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PDFGate vs Api2Pdf
Plans with forms, e-signatures, and rendering control vs a low-cost, pay-per-use conversion toolkit.
Last reviewed: October 3, 2026
Forms and e-signatures
PDFGate turns HTML inputs into fillable PDF fields and sends documents for e-signature from the same API. Api2Pdf does not list either feature.
More control over rendering
PDFGate can inject CSS and JavaScript, click through cookie banners, sign in with basic authentication, and wait up to 15 minutes for a page to load. Api2Pdf requests are limited to 90 seconds.
Predictable plans and storage
PDFGate's plans include a fixed number of conversions and store files for up to 2 years. Api2Pdf bills compute time and bandwidth for each request and deletes files after 24 hours.
Which one should you choose?
PDFGate's HTML to PDF API and Api2Pdf both render HTML and URLs with headless Chrome. Api2Pdf is a pay-per-use toolkit that also converts Office documents, Markdown, and images, and charges for compute time and bandwidth. PDFGate offers monthly plans and adds more rendering control, fillable forms, PDF processing, and e-signatures.
Choose PDFGate if
- You need fillable PDF form fields generated from HTML.
- You want to send documents for e-signature from the same API and account.
- You need to compress, flatten, or extract form data from PDFs.
- You convert third-party URLs and need to click through cookie banners or pop-ups.
- You need to inject CSS or JavaScript, or render pages that take longer than 90 seconds.
- You prefer a fixed monthly price and want generated files stored for you.
Choose Api2Pdf if
- You want the lowest cost and only pay for what you use.
- You need to convert Office documents to PDF, or HTML to Word or Excel.
- You need to merge PDFs, extract pages, or extract content from PDFs as JSON, Markdown, or HTML.
- You also convert Markdown, generate images, or create barcodes and QR codes.
- You need high volumes without rate limits.
- You want files deleted after 24 hours or uploaded straight to your own storage.
Comparing more options? See our roundup of the Best HTML to PDF APIs in 2026, where we compare more tools side by side.
Same Chrome engine, different toolkits
Both APIs render HTML and URLs with headless Chrome, so pages built with JavaScript frameworks and chart libraries convert the same way. Api2Pdf also offers wkhtmltopdf and LibreOffice, which PDFGate does not.
Both can wait for a CSS selector, for the network to go idle, or for a fixed delay before capturing the page. PDFGate adds options that Api2Pdf does not list: injecting CSS and JavaScript, clicking through cookie banners, and basic authentication.
The bigger differences are around the conversion. Api2Pdf is a broad, low-cost toolkit for converting between formats. PDFGate focuses on the PDF workflow: forms, processing existing PDFs, and collecting e-signatures.
Feature comparison
"Not listed" means we did not find the feature on Api2Pdf's website when we reviewed it. For everything PDFGate offers, see the HTML to PDF API page.
HTML to PDF rendering
| Feature | PDFGate | Api2Pdf |
|---|---|---|
| Rendering engine | Chrome | Chrome, plus wkhtmltopdf and LibreOffice |
| Convert a URL or raw HTML | Both | Both, plus Markdown and Office documents |
| Wait for dynamic content | CSS selector, network idle, or delay | CSS selector, network idle, JavaScript function, or delay |
| Inject CSS and JavaScript | Yes | Not listed |
| Headers, footers, and page numbers | Header and footer templates | Header and footer templates |
| Click through cookie banners and pop-ups | Click selectors and selector chains | Not listed |
| Pages behind authentication | Basic authentication and custom HTTP headers | Custom HTTP headers |
| Fillable PDF form fields | From HTML inputs, including signature fields | Not listed |
| Tagged PDFs and bookmarks | Tagged PDFs by default; no bookmarks | Tagged and outline options |
| Image output | PDF only | Images from URLs, HTML, and Markdown |
Beyond generation
| Feature | PDFGate | Api2Pdf |
|---|---|---|
| E-signatures | Envelopes, recipients, and audit trail | Not listed |
| Password protection | Protect PDF endpoint, with permissions | Password endpoint |
| Watermarks | Watermark PDF endpoint, text or image | Text watermarks |
| Compress and flatten PDFs | Compress and flatten endpoints | Not listed |
| Extract form data from PDFs | Extract form data endpoint | Not listed |
| Merge PDFs and extract pages | Not offered | Yes |
| Office documents to PDF | Not offered | LibreOffice endpoints |
| Extract PDF content as JSON, Markdown, or HTML | Not offered | Yes |
Platform and developer experience
| Feature | PDFGate | Api2Pdf |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum processing time | Page load timeout up to 15 minutes | 90 seconds per request |
| Asynchronous generation with webhooks | Synchronous requests | Not listed |
| Rate limits | 3, 5, and 10 parallel conversions on the first three plans | No rate limits |
| Document storage | Stored up to 2 years, with pre-signed URLs | Deleted after 24 hours, or uploaded to your storage |
| Free testing | Sandbox environment and API keys, watermarked output | One month of free credit for new accounts |
| SDKs | Node.js, Python, PHP, Java, C# | Node.js, Python, PHP, Java, C# |
| No-code integrations | Zapier, Pabbly Connect, Integrately, viaSocket | Not listed |
| MCP server for AI agents | Yes | Yes |
Trust and compliance
| Feature | PDFGate | Api2Pdf |
|---|---|---|
| Uptime | 99.9% uptime target | Not listed |
| Compliance | GDPR, with a Data Processing Agreement | Not listed |
| Hosting | AWS in the EU (Frankfurt) | Google Cloud Run; region not listed |
Pricing
Api2Pdf has no plans: it charges $1 per month plus $0.001 per MB of bandwidth and $0.00019551 per second of compute. The Api2Pdf column estimates the monthly cost at the volumes of PDFGate's first three plans, using Api2Pdf's own example of a typical PDF: 0.1 MB and 2 seconds. Cost per document is calculated by us.
