Both Puppeteer and Playwright can save a webpage as a PDF. Their PDF APIs render the page using print CSS by default; if you want screen styling instead, emulate the screen media type before generating the PDF. Choose between them mainly by the browser engines and automation needs of your project—not by an assumed speed or fidelity advantage. A PDF is a rendered representation, not by itself a complete, replayable archive of a website.
What these PDF files do—and do not—preserve
Both libraries turn a browser page into a PDF. That is useful for a readable snapshot or document, but the reviewed API documentation does not promise that the PDF also preserves the original HTML, every linked asset, response headers, metadata, or the conditions needed to replay the browsing session. If “archive” means more than a printable rendering, write down the preservation requirements separately and test that your output meets them.
Puppeteer vs. Playwright at a glance
| Decision | Puppeteer | Playwright |
|---|---|---|
| Default PDF media | Print CSS media | Print CSS media |
| Use screen styling | Emulate screen media before calling page.pdf(). |
Call page.emulateMedia({ media: 'screen' }) before page.pdf(). |
| Save to disk | The guide demonstrates page.pdf({ path: 'hn.pdf' }); the API returns a Uint8Array. |
Pass path to save a file. Without it, the PDF is returned as a buffer and is not saved to disk. |
| Browser options documented here | The reviewed PDF material establishes the PDF workflow, not a complete browser-engine comparison. | Playwright documents Chromium, WebKit, Firefox, and branded Chrome and Edge channels. That breadth may matter when your project needs non-Chromium automation. |
| Speed or PDF fidelity winner | Not established by the reviewed official documentation; no comparative benchmark is available here. | |
The Playwright API documentation describes more PDF layout controls, including paper size or dimensions, margins, CSS page sizing, backgrounds, scale, and page ranges. That difference in documentation detail is not evidence that Puppeteer lacks equivalent controls. Check the current option reference for the library and version you use before relying on a specific setting.
Save a webpage as a PDF with Puppeteer
This CommonJS example launches a browser, opens a page, waits for navigation to reach the load event, writes a PDF, and closes the browser even if capture fails. Install Puppeteer in your project with npm install puppeteer, then save as save-pdf.cjs and run node save-pdf.cjs.
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const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');
(async () => {
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'load' });
await page.pdf({ path: 'page.pdf' });
} finally {
await browser.close();
}
})().catch((error) => {
console.error(error);
process.exitCode = 1;
});Puppeteer’s PDF guide says PDF generation waits for fonts to load by default. Navigation waiting and PDF generation are separate concerns: choose an appropriate navigation condition for the site, and verify that content loaded after the initial page load is present in the resulting file.
Capture screen-styled output instead
PDF generation uses print media by default. To request screen CSS, emulate that media before generating the PDF:
await page.emulateMediaType('screen');
await page.pdf({ path: 'page.pdf' });Save a webpage as a PDF with Playwright
Install Playwright with npm install playwright. Install the browser binaries required by your setup as directed by the Playwright installation documentation. This runnable CommonJS example saves a file and closes the browser reliably:
const { chromium } = require('playwright');
(async () => {
const browser = await chromium.launch();
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'load' });
await page.pdf({ path: 'page.pdf' });
} finally {
await browser.close();
}
})().catch((error) => {
console.error(error);
process.exitCode = 1;
});To render with screen media rather than the default print media, set it before calling page.pdf():
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await page.emulateMedia({ media: 'screen' });
await page.pdf({ path: 'page.pdf' });Playwright’s PDF API accepts a path and also returns PDF bytes. If you omit the path, handle the returned buffer yourself; the API does not save it to disk automatically.
Choose the rendering and page layout deliberately
Print versus screen media
Print and screen CSS can produce different layouts because a site may define different rules for each media type. Use the default print rendering for document-like output; explicitly emulate screen media when the screen stylesheet is the desired result. Inspect the PDF rather than assuming the two modes are interchangeable.
Colors and backgrounds
Print rendering may alter colors. When exact color treatment matters, use CSS -webkit-print-color-adjust as appropriate for the page, and check the output in the browser engine you will use. Playwright documents a printBackground PDF option for background graphics; set it deliberately when backgrounds matter rather than assuming they will appear.
Paper size, margins, scaling, and ranges
Playwright documents paper formats or explicit dimensions, margins, CSS @page sizing, scaling, and page ranges. These are useful when output must fit a target document size, omit pages, or follow styles embedded in the page. Verify the current Puppeteer API reference for equivalent option names and behavior if you need a feature-by-feature match; the concise Puppeteer guide reviewed here does not establish parity or a difference.
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Which library should you choose?
- Choose Puppeteer when its browser automation fits your project and a direct navigate-and-save PDF workflow is what you need.
- Choose Playwright when the project benefits from its documented browser choices—including Chromium, WebKit, Firefox, and branded Chrome or Edge channels—or you want its documented PDF layout controls.
- Do not choose on an unverified speed or fidelity claim. The official material reviewed does not establish that either library is faster or creates more faithful PDFs. Test representative pages in your own target browser and deployment environment.
Playwright’s engine breadth does not establish that PDFs will look identical across engines. If output consistency matters, pin the browser environment you use and compare actual documents from representative pages.
Troubleshooting PDF capture
The PDF looks like a print layout, not the webpage
Cause: PDF generation defaults to print CSS media. Fix: emulate screen media before calling page.pdf() if screen styling is required.
Colors or background graphics are missing or changed
Cause: print output can modify colors, and background graphics may require an explicit PDF option. Fix: use -webkit-print-color-adjust where appropriate, enable Playwright’s printBackground when needed, and inspect the produced PDF.
The PDF is not present at the expected path
Cause: in Playwright, omitting path returns PDF bytes rather than writing a file. Fix: pass a path or write the returned buffer yourself. In either library, check that the process has permission to write to the chosen location.
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Content or fonts appear incomplete
Cause: the page may not have finished rendering the content you need when capture begins. Fix: choose a navigation wait condition suitable for the site, wait for the relevant content when necessary, and inspect the output. Puppeteer’s guide notes that Page.pdf() waits for fonts by default; this does not guarantee that every site-specific asynchronous update has completed.
Output differs between browser engines
Cause: supported browser choices do not imply identical PDF rendering. Fix: select the engine required by the project, test your target pages in that engine, and keep the capture environment consistent when repeatability matters.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does either library create a complete website archive?
No such completeness is established by the PDF API documentation. Treat the result as a rendered PDF, and define and test any additional preservation requirements separately.
Can Playwright generate PDFs with WebKit or Firefox?
Playwright documents support for Chromium, WebKit, and Firefox, but the material reviewed does not establish cross-engine PDF parity. Test the engine you plan to use.
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