PDFPipe is an HTML-to-PDF API. You send a POST request to https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf with a JSON body containing an HTML string or a URL, and receive an application/pdf file in the response. It handles browser rendering in a managed cloud environment, so you do not need to install or maintain any PDF software on your servers.

How do I use the PDFPipe API?

1. Sign up at pdfpipe.xyz to get an API key (format: pp_live_…). 2. POST to https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf with Authorization: Bearer pp_live_your_key and Content-Type: application/json. 3. Set the request body to {"html": " Hello "} or {"url": "https://example.com"} plus an optional "options" object for format, margins, etc. 4. The response body is the raw PDF file. Full reference at https://pdfpipe.xyz/docs.

What programming languages does PDFPipe support?

PDFPipe works with any language that can make an HTTP request. Official SDKs are available for Node.js (npm install pdfpipe-node) and Python (pip install pdfpipe-python). The API also works directly in Go, Java, PHP, Ruby, Rust, C#, Kotlin, Elixir, and others via standard HTTP clients. Framework-specific guides are available at https://pdfpipe.xyz/guides.

What PDF options are available?

Pass an "options" object in the request body. Key options: format (A4, A3, A5, Letter, Legal, Tabloid — default A4), landscape (true/false), margin (CSS length or object with top/bottom/left/right), print_background (true/false), scale (0.1 to 2.0), page_ranges (e.g. "1-3, 5"), header_html, footer_html, inject_css, wait_until (load, domcontentloaded, networkidle0, networkidle2), wait_ms, timeout_ms (1000 to 60000, default 30000), pdf_a (true/false for PDF/A-1b). Full reference at https://pdfpipe.xyz/docs#options.

How much does PDFPipe cost?

Hobby: free, 500 documents per month, no credit card required. Starter: $19/month, 3,000 documents. Growth: $49/month, 15,000 documents. Scale: $149/month, 50,000 documents. Enterprise: custom volume and SLA. Flat pricing: one document counts as one document with no credit conversion.

What is the PDFPipe API endpoint?

The main render endpoint is POST https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf. Additional endpoints: POST /v1/pdf/batch (batch rendering up to 100 items), POST /v1/pdf/merge (merge PDFs), GET /v1/me (check key and usage), GET /v1/documents (list stored PDFs), POST /v1/demo (playground, no key required). Full endpoint list at https://pdfpipe.xyz/docs#endpoints.

Can I not just run Puppeteer or wkhtmltopdf myself?

You can, but running a browser in production means managing memory limits, system font availability, concurrency queues, version pinning, and on-call incidents when it crashes. PDFPipe handles the rendering infrastructure so your team ships product code instead. The API also includes SSRF protection so untrusted HTML cannot reach internal services.

Does PDFPipe support AI agents via MCP?

Yes. Install pdfpipe-mcp-server (npm install pdfpipe-mcp-server), set PDFPIPE_API_KEY, and point any MCP-compatible agent at it. The pdfpipe_generate_pdf tool becomes available for the agent to generate PDFs in a single tool call. Details at https://pdfpipe.xyz/mcp.

PDFPipe

Comparison

An Apryse alternative for server-side HTML-to-PDF

Apryse (formerly PDFTron) is a comprehensive document SDK for viewing, annotating, and editing PDFs inside desktop and web applications. If your goal is to generate PDFs from HTML on the server, you are reaching for the wrong tool: Apryse is primarily an embedded viewer and editor, not a conversion API. PDFPipe does exactly one thing, a POST request with HTML in, a PDF out, with a free tier you can ship on today.

How they compare

	PDFPipe	Apryse (PDFTron)
Primary use case	Server-side HTML to PDF conversion	PDF viewer, annotator, and editor SDK
Input model	POST HTML or a URL, receive a PDF	Embed SDK in your app; load and manipulate documents
License model	Flat monthly subscription per document tier	Commercial SDK license, enterprise pricing
Free tier	500 documents a month, no card required	No free tier; commercial license required
Self-hosting required	No, fully managed API	SDK runs inside your app or server
Batch generation	Batch endpoint for parallel document runs	Not a primary feature
AI agent tools	First-class MCP server	None
Integration complexity	One REST call, any language	SDK installation, license key, platform-specific setup

One call from Node.js

No SDK to install, no license key to provision. Pass your HTML and get back a PDF buffer.

import fs from "fs";

const response = await fetch("https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer pp_live_your_key",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    html: "<h1>Invoice #1042</h1><p>Due: 2026-07-01</p>",
    options: { format: "A4", margin: { top: "20mm", bottom: "20mm" } },
  }),
});

const pdf = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());
fs.writeFileSync("invoice.pdf", pdf);

When Apryse is the right choice

Apryse is the right tool when you need PDF viewing, annotation, form filling, or digital signature workflows embedded inside a desktop or web application. Those are viewer and editor features that PDFPipe does not cover. If your product needs users to open, mark up, sign, or fill out a PDF interactively inside your UI, Apryse is purpose-built for that. PDFPipe is purpose-built for the other side: taking HTML and CSS and producing a pixel-accurate PDF on the server, programmatically, at scale.

Try PDFPipe on the live playground with no signup, then read the docs.

See pricing →