Top 7 PDF Generator APIs in 2025 for PDF Automation
A PDF Generation API is a software interface allowing developers and no-code builders to automate the creation and management of PDF documents through structured code or no-code integrations. Commonly used to streamline invoice creation, reporting, contracts, and dynamic marketing materials, PDF APIs significantly enhance operational efficiency. Benefits include reduced manual work, seamless scalability, and consistent, professional-quality document output.
How to evaluate different PDF Generation API solutions?
On this article, we'll compare the 7 best PDF Generation APIs using these criteria:
API Integration Simplicity: Ease of implementation, clarity of API documentation, and availability of SDKs.
Native Integrations: Compatibility with no-code tools (Zapier, n8n, Make, Bubble) and popular platforms (CRM, ERP, workflow automation tools).
Dynamic Data Handling: Capability to merge dynamic content, conditional rendering, and support for various data formats (JSON, XML, CSV).
AI-Powered Features: Availability and quality of AI-driven assistance for document design and layout automation.
Scalability: Reliability under high-volume demands, performance benchmarks, and API response times.
Customization Options: Flexibility in design, template modularity, and branding capabilities.
Pricing Flexibility: Transparent and scalable pricing models, availability of free tiers or trial periods.
These factors ensure an API's suitability, emphasizing ease of use, versatility in document editing, and robust management of dynamic and conditional logic.
Best PDF Generation API Alternatives
Pdforge
Pdforge differentiates itself through AI-driven PDF automation. The platform’s AI instantly generates tailored templates based on user requirements, enables custom component creation, and even auto-populates variables. Featuring an intuitive no-code environment, pdforge empowers users to effortlessly design complex, reusable PDF templates without needing design or coding experience.
Designing PDFs with pdforge is straightforward, thanks to its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, powerful dynamic data handling via pre-built conditional logic components, and AI suggestions that significantly accelerate template creation.
Generating PDFs at scale is seamless due to robust API documentation and native integrations with leading no-code automation platforms, including n8n, Make, Zapier, and Bubble.
Pdforge does not offer a free plan, but pricing starts at $35/month (up to 1,000 PDFs generated) and scales up to $249/month (up to 50,000 PDFs generated).
Best for: SaaS companies and no-code developers seeking rapid, high-quality, and highly autonomous automated document workflows.
PDF Generator API
PDF Generator API differentiates itself by offering robust template management optimized for enterprise environments. Its versatile no-code capabilities are complemented by a comprehensive RESTful API, emphasizing ease of integration.
Designing PDFs with PDF Generator API is user-friendly, thanks to its intuitive editor, but has some difficulties handling of dynamic datasets, because of the canva-like editor.
Generating PDFs at scale is streamlined with clear API documentation and native integrations with popular CRMs and marketing automation tools.
PDF Generator API does not offer a free plan, with pricing beginning at $29/month (up to 1.000 PDFs generated) and scaling up to $699/month (up to 500.000 PDFs generated) for high-volume usage.
Best for: Enterprise Marketing and sales teams requiring straightforward integrations and automated, personalized document creation workflows.
APITemplate
APITemplate differentiates itself with sophisticated rendering accuracy ideal for dynamic, design-intensive documents. Its highly intuitive UI and streamlined templating make it exceptional for visually appealing PDFs.
Designing PDFs with APITemplate is effortless due to its powerful and flexible no-code builder, strong dynamic data handling, although coding experience is needed for that kind data as it uses jinja syntax.
Generating PDFs at scale is supported by robust API endpoints and extensive integrations, including Zapier, n8n and Airtable.
APITemplate offers a generous free tier, with premium plans ranging from $19/month (up to 1.000 PDFs) to $179/month (up to 20.000 PDFs)
Best for: Designers and marketers who prioritize visually appealing and automatically generated PDFs at scale.
PDF Monkey
PDF Monkey differentiates itself through seamless dynamic HTML-to-PDF conversion, providing excellent developer experience and customization capabilities.
Designing PDFs is straightforward with PDF Monkey’s editor, supporting dynamic data effectively, although lacking advanced AI design assistance and doesn't have a no-code editor.
Generating PDFs at scale is streamlined by clear API documentation and integrations with automation platforms like Zapier, Make, Glideapp and Flutterflow.
