pdf libraries

Python

Generate custom PDFs in python using PyFPDF

Marcelo | Founder

Feb 24, 2025

Introduction to PyFPDF

PyFPDF is a Python library for generating PDF documents, known for its simplicity and versatility. It is a port of the PHP library FPDF, offering a straightforward way to create PDFs without external dependencies.

You can see their full documentation here.

Comparison PyFPDF with Other PDF Libraries

When choosing a PDF library for Python, several options are available, each with its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a comparison of PyFPDF with other popular libraries:

Playwright: Ideal for web-based PDF generation using browser automation. Read more about Playwright.
Pyppeteer: Similar to Playwright, it uses browser automation for PDF generation. Learn more about Pyppeteer.
PDFKit: Specializes in converting HTML to PDF using wkhtmltopdf. Discover PDFKit capabilities.
ReportLab: Offers robust features for creating complex PDF layouts, including graphics and charts. Explore ReportLab.
PyFPDF: Excels at simplicity and ease of use, perfect for straightforward PDF generation without external dependencies.

If you want to go deep on a full comparison between the best pdf libraries in python in 2025, you can check out this guide.

Guide to generate pdf from html using python PyFPDF

Setting Up PyFPDF

Installation Guide

To start using PyFPDF, install it via PyPI:

Basic Configuration

Once installed, you can configure PyFPDF for basic PDF generation. Here’s an example demonstrating various features:

from fpdf import FPDF
  
# Create a PDF object
pdf = FPDF()

# Add a page
pdf.add_page()

# Set font and size
pdf.set_font("Arial", size=12)  # Set font to Arial with size 12

# Add text
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt="Hello, World!", ln=True, align="C")  # Add centered text

# Add a link
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt="Visit our website", ln=True, align="C", link="https://example.com")  # Add a link

# Add an image
pdf.image("path/to/image.jpg", x=50, y=60, w=100)  # Add an image at specified coordinates

# Set page margins
pdf.set_margins(left=10, top=10, right=10)  # Set left, top, and right margins

# Output the PDF
pdf.output("basic_pdf.pdf")

Generating PDFs with PyFPDF

Method 01: Converting HTML to PDF

While PyFPDF doesn’t natively support converting HTML to PDF, you can manually parse HTML and add elements to the PDF. Here’s an example of generating an invoice with a header, logo, and table using dynamic content:

from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from fpdf import FPDF

# Sample invoice data
invoice_data = {
    "logo": "path/to/logo.png",
    "company_name": "Example Inc.",
    "invoice_number": "INV001",
    "date": "2023-04-01",
    "items": [
        {"name": "Item 1", "quantity": 2, "price": 10.99},
        {"name": "Item 2", "quantity": 1, "price": 5.99}
    ]
}

# Create PDF
pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.set_font("Arial", size=12)

# Add header with logo and company name
pdf.image(invoice_data["logo"], x=10, y=10, w=50)
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt=invoice_data["company_name"], ln=True, align="C")

# Add invoice details
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt=f"Invoice Number: {invoice_data['invoice_number']}", ln=True, align="L")
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt=f"Date: {invoice_data['date']}", ln=True, align="L")

# Create table for items
pdf.ln(10)  # Add a line break
pdf.set_font("Arial", size=10)
pdf.cell(30, 10, txt="Item", border=1, align="C", fill=False)
pdf.cell(50, 10, txt="Quantity", border=1, align="C", fill=False)
pdf.cell(50, 10, txt="Price", border=1, align="C", fill=False)
pdf.ln(10)
for item in invoice_data["items"]:
    pdf.cell(30, 10, txt=item["name"], border=1, align="L", fill=False)
    pdf.cell(50, 10, txt=str(item["quantity"]), border=1, align="C", fill=False)
    pdf.cell(50, 10, txt=str(item["price"]), border=1, align="R", fill=False)
    pdf.ln(10)
  
pdf.output("invoice_pdf.pdf")

Method 02: Creating Custom PDF Layouts

Here’s another example of creating a custom invoice layout with PyFPDF:

from fpdf import FPDF

# Sample invoice data
invoice_data = {
    "logo": "path/to/logo.png",
    "company_name": "Example Inc.",
    "invoice_number": "INV001",
    "date": "2023-04-01",
    "items": [
        {"name": "Item 1", "quantity": 2, "price": 10.99},
        {"name": "Item 2", "quantity": 1, "price": 5.99}
    ]
}

