Software Alternatives & Startups

PDF Generator API VS HEY

Compare PDF Generator API VS HEY and see what are their differences

PDF Generator API

PDF generation API that turns your JSON data into documents from templates built with AI or a drag-and-drop editor, which your users can edit inside your app through a white-label embedded editor.

Rating
5.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Paid Free trial €8 / Monthly
HEY

Email at its best, new from Basecamp.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial $99 / Annually
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, HEY seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 24 times since March 2021.

social mentions
0 vs 24
Document Automation popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
64 vs 240+

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

PDF Generator API
HEY
Website pdfgeneratorapi.com hey.com
Pricing
Paid Free trial €8 / Monthly Official pricing
Paid Free trial $99 / Annually Official pricing
Company 2012 —
Listed in

About PDF Generator API and HEY

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

PDF Generator API
HEY

PDF Generator API turns your JSON data into PDF documents from reusable templates. Design a template once, call the REST API and get pixel-perfect invoices, packing slips, contracts, certificates, statements and reports back, one at a time or in batches. Build templates your way. Describe the...

Read more about PDF Generator API

No description of HEY yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

PDF Generator API 10 features
HEY 4 features
  • AI Builder
    Create your template with single prompt with our new AI template builder
  • Users can edit and manage document templates
    We provide a workspace logic that allows creating a separate workspace for each of your users where they can store and manage document templates.
  • Allow your users to edit document templates
    You can embed the document template editor into your application to allow your users to modify their own PDF templates.
  • Powerful Expression language
    You can write mathematical and logical expressions to manipulate and customize values displayed in components.
  • Share document templates with your users
    You can set up default document templates that can be used as base templates by your users.
  • A wide range of smart components
    You can use different components like Text, Table and Barcode and define the formatting for number and date values.
  • Merge PDF template and data via API
    Powerful Web API to merge templates with data from your software.
  • Data Security
    GDPR Compliance, ISO 27001, HIPAA
  • Convert HTML to PDF
    Leverage our scalable html to pdf conversion functionality in order to focus all your development time on your core functionality.
  • PDF Forms
    You can collect data through fully customizable online forms and automatically generate PDFs using your existing templates. No coding required.
  • Privacy-focused
    HEY places a strong emphasis on user privacy. It blocks spy pixels and prevents senders from knowing when, where, and if emails are opened.
  • Clean Interface
    The user interface of HEY is minimalist and designed to reduce clutter, helping users focus on important emails.
  • Innovative Features
    HEY offers unique features like the Screener, which allows users to vet new senders, and The Feed, which collects all newsletters for easy reading.
  • Unified Platform
    Everything in HEY happens within a single, unified platform, eliminating the need for multiple email clients or add-ons.

Possible disadvantages

  • Cost
    HEY is a paid service with a yearly subscription fee, which could be a deterrent for users accustomed to free email services.
  • Limited Integration
    Compared to other email services, HEY has limited third-party integrations which might be a downside for users who rely on external apps.
  • Learning Curve
    The unique approach and innovative features may require some time to get used to, especially for users who are accustomed to traditional email systems.
  • Lack of Local Email Client Support
    HEY does not support traditional email protocols like IMAP or SMTP, meaning users cannot use it with their favorite local email clients.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

PDF Generator API
HEY

Overall verdict

  • PDF Generator API is a solid, developer-friendly solution for automating document generation, offering a drag-and-drop template editor and reliable REST API that make it easy to produce professional PDFs at scale.

Why this product is good

  • Intuitive drag-and-drop template editor lets non-developers design and edit document layouts without coding
  • Well-documented REST API with SDKs and integration guides for quick implementation
  • Supports dynamic data merging, making it ideal for invoices, reports, and personalized documents
  • Cloud-based service that scales with demand and reduces infrastructure overhead
  • Offers flexible pricing tiers suitable for startups and larger businesses
  • Allows end-users to customize templates within your own application via workspace features

Recommended for

  • SaaS companies needing to embed document generation into their platforms
  • Developers automating invoices, receipts, and financial reports
  • Businesses requiring personalized, data-driven PDF documents at scale
  • Startups looking for an affordable alternative to building PDF generation in-house
  • Teams wanting to give non-technical users control over document templates

Overall verdict

  • Overall, HEY is generally regarded as a positive option for those seeking a fresh take on email management with strong privacy features. However, it may not be ideal for everyone, as it requires a subscription fee and may lack some of the advanced features offered by more established email services.

