PDFShift alternative: html-pdf.com

Q: How do I migrate from PDFShift?

Change the endpoint to https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf and rename source to html (or url for web pages). The X-API-Key header, format, landscape, margin and css work the same way.

PDFShift alternative with pay-as-you-go HTML to PDF credits that never expire, a remote MCP server, and a 5-minute migration.

Quick answer. html-pdf.com accepts the same X-API-Key header as PDFShift, so switching is mostly a URL change and renaming source to html. You pay 1 credit per page with no subscription, and you get 100 free credits to start.

curl -X POST https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HTML_PDF_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"html": "<h1>Invoice #42</h1>"}' \
  -o invoice.pdf

PDFShift is an established HTML to PDF API that is good at what it does. html-pdf.com covers the same core job (rendering HTML or a URL to PDF with headless Chromium) with a different pricing model and built-in support for AI agents. Here is how they compare, including the cases where PDFShift is the better fit.

PDFShift vs html-pdf.com at a glance

This table shows the main differences side by side.

	PDFShift	html-pdf.com
Pricing model	Monthly or annual subscription, with overage per credit	One-time credit packs, no subscription
Unused credits	Do not roll over; reset every month	Never expire
Free tier	50 credits per month	100 credits once your email is confirmed
Billing unit	1 credit per document, per 5 MB of output	1 credit per PDF page
Entry price	$9/month for 500 credits	$10 for 1,000 credits (pages), one time
MCP server for AI agents	No official server (a community-built one exists)	Official remote MCP server at `https://html-pdf.com/mcp`, nothing to install
URL to PDF	Yes	Yes (public pages)
Engine	Chromium	Headless Chromium (via Gotenberg)
Other outputs	PDF, PNG, JPEG, WEBP	PDF only
Storage delivery	Amazon S3 and Google Cloud Storage	24-hour download link (`"response": "url"`)

Prices checked October 2026 on pdfshift.io. PDFShift plans as of October 2026 are Free (50/month), Starter $9 (500), Boost $24 (2,500), Growth $39 (5,000), Business $99 (25,000), and larger "Shift" tiers up to 1,000,000 credits per month.

How the pricing models differ

The two services count usage differently, so compare them on your own documents.

PDFShift counts documents. One credit covers one conversion, up to 5 MB of output. A 30-page report that is 2 MB costs 1 credit.
html-pdf.com counts pages. That same 30-page report costs 30 credits. A one-page invoice costs 1 credit.

If you mostly generate short documents (invoices, receipts, tickets, certificates, one-pagers) in irregular volumes, prepaid credits that never expire avoid paying for a monthly quota you don't use. If you generate long documents at a steady high volume, PDFShift's per-document pricing on a monthly plan will usually cost less.

Our packs are $10 for 1,000 credits, $25 for 3,000, $50 for 7,000, $100 for 15,000 and $250 for 50,000. That works out to $0.01 down to $0.005 per page. See pricing.

When PDFShift is the better choice

Choose PDFShift in these cases.

You render long, multi-page documents at high monthly volume. Per-document billing beats per-page billing there.
You need images. PDFShift also outputs PNG, JPEG and WEBP. We only produce PDF.
You want async processing, webhooks or direct upload to your own S3 or Google Cloud Storage bucket.
You want a longer track record. PDFShift has been running for years, and html-pdf.com is newer.

When html-pdf.com is the better choice

Choose html-pdf.com in these cases.

Your volume is low or uneven. You buy credits once and they never expire.
AI agents generate your PDFs. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code and Codex can connect to the remote MCP server with a URL and a key. Log in once with OAuth from your AI client, or use a key.
You want predictable failure costs. Failed renders and max_pages overruns cost 0 credits.
You care about privacy. We don't store your HTML. A PDF is kept for 24 hours only when you ask for a download link.

Switching takes 5 minutes

Most PDFShift requests map one to one. We accept the same X-API-Key header, so often you only change the URL and rename source.

Before (PDFShift):

curl -X POST https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/convert/pdf \
  -H "X-API-Key: $PDFSHIFT_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"source": "<h1>Invoice #42</h1>", "format": "A4", "landscape": false,
       "margin": {"top": "15mm", "right": "15mm", "bottom": "15mm", "left": "15mm"}}' \
  -o invoice.pdf

After (html-pdf.com):

curl -X POST https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf \
  -H "X-API-Key: $HTML_PDF_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"html": "<h1>Invoice #42</h1>", "format": "A4", "landscape": false,
       "margin": {"top": "15mm", "right": "15mm", "bottom": "15mm", "left": "15mm"}}' \
  -o invoice.pdf

Parameter mapping

PDFShift	html-pdf.com
`source` (HTML string)	`html`
`source` (URL)	`url`
`format`	`format` (A3, A4, A5, A6, Letter, Legal, Tabloid) or `width`/`height`
`landscape`	`landscape`
`margin`	`margin`: one value like `"10mm"`, or `{top, right, bottom, left}`
`header.source` / `footer.source`	`header_html` / `footer_html`, with `pageNumber` and `totalPages` placeholders
`css`	`css`
`filename` / `s3_destination`	`"response": "url"` for a 24-hour link (no direct bucket upload)
`X-API-Key` header	`X-API-Key` or `Authorization: Bearer`

After the call, read X-Pages, X-Credits-Used and X-Credits-Remaining from the response headers. Errors come back as JSON with code, message and a hint. A 402 insufficient_credits error means it's time to top up.

Try it free

You can get a key in one request. Open the link we email you to confirm your address, which adds 100 free credits.

curl -X POST https://html-pdf.com/v1/signup -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"email": "you@example.com"}'

Or sign in at https://html-pdf.com/login.

Full reference: API docs · MCP server

FAQ

What is a good alternative to PDFShift?

html-pdf.com is an HTML to PDF API on headless Chromium with one-time credit packs instead of a subscription. Credits never expire, and there is an official remote MCP server for AI agents.

How do I migrate from PDFShift?

Change the endpoint to https://html-pdf.com/v1/pdf and rename source to html (or url for web pages). The X-API-Key header, format, landscape, margin and css work the same way.

Do PDFShift credits roll over?

No. PDFShift plan credits reset every month. html-pdf.com credits are bought once and never expire.

Is html-pdf.com cheaper than PDFShift?

For short documents or uneven volume, usually yes, at $0.01 to $0.005 per page with no monthly fee. For long documents at steady high volume, PDFShift's per-document pricing usually costs less.