PDFGate
| Plan | Price / month | Documents / month | Cost per document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $9 | 500 | $0.018 |
| Starter | $20 | 3,000 | $0.0067 |
| Basic | $50 | 10,000 | $0.005 |
Api2Pdf
| Plan | Price / month | Documents / month | Cost per document |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 PDFs (estimate) | $1.25 | 500 | $0.0025 |
| 3,000 PDFs (estimate) | $2.47 | 3,000 | $0.0008 |
| 10,000 PDFs (estimate) | $5.91 | 10,000 | $0.0006 |
- Api2Pdf costs change with each document: larger files and pages that take longer to render cost more.
- PDFGate's price is fixed for the included conversions, regardless of file size or rendering time. Overage is $0.05 per conversion on Personal and $0.02 on Starter and Basic.
- Api2Pdf gives new accounts one month of free credit. PDFGate has no free plan; every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
- PDFGate counts conversions across all PDF endpoints, including generation, compression, and watermarking. Failed requests and sandbox requests are not counted.
Migrating from Api2Pdf to PDFGate
Both APIs accept a JSON POST request and use Chrome's PDF options, so most fields map directly.
| Api2Pdf | PDFGate |
|---|---|
POST https://v2.api2pdf.com/chrome/pdf/url or /chrome/pdf/html | POST https://api.pdfgate.com/generate/pdf |
Authorization: YOUR_API2PDF_KEY | Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY |
url | url |
html | html |
options.landscape: true | orientation: "landscape" |
options.width and options.height | width and height in pixels, or pageSizeType |
options.marginTop, marginBottom, marginLeft, marginRight | margin.top, margin.bottom, margin.left, margin.right |
options.scale | scale |
options.pageRanges | pageRanges |
options.printBackground | printBackground |
options.usePrintCss: true | emulateMediaType: "print" |
options.headerTemplate and footerTemplate | header and footer, with margin.top and margin.bottom |
options.puppeteerWaitForMethod: WaitForSelector | waitForSelector |
options.puppeteerWaitForValue: networkidle0 | waitForNetworkIdle: true |
options.delay | delay |
extraHTTPHeaders | httpHeaders |
FileUrl in the JSON response | jsonResponse: true returns fileUrl |
/pdfsharp/password | Protect PDF endpoint |
/pdfsharp/watermark | Watermark PDF endpoint |
- Api2Pdf returns JSON with a link to the file by default. PDFGate returns the PDF itself; set jsonResponse to true to receive a download URL instead.
- If you don't set a page size, PDFGate uses Ledger. Set pageSizeType to a4 or letter, or set width and height in pixels.
- Watermarks and password protection are separate PDFGate endpoints that you call with the generated PDF. Each call counts as a conversion.
- PDFGate does not convert Office documents or merge PDFs, so keep another tool for those tasks.
Api2Pdf request
1curl -X POST https://v2.api2pdf.com/chrome/pdf/url \2 -H "Authorization: YOUR_API2PDF_API_KEY" \3 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \4 -d '{5 "url": "https://example.com/invoice/42",6 "options": { "usePrintCss": true }7 }'PDFGate request
1curl -X POST https://api.pdfgate.com/generate/pdf \2 -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \3 -H "Content-Type: application/json" \4 -d '{5 "url": "https://example.com/invoice/42",6 "pageSizeType": "a4",7 "emulateMediaType": "print"8 }' \9 -o output.pdfInformation about Api2Pdf comes from its public website and was last reviewed on October 3, 2026. Features and prices may have changed since then.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you need fillable PDF forms, e-signatures, PDF processing, or more control over rendering, such as injecting CSS and JavaScript or clicking through cookie banners. If you mainly need low-cost conversion between formats, including Office documents, Api2Pdf is the better fit.
Api2Pdf is usually cheaper. Using its own example of a typical PDF (0.1 MB and 2 seconds), 500, 3,000, and 10,000 PDFs cost about $1.25, $2.47, and $5.91 per month, compared with $9, $20, and $50 on PDFGate. Api2Pdf's cost grows with file size and rendering time, while PDFGate's plans have a fixed price.
Yes, both render HTML and URLs with headless Chrome. Api2Pdf also offers wkhtmltopdf and LibreOffice for other conversions.
Api2Pdf deletes files after 24 hours, or uploads them to your own storage. PDFGate stores generated PDFs according to your retention settings, for up to 2 years.
Move the fields from the options object to the top level of the request, as shown in the migration table, and switch to a Bearer token. PDFGate returns the PDF file by default, so set jsonResponse to true if your code expects a download URL.
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