Why this product is good

  • HEY is considered good due to its emphasis on privacy, simplicity, and unique approaches to email management. The platform offers features such as the Screener, which helps filter emails from new senders; Focus & Reply, which simplifies the inbox by delaying some emails; and attachment management systems that improve overall user experience. Furthermore, HEY takes a strong stance against ad tracking and prioritizes user privacy.

Recommended for

  • Individuals who prioritize privacy and are concerned about ad tracking.
  • Users who prefer a minimalistic and streamlined email interface.
  • Those who are willing to pay a subscription fee for enhanced privacy and unique features.
  • People looking for a new way to manage their emails and are open to adapting to a different email organization system.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

PDF Generator API 2 videos + Add
HEY 5 videos + Add

PDF Generator API Introduction and Product demo

More videos

  • - PDF Generator API | HTML to PDF Platform - eDocAPI The easiest way to generate PDF Documents

Hey Review: Why this $99 per year email is Superhuman's Most Exciting Challenger | Keep Productive

More videos

  • - All You Need to Know About Hey.com
  • - HEY Email Review (and Full Tour)!
  • - HEY.com changed the way I email…
  • - Why are Hey Dudes suddenly everywhere?

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
PDF Generator API
HEY
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing PDF Generator API and HEY.

What makes your product unique?

PDF Generator API's answer

Easily generate PDF documents from pre-defined PDF templates with JSON data. Enable your users to create PDFs and manage their document templates using a browser-based drag-and-drop PDF editor to reduce development and support costs.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

PDF Generator API's answer

From small to large companies we can provide cloud infrastructure for PDF creation and multiple other PDF services. We also provide dedicated and on-prem infrastructure for Enterprises worldwide.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

PDF Generator API's answer

It seems the PDF customization and generation tools market is quite abundant and there are many companies battling it out for the attention of customers. However, we also see that PDF Generator API has some features that are unmatched by any of the other platforms. Among other features, we are the only ones that offer our clients support video calls and last, but not least – we are by far the most cost competitive platform among the whole bunch.

You can see comparison of all functionalities in our section here: https://pdfgeneratorapi.com/comparison

What's the story behind your product?

PDF Generator API's answer

Our HQ is in Estonia. We provide PDF creation for hundreds of client for more than 10 years. We are part of PDF Association and ISO Certified subject, which highlight our commitment to the highest security standards.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

PDF Generator API's answer

Bigbank, DFDS, Veeqo.

User comments

Share your experience with using PDF Generator API and HEY. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

PDF Generator API 5.0 · 1 review
HEY no reviews yet
  • Easy, just do the things we need
    SaaSHub review
    · Oct 2025

    We did integration with PDF API and it is working as expected, we use forms to collect the data as well. Automated the invoice creation with their API. Great editor, btw.

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

PDF Generator API 0 mentions
HEY 24 mentions

Tracking PDF Generator API since May 2025.

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    Seven gems to manage background jobs. The team looked at what they were running and said "this can't be right." That became the brief for Solid Queue. Rosa got picked for the project, built it in production at Hey first, iterated on it... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
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    Basecamp: After using clouds from both Amazon and Google extensively over the past 15 years, we finally had enough of the outrageous bills and the ever-increasing complexity. So in 2023, we pulled Basecamp, HEY, and five other heritage... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
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    Attending the latest edition of Rails World and watching the talk by DHH made me realize that generating views on the backend with Rails was no longer synonymous with slow, ugly interfaces that do not care about UX. With Hotwire, through... - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago

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