PDF Monkey offers a free plan, with paid options ranging from $5/month (up to 300 PDFs) to $300/month up to 60.000 PDFs).
Best for: Developers and small businesses needing reliable and simple HTML-to-PDF automation.
CraftMyPDF
CraftMyPDF differentiates itself with an extensive template marketplace and a powerful no-code editor, allowing highly customized and design-flexible documents.
Designing PDFs is highly efficient, with robust dynamic data handling capabilities but with a low AI-driven layout support.
Generating PDFs at scale is seamless, supported by detailed API documentation and integrations with popular platforms such as Bubble, Airtable, and Make.
CraftMyPDF has a free tier with low volume, but premium plans ranges from $29/month (up to 1.200 PDFs) to $799/month (up to 300.000 PDFs).
Best for: Creative teams and no-code enthusiasts requiring extensive design flexibility and ready-to-use marketplace templates.
PDF.co
PDF.co differentiates itself with its strong focus on secure, compliant document generation, offering OCR and data extraction capabilities tailored to regulated industries. It also offers a vast service portfolio for PDFs manipulation.
Designing PDFs is effective for dynamic data handling but less intuitive, lacking significant AI support and has a poor no-code interface.
Generating PDFs at scale is highly secure, backed by enterprise-grade API documentation and integrations.
PDF.co pricing starts at $9.99/month with no free tier, scaling according to usage. It's pricing is based on credit usage, so estimating credit consumption can get a little hard.
Best for: Enterprises needing secure, compliant document automation and data extraction.
Anvil PDF
Anvil PDF differentiates itself with structured workflow automation for PDF form filling and e-signature, specifically targeting finance and healthcare industries.
Designing PDFs offers solid dynamic data integration with straightforward form-focused capabilities, but limited AI-driven assistance. It's better for simple documents rather than complex layouts.
Generating PDFs at scale is efficient with comprehensive API documentation and selective integrations with CRMs and financial software.
Anvil PDF has a free plan with credits, and it's pricing is usage based, starting from $0.10 per PDF generated, scaling to custom-priced enterprise solutions.
Best for: Regulated industries such as finance and healthcare, emphasizing structured document workflows, e-signature and compliance.
Comparison between solutions
Solution | Start Pricing | Has Free plan | PDF Editor | PDF Generation | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
pdforge | $35/month (1.000 PDFs) | ❌ No | Excellent (AI-powered) | High scalability with native integrations | SaaS & No-code workflows |
PDF Generator API | $29/month (1.000 PDFs) | ❌ No | Good but outdated | Good scalability | Enterprise Marketers & Sales |
APITemplate | $35/month (1.500 PDFs) | ✅ Yes | Very Flexible, but bad with dynamic data | High scalability with native integrations | Designers & Visual marketers |
PDF Monkey | $5/month (300 PDFs) | ✅ Yes | Good (HTML-based) | Good scalability with native integrations | Small businesses & developers |
CraftMyPDF | $29/month (1.200 PDFs) | ✅ Yes | Very good, but bad with dynamic data | Very high scalability with native integrations | Creative teams |
PDF.co | $10/month (~1.800 PDFs) | ❌ No | Bad (compliance focused) | Excellent scalability | Enterprises needing compliance |
Anvil PDF | $0.10/month/PDF | ✅ Yes | Good (form-focused) | Excellent scalability | Financial & Healthcare industries |
Conclusion
Selecting the right PDF Generation API ultimately depends on your specific business needs and workflow priorities:
High Innovation and Team Autonomy: Pdforge stands out with a highly intuitive no-code builder, offering AI-enhanced automation that significantly reduces the need for technical or design expertise.
High Flexibility, Limited Dynamic Data Handling: APITemplate, PDF Generator API, and CraftMyPDF are ideal for users prioritizing flexible design and extensive customization. However, these solutions may fall short when complex dynamic data manipulation is required.
HTML-to-PDF Conversion Specialists: PDF Monkey and PDF.co excel in converting HTML content into PDFs. PDF.co offers additional valuable services like OCR and data extraction, making it beneficial for enterprise-grade tasks.
Workflow Management and PDF Form Automation: Anvil PDF excels in structured workflow management involving document filling and e-signatures, particularly beneficial in regulated industries such as finance and healthcare.
By clearly identifying your needs, you can select a solution that ensures optimal results for your specific automation and document-generation requirements.
