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For a hosted HTML-to-PDF API with a published free monthly allowance, PDFShift is the clearest fit in the available vendor information: its pricing page lists up to 50 credits per month, with a 15 MB file-size maximum and a 30-second timeout on the free plan. Those limits matter: PDFShift counts one credit per 5 MB of generated PDF data. CloudConvert offers an unlimited sandbox for development and integration tests, but that is not evidence of free, unlimited production use. Browserless accepts a URL or raw HTML and returns a PDF, but its standard endpoint has a specific limitation for very long pages. The right choice depends on your input, layout needs, delivery workflow and actual output size—not just the word “free.”
Which free HTML-to-PDF API should you try?
Start with the kind of document you need to convert and where it lives. For a production workflow that needs a published monthly free allowance, PDFShift is the most directly documented option in the sources cited here. If you need Chrome-based rendering, synchronous or asynchronous jobs, or storage integrations, evaluate CloudConvert—but treat its sandbox as a development facility, not a free production plan. If you already use a hosted browser service and want Puppeteer-style PDF controls, Browserless accepts either a URL or HTML in its PDF API.
These are vendor-documented capabilities, not results from a controlled comparison. The cited pages do not establish which service is faster, more accurate, more reliable or more private. Test with your own pages and verify the live terms before building around a quota or price.
What “free” means for each service
| Service | What the cited vendor information says | What to check before relying on it |
|---|---|---|
| PDFShift | Its pricing page lists up to 50 free credits per month. One credit covers each 5 MB of generated PDF data. The free plan lists a 15 MB maximum file size and a 30-second timeout. The page also describes CSS and JavaScript injection, advanced headers and footers, encryption and watermark options. PDFShift pricing | Estimate credits using the size of the PDFs you actually generate. Confirm current limits and how output size is counted; the FAQ is at PDFShift’s FAQ. |
| CloudConvert | The HTML-to-PDF API page lists a starting price of $0.008 per file when converting. It documents Chrome-based rendering, URL and HTML-file inputs, sync or async jobs, selector waits, page options and storage integrations. CloudConvert HTML-to-PDF API | The separate sandbox allows unlimited jobs or tasks for whitelisted files and is intended for development and integration testing. It does not establish a free production quota. CloudConvert documentation |
| Browserless | Its token-authenticated POST /pdf API accepts a URL or raw HTML and returns application/pdf. Documented options include format, margins, landscape and print backgrounds. Browserless PDF API |
A token is required. The cited PDF API page does not establish pricing. Its standard REST endpoint cannot create a continuous, one-page PDF of an entire long webpage; Browserless points readers needing that behavior toward a custom-function approach. |
The figures above are vendor claims published on the cited pages as of September 29, 2026, not independently measured prices or allowances. Plan terms and documentation can change.
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Choose by input, rendering and delivery needs
Input: a URL, HTML content or an HTML file
Check that the API accepts the input you can provide. CloudConvert documents both URL and HTML-file input. Browserless accepts either a url or html request field. If you are converting a page that requires login, a local file, or data assembled by your application, verify how the provider expects that material to be supplied; the cited pages do not establish every provider’s handling of those cases.
Also distinguish converting HTML you control from printing a public webpage. A URL conversion depends on what the rendering service can load at request time, including the page’s scripts and linked assets. For an HTML file, confirm how external stylesheets, fonts, images and relative paths are resolved.
Rendering and page layout
CloudConvert says its pipeline uses Chrome and documents page options and waiting for a selector. Browserless exposes Puppeteer-style PDF options, including format, margins, landscape orientation and print backgrounds. PDFShift advertises CSS/JavaScript injection and header and footer controls. Match these controls to the document you need: for example, whether backgrounds should print, whether a page needs landscape orientation, and whether rendering must wait for content to appear.
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Sync, async and storage
If your application can wait for a PDF in the same request, a synchronous flow may be straightforward. For longer jobs or a queue-based workflow, CloudConvert documents both synchronous and asynchronous processing, along with storage integrations. The cited Browserless and PDFShift information does not establish equivalent job or storage details, so check their current API documentation before choosing them for that architecture.
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Long pages and continuous output
Decide whether you need normal paginated paper output or one exceptionally long PDF page. Browserless explicitly states: “The /pdf REST API doesn’t support creating a single long-page PDF file that captures an entire webpage as one page.” Its documentation points to a custom-function approach for readers who need that behavior. See the Browserless PDF API documentation.
