Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

SmartDocuments VS PDF Generator API

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

SmartDocuments logo SmartDocuments

Document creation & automation solution

PDF Generator API logo PDF Generator API

Generate PDF documents from templates and JSON data. Enable your users to create PDFs and manage document templates using a browser-based drag-and-drop editor!
  • SmartDocuments Homepage
    Homepage //
    2024-07-31
  • SmartDocuments Questionnaire screen document generation
    Questionnaire screen document generation //
    2024-07-31
  • SmartDocuments Smart Template Builder
    Smart Template Builder //
    2024-07-31

SmartControl gives you access to the created templates in one single management environment. In this environment, rights are granted to authorized employees and regulating who has access to which document is easy. With SmartControl, you create various integrations and stay in control of the creation and quality of all your outgoing documents.

In the SmartEditor, your template managers create the document templates. This environment also determines which data can be entered via the Q&A screen later. Think of an address, the (current) date, a salutation, or even whole paragraphs. You create the questions in the editor and drag and drop them into the document template, meaning no technical knowledge is required. The SmartEditor also applies your corporate identity, which can only be changed by assigned administrators.

  • PDF Generator API
    Image date //
    2025-06-02
  • PDF Generator API
    Image date //
    2025-07-02
  • PDF Generator API
    Image date //
    2025-07-02
  • PDF Generator API
    Image date //
    2025-07-02
  • PDF Generator API
    Image date //
    2025-07-02
  • PDF Generator API
    Image date //
    2025-07-02

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.

SmartDocuments

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
paid โ‚ฌ5000.0 / Annually
Platforms
SAP Microsoft Teams
Release Date
-

PDF Generator API

$ Details
paid Free Trial $29.0 / Monthly
Platforms
-
Release Date
2012 January

SmartDocuments features and specs

  • High Volume
    Massive batch document creation in short time
  • Building blocks
    With a building block, you can easily reuse recurring information in other templates
  • Alternatives
    Option to place different pieces of text in different places in the document based on one choice.
  • Version management
    Remembers all template versions, including comments about the changes. Previous versions can easily be reinstated
  • Active Directory
    Synchronize accounts from your AD with SmartDocuments. Simplifying user administration by doing it from one location.
  • Rights
    Easily assign user rights to both users and administrators.
  • Languages
    The SmartWizard is available in the following languages: NL, DE, SE, EN, ES, FR, HU, and CZ.
  • Preview
    A real-time example of the document during drafting.
  • Email plugin
    Quickly send emails based on templates.
  • Co-authoring
    Does a document need to be checked or signed by colleagues? The co-authoring functionality can facilitate this.
  • Concept storage
    Did something come up during the creation of a document? Temporarily store it to continue later safely.
  • Accessible WCAG compliant documents
    Perceivable | Operable | Understandable | Robust
  • Redact
    Redact personal data in documents

PDF Generator API features and specs

  • 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.

Analysis of PDF Generator API

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

SmartDocuments videos

SmartDocuments | Document Automation Software Solution

More videos:

  • Review - SmartDocuments introduction

PDF Generator API videos

PDF Generator API Introduction and Product demo

More videos:

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SmartDocuments and PDF Generator API)
Document Automation
32 32%
68% 68
PDF Creator
0 0%
100% 100
Document Management
44 44%
56% 56
PDF Tools
31 31%
69% 69

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing SmartDocuments and PDF Generator API.

What makes your product unique?

SmartDocuments's answer

30+ years helping large organizations have brought us a wealth of knowledge and expertise we bring towards every project we do. Our software has been updated with this knowledge, being able to handle complex document templates but also high volumes in short time. Stability of software is one core pillars as hundreds of thousand people rely on our software on a daily basis.

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.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

SmartDocuments's answer

We bring Experience how to efficiently create documents from large organsations from over the globe with high security standards and high demands. We have sharpened our tool and reimagined how to build documents more efficiently.

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 โ€“ 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?

SmartDocuments's answer

โ€œWhy make things more difficult than they need to be?โ€ It was with this attitude that Marco Drost started SmartDocuments in 1994. Convinced that document automation results in greater efficiency, he worked hard to build smart software solutions. Our goal is to provide organizations with simple and flexible software that enables them to create documents and manage templates with minimal effort, using trusted programs, working smarter, faster, and completely compliant with their corporate identity.

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?

SmartDocuments's answer

  • Wolters Kluwer
  • Philips

PDF Generator API's answer:

Bigbank, DFDS, Veeqo.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

SmartDocuments's answer

Working for large organizations that are document heavy users

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.

User comments

Share your experience with using SmartDocuments and PDF Generator API. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare SmartDocuments and PDF Generator API

SmartDocuments Reviews

We have no reviews of SmartDocuments yet.
Be the first one to post

PDF Generator API Reviews

  1. Rucicky Zlate
    ยท Manager at Rucicky ยท
    Easy, just do the things we need

    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.

    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Easy integration|Api integration|Template editor

What are some alternatives?

When comparing SmartDocuments and PDF Generator API, you can also consider the following products

Templafy - Document assembly & management software

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

Documentero - Turn your documents into templates that can generate .docx or .pdf documents using shareable forms or API

CraftMyPDF - Auto-generate PDFs with a drag&drop editor and a simple API

Conga Document Generation - Every document has big potential to help push your business forward. Unleash that potential with Conga's engaging documents capabilities and see how easy it can be to build, manage, and work on documents anywhere business takes you.

APITemplate.io - APITemplate.io allows you to auto-generate social images and PDF documents with a simple API or automation tools like Zapier & Airtable. No CSS/HTML required.