How do I generate a PDF from HTML in Laravel?

Install the PHP SDK via Composer: composer require html-to-pdf-api/php-sdk. Then call HtmlToPdf::fromHtml($html)->save('invoice.pdf'). One line. No headless browser required.

Does the HTML to PDF API work without a framework?

Yes. Any language that can make an HTTP POST request works — plain PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, curl. Send JSON with your HTML or URL, receive a PDF back.

Is there a free tier?

Yes. The free plan includes 100 PDF conversions per month with no credit card required. Paid plans start at $29/month for higher volume.

What is a good alternative to wkhtmltopdf or Puppeteer?

HTML to PDF API is a hosted REST API alternative. No binary to install, no server dependencies, no headless browser process to manage. Call the API and get a PDF — that's it.

Best HTML to PDF APIs in 2026 (Free Tiers Compared)

The HTML-to-PDF API market has grown significantly as teams move away from self-hosted binaries. Here's an honest comparison of the major options available in 2026 — focused on what developers actually care about: integration simplicity, rendering quality, free tier limits, and pricing.

What to Look for in a PDF API

Rendering quality — does it handle modern CSS (Grid, flexbox, custom fonts)? Test with your actual templates, not a Hello World.

Integration simplicity — is there an SDK for your language? How many lines does a basic integration take?

Free tier — enough to develop and test without a credit card.

Pricing — predictable per-conversion pricing or tiered plans.

Reliability — uptime SLA, response time guarantees.

Security — does rendered HTML leave your region? Any data retention?

HTML to PDF API (htmltopdfapi.co)

Full disclosure: this is our service. We've built it specifically for developer ergonomics — clean REST API, first-class PHP/Laravel SDK, and documentation that shows you working code in the language you're actually using.

Free tier: 100 conversions/month, no credit card. Pro: $29/month. Both HTML and URL conversion supported.

Strongest for: PHP, Laravel, any language via REST. Fastest integration path for Laravel shops.

3-line Laravel integrationphp

$client = new \HtmlToPdfApi\Client(config('services.htmltopdfapi.key'));
$pdf    = $client->fromHtml($html)->paperSize('a4')->generate();
// done — $pdf contains the PDF bytes

Gotenberg

Gotenberg is an open-source self-hosted PDF API built on top of Chromium and LibreOffice. It's free if you host it yourself. The trade-off: you manage the container, scaling, updates, and uptime. Good option if you have strict data-residency requirements and the ops capacity to run it.

pdfshift.io / html2pdf.app

Several SaaS PDF APIs offer similar REST interfaces. Most have free tiers in the 25–100 conversion/month range and paid plans starting at $9–$29/month. Differentiation is mainly on advanced features (watermarks, password protection, batch processing) and regional data handling.

Recommendation

If you're building with PHP or Laravel, start with HTML to PDF API — the PHP SDK and Laravel documentation mean you'll be generating PDFs in under 10 minutes.

If you're self-hosting and have strict compliance requirements, evaluate Gotenberg.

For any other stack (Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go), any REST-based API works equally well. Pick based on free tier limits and pricing that fits your volume.

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