Estimate whether a free allowance is enough
For PDFShift, use the free plan’s published accounting as a starting point: up to 50 credits monthly, one credit per 5 MB of generated PDF data, with a 15 MB maximum file size and 30-second timeout. A credit is not necessarily one conversion if output sizes vary. Before depending on the allowance, generate sample documents resembling your smallest, typical and largest outputs, record their sizes, and estimate monthly use from the results. Then confirm that the free plan’s limits still match the live pricing page.
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For CloudConvert, do not budget production volume on the basis of its unlimited sandbox. The documentation describes that sandbox as restricted to whitelisted files and intended for development and integration testing; the API page’s $0.008-per-file figure is a vendor-stated starting price, not a guaranteed quote for every job. For Browserless, the cited API information does not provide a price or free quota, so check its current plan terms directly before estimating cost.
A practical evaluation checklist
- Input: Confirm URL, raw HTML or HTML-file support for the way your application supplies content.
- Page behavior: Test JavaScript-generated content, fonts, images and any selector or delay your page needs before capture.
- Layout: Check page size, margins, landscape mode, print backgrounds, headers and footers against your output requirements.
- Length: Test both ordinary pagination and any need for a single continuous page; do not assume the standard endpoint supports both.
- Limits: Verify quota, file-size ceiling, timeout, authentication and any request limits on the current plan.
- Workflow: Decide whether you need an immediate response, async job processing or storage integration.
- Cost: Calculate from real generated PDF sizes and expected monthly volume rather than counting each request as equivalent.
- Quality: Compare sample output from your own HTML. The cited vendor pages are not a head-to-head test.
Common problems and what to check
The PDF is blank or missing part of the page
Check whether the source page has finished rendering before conversion and whether its scripts and linked assets can load. If content appears after a delay, test a provider’s documented wait or selector behavior where available. CloudConvert documents selector waits; do not assume the same control exists in another service without checking its documentation.
Some content is cut off or page breaks look wrong
Inspect the source CSS and the API’s page-layout options. Test the required paper size, margins, orientation and print-background behavior explicitly. A page that looks correct in a browser window can paginate differently as a PDF, so validate the actual generated file rather than relying on a screen preview.
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A request times out or the output exceeds a limit
For PDFShift’s free plan, the pricing page lists a 30-second timeout and 15 MB maximum file size. Review the size of the generated file and the page’s rendering workload, then compare them with the current plan limits. Do not assume a PDF that is below the input HTML size will fit: the published limit is stated as a maximum file size, and the page should be checked for how that applies to your use.
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A long webpage does not become one continuous PDF page
That is a documented limitation of Browserless’s standard /pdf REST endpoint, rather than a setting to toggle in that endpoint. If a continuous page is essential, follow Browserless’s documented custom-function direction and verify the result against your required output.
The “free” environment rejects a production document
Check whether the free provision is a production plan or a development sandbox. CloudConvert’s documented unlimited sandbox is limited to whitelisted files and meant for development and integration testing; it should not be treated as a promise of unlimited live conversions.
Do-it-yourself browser rendering versus a hosted API
Self-hosting browser rendering gives a team control over the browser environment and deployment, but it also means operating that rendering stack. A hosted conversion API shifts browser execution to a provider and may offer managed inputs, options or job workflows, depending on the service. The cited material supports comparing the providers’ documented features, but it does not supply a controlled performance, accuracy, privacy or uptime comparison. For a meaningful decision, run the same representative documents through your candidate setup and inspect both output and operating requirements.
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If the source is a web page URL rather than raw HTML, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API that can return a PDF as well as PNG, JPEG or WebP. It is an alternative for URL-based page capture, not a claim that it accepts raw HTML in the same way as a dedicated HTML-to-PDF API. One GET request can produce the result:
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can an HTML-to-PDF API convert a page that requires JavaScript?
It depends on the provider and the page. CloudConvert documents Chrome-based rendering and selector waits, while Browserless documents Puppeteer-style PDF options. Test the specific scripts and delayed content your page needs; the cited documentation does not guarantee identical behavior for every site.
Is CloudConvert’s unlimited sandbox free for production conversions?
No production allowance is established by that sandbox description. CloudConvert documents it for development and integration tests with whitelisted files.
Can a screenshot API replace an HTML-to-PDF API?
Only for workflows that match its supported input and output. ScreenshotNeo can capture a web page URL and return a PDF, but the supplied product details do not establish raw-HTML input. A dedicated HTML-to-PDF service may be a better fit when your application must submit HTML directly.
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