# APITemplate.io alternative: html-pdf.com

APITemplate.io alternative that renders your own HTML or any URL, billed per page with prepaid credits that never expire. No monthly plan.

**Quick answer.** Send your finished HTML to `POST https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf` and the PDF comes back in the response. There's no template to create first, and you buy pages once instead of a monthly quota.

```bash
curl -X POST https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HTML_PDF_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"html": "<h1>Certificate</h1><p>Awarded to Ada Lovelace</p>", "landscape": true}' \
  -o certificate.pdf
```

APITemplate.io is template-first. You build a template in its editor and send JSON data to fill it, and it also makes images from the same templates. html-pdf.com is HTML-first and PDF-only.

## APITemplate.io vs html-pdf.com at a glance

This table shows the main differences side by side.

| | APITemplate.io | html-pdf.com |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Template ID + JSON data | Final HTML, or a public URL |
| Templates | Editor in their dashboard | Your own HTML and CSS, plus [12 free templates](https://html-pdf.com/templates) |
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription with a quota | One-time credit packs, no subscription |
| Billing unit | Per document | Per PDF page |
| Free tier | 50 PDFs or images per month, 3 templates | 100 pages once, after email confirmation |
| Entry price | $24/month for 3,000 PDFs | $10 once for 1,000 pages |
| Image generation | Yes | No, PDF only |
| MCP for AI agents | No remote MCP server found | Remote MCP server at `https://html-pdf.com/mcp`, OAuth login |

*Prices checked October 2026 on [APITemplate.io's pricing page](https://apitemplate.io/pricing/). PDF plans: Free (50/month), PDF Basic $24 (3,000), Standard $89 (12,000), PDF Enterprise $179 (25,000). Image and PDF plans start at $35 for 1,500. The page doesn't say whether unused quota carries over.*

## How the prices compare

Both models make sense for different volumes. APITemplate.io's PDF Basic plan is $24 a month for up to 3,000 documents, which is cheap per document if you use most of it every month.

html-pdf.com sells 3,000 pages for $25, once. If you use 3,000 pages a month, every month, the two cost about the same for one-page documents. If you use 300 a month, a $25 pack lasts ten months instead of being billed ten times.

Long documents favor per-document billing. Short documents and uneven volume favor prepaid pages.

## When APITemplate.io is the better choice

APITemplate.io wins in these cases.

- **Non-developers edit the templates** in a visual editor.
- **You also need images** (social cards, banners) from the same templates.
- **Your PDFs are long** and you use most of your quota every month.

## When html-pdf.com is the better choice

html-pdf.com wins in these cases.

- **You already have HTML**, from your app, an n8n Code node or an AI agent. There's nothing to recreate in another editor.
- **Your volume is uneven.** Prepaid pages don't expire, so quiet months cost nothing.
- **AI agents make the documents.** Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code to `https://html-pdf.com/mcp` and ask for the PDF.
- **You want to convert web pages.** Send `{"url": "https://..."}` for any public page.
- **You'd rather not store documents.** HTML is never kept. PDFs are kept for 24 hours only when you ask for a link.

## Moving over

This section shows the switch in an automation tool. Where you mapped fields into an APITemplate.io template, build an HTML string instead, then call html-pdf.com.

1. Pick a starting layout from the [templates](https://html-pdf.com/templates), or ask an AI assistant to write one.
2. In n8n, a **Code** node fills the HTML with your data. In Make or Zapier, paste the HTML into the request body and map the fields inline.
3. An HTTP request posts `{"html": "...", "response": "url"}` to `https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf` with your key. The `url` in the response is a 24-hour download link for email or Drive steps.

Step-by-step: [n8n](https://html-pdf.com/guides/n8n) · [Make](https://html-pdf.com/guides/make) · [Zapier](https://html-pdf.com/guides/zapier) · [importable n8n workflows](https://html-pdf.com/n8n-html-to-pdf-workflow-template)

## Try it free

You get 100 free pages with an email, no card. [Get an API key](https://html-pdf.com/login) or try the [HTML to PDF converter](https://html-pdf.com/html-to-pdf-converter): enter your email, click the link we send you, and the first PDF downloads.

Related: [CraftMyPDF alternative](https://html-pdf.com/craftmypdf-alternative) · [PDFMonkey alternative](https://html-pdf.com/pdfmonkey-alternative) · [API docs](https://html-pdf.com/docs)

## FAQ

### What is a good alternative to APITemplate.io for PDFs?

html-pdf.com is an HTML to PDF API where you send your own HTML or a URL and get the PDF back in the same request. You pay per page with credits that never expire, instead of a monthly quota.

### Can html-pdf.com generate images like APITemplate.io?

No. html-pdf.com makes PDFs only. If you also need social images from templates, APITemplate.io covers both.

### Is html-pdf.com cheaper than APITemplate.io?

For one-page documents at low or uneven volume, usually yes, because a pack is bought once and doesn't expire. At a steady 3,000 documents a month, they cost about the same, and for long documents per-document billing is cheaper.

### Do I need to rebuild my templates?

You need the layout as HTML and CSS. Start from a free template or ask an AI assistant to recreate it, then fill it with the same data you already send.
