Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Api2Pdf VS wkhtmltopdf

Compare Api2Pdf VS wkhtmltopdf and see what are their differences

Api2Pdf logo Api2Pdf

PDF Generation API, powered by AWS Lambda. HTML to PDF | URL to PDF | Office Doc to PDF | Merge PDFs . Supports wkhtmltopdf, Headless Chrome, and LibreOffice. No rate limits and no file size limits.

wkhtmltopdf logo wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf is an open source (LGPL) command line tools to render HTML into PDF and various image...
  • Api2Pdf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29

Api2Pdf.com is an easy-to-use REST API that gets you converting HTML to PDF in minutes. You don't need to worry about installing a PDF rendering engine on your local developer environment and wrangle with it when you deploy your web app to production.

Api2Pdf is a wrapper for WKHTMLTOPDF, Headless Chrome, and LibreOffice. Choose which endpoints you want to use that best suits your needs.

-Convert HTML to PDF -Convert URL to PDF -Convert Office documents to PDF (Word to PDF, Excel to PDF, PowerPoint to PDF) -Convert Images to PDF (gif, jpg, png, bmp to PDF) -Merge / concatenate two or more PDFs together

No rate limits. No file size limits. Sign up for as little as $1. No monthly commitments and cancel at any time.

  • wkhtmltopdf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-21

Api2Pdf features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Api2Pdf provides a straightforward API that allows developers to easily integrate PDF creation capabilities into their applications without extensive setup or configuration.
  • Multiple Formats
    The service supports converting a variety of formats to PDF including HTML, URLs, and Word documents, offering flexibility for different needs.
  • No File Storage
    Api2Pdf does not store files on their servers, which enhances privacy and compliance with data protection regulations.
  • High Quality Rendering
    Leveraging the wkhtmltopdf and Headless Chrome engines, Api2Pdf provides high-quality rendering of PDFs, which is vital for professional documentation.
  • Scalable Solution
    Api2Pdf can handle a large number of PDF conversions, making it suitable for businesses that require scaling.

Possible disadvantages of Api2Pdf

  • Cost
    The service can become expensive as usage increases, especially for businesses with high-volume needs.
  • Limited Customization
    Customization options may be limited when compared to other solutions that provide extensive control over the PDF output.
  • Dependency on Third-party
    Relying on an external API service introduces dependency, which can be a risk if the service experiences downtime or changes its terms.
  • Latency
    There can be latency issues due to network conditions or the processing time for large or complex files, affecting real-time applications.
  • Limited Offline Capability
    Since it's a web-based service, users need an internet connection to use it, which might not be suitable for offline applications.

wkhtmltopdf features and specs

  • HTML to PDF Conversion
    wkhtmltopdf allows for the conversion of HTML and CSS content into PDF documents, making it easier to generate reports, invoices, and other necessary documentation from web content.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source tool, wkhtmltopdf is free to use, modify, and distribute, making it accessible to developers with varying budgets.
  • Cross-Platform
    wkhtmltopdf is available on multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, offering flexibility for developers working in different environments.
  • High Quality PDFs
    It utilizes the WebKit rendering engine, which ensures that the PDFs generated maintain high fidelity to the original HTML content.
  • Command Line Interface
    The tool provides a robust command-line interface that allows for scripting and automation, which can greatly enhance productivity.
  • Supports Complex Layouts
    wkhtmltopdf can handle complex layouts including CSS, JavaScript, and media queries, making it suitable for intricate designs.

Possible disadvantages of wkhtmltopdf

  • Large Files
    Generated PDF files can be quite large, especially if the HTML content includes heavy use of images and other media.
  • Resource Intensive
    wkhtmltopdf can be resource-intensive, requiring significant CPU and memory, which might be a concern for high-volume or real-time generation needs.
  • Limited Support for New Web Standards
    As an older tool, it sometimes struggles to keep up with the latest web standards and features, which may lead to partial rendering of more modern web content.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    The tool has many options and configurations, which can be overwhelming for beginners or those not familiar with command-line operations.
  • Dependency on System Libraries
    Installation and operation can be complex due to dependencies on specific system libraries, which can complicate deployment and maintenance.
  • Lack of Official Support
    Being an open-source project, it lacks professional support, which means that users may need to rely on community forums and resources for troubleshooting.