# Create PDF
pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.set_font("Arial", size=12)

# Add header with logo and company name
pdf.image(invoice_data["logo"], x=10, y=10, w=50)
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt=invoice_data["company_name"], ln=True, align="C")

# Add invoice details
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt=f"Invoice Number: {invoice_data['invoice_number']}", ln=True, align="L")
pdf.cell(200, 10, txt=f"Date: {invoice_data['date']}", ln=True, align="L")

# Create table for items
pdf.ln(10)  # Add a line break
pdf.set_font("Arial", size=10)
pdf.cell(30, 10, txt="Item", border=1, align="C", fill=False)
pdf.cell(50, 10, txt="Quantity", border=1, align="C", fill=False)
pdf.cell(50, 10, txt="Price", border=1, align="C", fill=False)
pdf.ln(10)
for item in invoice_data["items"]:
    pdf.cell(30, 10, txt=item["name"], border=1, align="L", fill=False)
    pdf.cell(50, 10, txt=str(item["quantity"]), border=1, align="C", fill=False)
    pdf.cell(50, 10, txt=str(item["price"]), border=1, align="R", fill=False)
    pdf.ln(10)

pdf.output("custom_invoice_pdf.pdf")

Advanced Features: Dealing with Dynamic Data

PyFPDF can handle dynamic data effectively by integrating with template engines like Jinja2. Here’s an example of generating a PDF with dynamic content using Jinja2:

from jinja2 import Template
from fpdf import FPDF

# Sample invoice data
invoice_data = {
    "logo": "path/to/logo.png",
    "company_name": "Example Inc.",
    "invoice_number": "INV001",
    "date": "2023-04-01",
    "items": [
        {"name": "Item 1", "quantity": 2, "price": 10.99},
        {"name": "Item 2", "quantity": 1, "price": 5.99}
    ]
}

# Define a Jinja2 template for the invoice
template = Template("""
<p>{{ company_name }}</p>
<p>Invoicen Number: {{ invoice_number }}</p>
<p>Date: {{ date }}</p>
<table>
    <tr>
        <th>Item</th>
        <th>Quantity</th>
        <th>Price</th>
    </tr>
    {% for item in items %}
    <tr>
        <td>{{ item.name }}</td>
        <td>{{ item.quantity }}</td>
        <td>{{ item.price }}</td>
    </tr>
    {% endfor %}
</table>
""")

# Generate dynamic content
content = template.render(invoice_data)

# Parse and add content to PDF
pdf = FPDF()
pdf.add_page()
pdf.set_font("Arial", size=12)
pdf.multi_cell(0, 10, txt=content)
pdf.output("dynamic_invoice_pdf.pdf")

Scaling PDF Generation with a Third-Party API

For larger SaaS platforms requiring automated PDF generation at scale, integrating a PDF Generation API like pdforge can offload the heavy lifting. This approach is ideal for SaaS platforms with high volumes of PDF requests.

With pdforge, you can create beautiful reports with flexible layouts and complex components with an easy-to-use opinionated no-code builder. Let the AI do the heavy lifting by generating your templates, creating custom components or even filling all the variables for you.

You can handle high-volume PDF generation from a single backend call.

Here’s an example of how to generate pdf with pdforge via an API call:

import requests
import json

url = 'https://api.pdforge.com/v1/pdf/sync'
headers = {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer your-api-key',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
data = {
    'templateId': 'your_invoice_template_id_here',
    'data': {
          "invoice_number": "your invoice_number here",
          "invoice_date": "your invoice_date here",
          # ...other invoice variables here
    }
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, data=json.dumps(data))
with open('output.pdf', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)

You can create your account, experience our no-code builder and create your first layout template without any upfront payment clicking here.

Conclusion

When to Use PyFPDF:

PyFPDF is ideal for scenarios where simplicity and ease of use are paramount. It’s perfect for generating basic PDF reports or documents without the need for external dependencies.

Alternatives to PyFPDF

For more complex PDF generation tasks, such as converting HTML to PDF or creating dynamic layouts with advanced graphics, libraries like PDFKit or ReportLab might be more appropriate.

Using Third-Party PDF APIs

If you don't want to waste time maintaining pdfs layouts and their infrastructure or if you don't want to keep track of best practices to generate PDFs at scale, third-party PDF APIs like pdforge will save you hours of work and deliver a high quality pdf layout.