

The good news is that all of the above APIs that I mentioned offer a free trial, so that you can test them out before putting them in production.

If you think Templated can be the right fit, do try it out. Reach out to me on chat, and we can discuss your use case. Or if you need help in deploying this API to your production stack, I’ll be happy to help.

You can sign up from here to get 50 credits now.

Additional Resources

1. 5 Best PDF Generation APIs in 2026
2. 5 Best API Template Alternatives to Automate Image/PDF Generation