Api2Pdf videos

Generate PDFs from .NET with Api2Pdf.com

wkhtmltopdf videos

✔️ Como instalar wkhtmltopdf ubuntu (compatible con cualquier odoo 11) Facil y rapido 2018

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Api2Pdf and wkhtmltopdf)
PDF Tools
44 44%
56% 56
HTML To PDF
37 37%
63% 63
PDF Conversion API
43 43%
57% 57
PDF Converter
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, wkhtmltopdf should be more popular than Api2Pdf. It has been mentiond 36 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Api2Pdf mentions (4)

  • Anyone have experience making their development into a business?
    My colleague and I built api2pdf.com and launched in 2018. It was a massive amount of upfront work requiring sleepless nights and weekends for months on end because launching a SaaS involves way more than just the software component. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Convert Next.js HTML to PDF and send as email attachment
    It might be easiest to use something like api2pdf.com to convert the HTML to PDF using a simple REST API call instead of trying to wrangle wkhtmltopdf or headless chrome inside serverless functions on Netlify or Google Cloud. That can often be a real hassle. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Is Web Development a Viable Option for Making Passive Income?
    I built api2pdf.com - there was a massive upfront effort to build the product, infrastructure, marketing, everything you need to create a real business and a reliable, high quality service. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • wkhtmltopdf - Convert HTML to PDF
    I run api2pdf.com and we support both wkhtmltopdf and Headless Chrome. Wkhtmltopdf supports a few interesting tidbits that Chrome does not yet (like automatic table of contents generation). Source: about 4 years ago

wkhtmltopdf mentions (36)

  • PDF Generation, Bloat and Optimization
    WKHTMLTOPDF (LGPLv3; portable) tends to be faster and generate smaller PDFs. It can also run concurrently and generate PDFs in the background without using a ColdFusion thread or impacting the Java heap memory. Download. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Hack WKHTMLTOPDF PDF to enable Adobe Acrobat Field Editing
    I recently integrated the auto-generation of survey results into a downloadable PDF using ColdFusion and WKHTMLTOPDF 0.12.6. Our client provided a pre-generated PDF cover page with some editable fields that we prepended to the PDF using PDFtk. Unfortunately, all auto-generated bookmarks became unusable after cover page is prepended. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Embed a Full HTML Document Inline Using Shadow DOM
    We use ColdFusion/CFML to generate valid HTML documents for PDF generation using jsoup & WKHTMLTOPDF. If the generated HTML content is simply outputted onto an existing webpage, the webpage becomes invalid (due to double DOCTYPE "inception") and the website's global CSS styles will polluting the preview. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Htmldocs: Typeset and Generate PDFs with HTML/CSS
    Wkhtmltopdf[1] uses the QT WebKit renderer. I used it as part of my job hut work-flow with pandoc to get pdf resumes from markdown. It got me a job, so there's that. [1] https://wkhtmltopdf.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • HexaPDF: Versatile PDF creation and manipulation library in Ruby
    I've been using WkhtmlToPdf all this while, so this seems a better option to try since it's pure Ruby. https://wkhtmltopdf.org/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Api2Pdf and wkhtmltopdf, you can also consider the following products

PDFShift - Convert any HTML documents to high-fidelity PDF using a single POST request

PDFCrowd - Pdfcrowd is a Web/HTML to PDF online service. Convert HTML to PDF online in the browser or in your PHP, Python, Ruby, .NET, Java apps via the REST API.

WeasyPrint - WeasyPrint is a visual rendering engine for HTML and CSS that can export to PDF.

DocRaptor - As the only API powered by the Prince HTML-to-PDF engine, DocRaptor provides the best support for complex PDFs with powerful support for headers, page breaks, page numbers, flexbox, watermarks, accessible PDFs, and much more

pdflayer - Free, powerful HTML to PDF API supporting both URL and raw HTML conversion. Unlimited document size, lightning-fast and compatible PHP, Python, Ruby, etc.

HTML PDF API - Easily generate PDF documents from HTML code with our powerful API