Comparison
CheapPDF vs PDFShift: which HTML to PDF API fits your project?
Both turn HTML into PDFs through an HTTP API. The short version: CheapPDF costs less and is simpler to start with, while PDFShift offers more features. This page shows where each one fits, using what each service publishes. We make CheapPDF, so we mark verified facts, our observations, and anything we could not confirm as unknown.
The short answer
Choose CheapPDF if you want…
- The lowest cost for small and medium volumes: $5 per month, against $9 for PDFShift’s entry plan
- A bigger free plan: 10 conversions per day (about 300 in a 30-day month), against 50 credits per month
- Plain HTML, URL or file to PDF with one endpoint and almost nothing to configure
- A free web converter for quick, no-account conversions
Choose PDFShift if you need…
- Image output (PNG, JPEG or WebP) as well as PDF
- Webhooks, or delivery straight to S3, Google Cloud Storage or R2
- Pages that need cookies or authentication, margins and header/footer options, or watermarking
- Published plans and overage pricing for very high volumes
Pricing and free plan
For most small and medium projects, the price difference is the biggest practical gap. Here is what each service publishes.
| CheapPDF | PDFShift | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 10 conversions per day (about 300 per 30-day month) | 50 credits per month |
| Entry paid plan | $5 per month, described as unlimited conversions | Starter: $9 per month for 500 credits |
| About 5,000 documents a month | Same $5 plan | Growth: $39 per month for 5,000 credits |
| About 25,000 documents a month | Same $5 plan, subject to the fair-use note below | Business: $99 per month for 25,000 credits |
| Very high volume | Not separately priced. Contact us | $149 per month (50,000 credits) up to $999 per month (1,000,000 credits), plus custom |
| What counts as usage | One conversion per request | One credit per document, counted per 5 MB of generated data |
| Overage | No overage fees stated on our pricing page | $0.04 down to $0.001 per extra credit, by plan |
| Stated limits (free) | 5 MB HTML upload | 15 MB file size, 30 second timeout |
| Stated limits (paid) | Timeout and size limits for paid plans are not published | Timeout up to 15 minutes; file size not stated |
Our observation, not a benchmark. At 500 documents a month, CheapPDF’s plan costs $5 and PDFShift’s equivalent costs $9. At 5,000 a month the gap is $5 against $39. The “unlimited” wording comes from our pricing page, and request rate limits are not published, so test very heavy, sustained use, or talk to us first. We have not benchmarked speed or output quality for either service.
Where CheapPDF is the better fit
Lower cost at small and medium volume
A flat $5 plan and a generous free tier keep side projects, early-stage products and internal tools inexpensive.
Simple to integrate
One form POST with apikey, fileorhtmlorurl and filename. Complete guides for PHP, Laravel, Node.js and Python.
Try it with no account
The web converter lets you test your own HTML before writing any code. We could not confirm an equivalent on PDFShift.
Three inputs in one field
Raw HTML, a public URL, or an uploaded .html file all go in the same request field, so switching input type needs no new endpoint.
Safe by default for URLs
Localhost, private networks and unusual ports are blocked before a page is requested.
Where PDFShift is the better fit
- More output formats. Its documentation lists PDF, PNG, JPEG and WebP. CheapPDF outputs PDF only.
- More delivery options. Webhooks and export to Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage and Cloudflare R2 are documented. CheapPDF returns the PDF in the API response and has neither.
- Protected pages and finishing options. Cookie and authentication support, margins, header/footer rendering, watermarking and PDF protection are listed in its docs. CheapPDF supports public pages only, and sets page size with width and height or CSS
@page. - Scale and testing. A sandbox mode, a long ladder of paid plans, and timeouts of up to 15 minutes on paid plans.
Feature comparison
| Feature | CheapPDF | PDFShift |
|---|---|---|
| Convert raw HTML to PDF | Yes | Yes (HTML conversion documented) |
| Convert a public URL | Yes | Unknown Not confirmed in the pages we reviewed |
| Upload an HTML file | Yes (.html, up to 5 MB) | Unknown |
| Free web converter | Yes HTML to PDF | Unknown |
| Other output formats (PNG, JPEG, WebP) | No PDF only | Yes PDF, PNG, JPEG, WEBP |
| Webhooks | No None documented | Yes Documented |
| Export to cloud storage (S3, Google, R2) | No None documented | Yes Documented |
| Sandbox / test mode | No None documented | Yes Documented |
| Watermark / PDF protection | No None documented | Yes Documented |
| Cookies / auth for protected pages | No Public pages only | Yes Documented |
| Margins and header/footer options | No No dedicated options. CSS @page sizing works | Yes Documented |
| Official SDKs | No None published | Unknown Not stated in the pages we reviewed |
| Published rate limits | No Not published | Unknown A rate-limit section exists; details not reviewed |
Which one for which job?
| Use case | Better fit on the facts above |
|---|---|
| A few hundred invoices or receipts a month | CheapPDF costs less at this volume. See invoice PDF generation. |
| Side project, prototype or internal tool | CheapPDF: bigger free tier and a flat low price. |
| Quick one-off conversions in a browser | CheapPDF has a free web converter. We could not confirm one for PDFShift. |
| Simple integration with minimal configuration | CheapPDF. See the HTML to PDF API and the language guides. |
| Generating images (PNG, JPEG, WebP) as well as PDFs | PDFShift. CheapPDF outputs PDF only. |
| Delivering files directly to S3, Google Cloud Storage or R2 | PDFShift documents this. CheapPDF does not offer it. |
| Pages that need cookies or authentication | PDFShift documents support. CheapPDF supports public pages only. |
| Very high volume with published overage pricing | PDFShift publishes plans up to 1,000,000 credits. Contact us if you need high volume on CheapPDF. |
Sources and last-verified date
PDFShift information was read from its public pages on 10 October 2026:
- PDFShift pricing: plans, credits, overage, free-plan limits, credit definition
- PDFShift documentation and its documentation index: output formats, storage, sandbox, webhooks, protected resources, watermarking
CheapPDF information comes from our own product behaviour and the pricing section. PDFShift is a trademark of its owner, and we are not affiliated with it. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
CheapPDF vs PDFShift FAQ
Is CheapPDF cheaper than PDFShift?
On the published prices, yes. CheapPDF's paid plan is $5 per month. PDFShift's entry paid plan is $9 per month for 500 credits, and its 5,000-credit plan is $39 per month (as of the last-verified date). Pricing models differ, so compare against your own volume.
Which has the bigger free plan?
CheapPDF's free plan allows 10 conversions per day, about 300 in a 30-day month. PDFShift's free tier includes 50 credits per month.
Does CheapPDF support webhooks, image output or cloud storage export?
No. CheapPDF outputs PDF only and returns it in the API response. PDFShift's documentation lists image formats, webhooks and export to cloud storage.
Can I switch from PDFShift to CheapPDF?
If you only send HTML or URLs and read the PDF from the response, migration is mainly changing the request format. If you rely on PDFShift-only features, such as other output formats, cookies or storage export, check what you would lose first.
Are these results benchmarks?
No. We did not benchmark speed or rendering quality. Facts are limited to what each service publishes, and our observations are labelled as such.
Test CheapPDF on your own HTML
The fastest comparison is your real template. Convert it in the browser, or create a free API key.
