pdfrender vs DocRaptor
DocRaptor runs the commercial Prince engine and offers PDF/A and PDF/UA. pdfrender runs the open-source WeasyPrint 70, with PDF/A-2b and PDF/A-3b on paid plans.
Last updated
| DocRaptor engine | Hosted API on the commercial Prince engine; accepts HTML or a URL; optional JavaScript, off by default (as of Sep 2026) |
|---|---|
| DocRaptor PDF profiles | PDF/A-1a to PDF/A-3b, PDF/UA-1 and PDF/X (as of Sep 2026) |
| DocRaptor pricing | Free plan with 5 documents a month; $149 a month for 5,000; $399 a month for 15,000; counted per document (as of Sep 2026) |
| pdfrender | WeasyPrint 70; PDF/A-2b and PDF/A-3b on paid plans; no tagged PDF, no JavaScript, no URLs; 1 credit per render; €20 a month for 10,000 credits |
Both use a print engine rather than a headless browser, and both support
CSS Paged Media: @page, margin boxes and page counters.
DocRaptor runs Prince, a commercial engine (as of
Sep 2026). pdfrender runs WeasyPrint 70, which is open source.
What each one costs
DocRaptor has a free plan with 5 documents a month. Its paid plans include $149 for 5,000 documents and $399 for 15,000 (DocRaptor plans, as of Sep 2026).
pdfrender charges 1 credit per render with an API key, whatever the page count. €20 a month buys 10,000 credits (pricing).
When DocRaptor fits
- You need PDF/UA for accessibility, or a PDF/A level other than 2b and 3b. DocRaptor offers PDF/A-1a to PDF/A-3b and PDF/UA-1 as profiles (API reference, as of Sep 2026).
- JavaScript must run before conversion, or you render from a URL. DocRaptor offers both, with JavaScript off by default (same page, as of Sep 2026).
- Your pipeline is already validated against Prince output.
pdfrender offers PDF/A-2b and PDF/A-3b on paid plans, checked with veraPDF on pdfrender's sample documents. It makes no tagged PDF, runs no JavaScript and loads no URLs.
When pdfrender fits
- You write print CSS for headers and footers or page size and margins and need no tagged PDF.
- You archive documents as PDF/A-2b or PDF/A-3b. The paid plans include it (pricing).
- Price per document matters. At 5,000 documents a month, DocRaptor costs $149 (plans, as of Sep 2026). pdfrender costs €20 for up to 10,000 renders.
- You want to keep the option of running WeasyPrint yourself later.
Paste up to 100 KB of HTML without an account: render it in the free tool.
FAQ
- How does pdfrender differ from DocRaptor?
- Both support @page, margin boxes and page counters. DocRaptor adds PDF/UA, more PDF/A levels, optional JavaScript and rendering from a URL (https://docraptor.com/documentation/api, as of Sep 2026). pdfrender offers PDF/A-2b and PDF/A-3b on paid plans, and none of the others.
- Does pdfrender produce PDF/A or tagged PDF?
- PDF/A-2b or PDF/A-3b output on paid plans, checked with veraPDF on pdfrender's sample documents. Set pdf_variant in the request. pdfrender makes no tagged PDF. For PDF/UA, use a service that offers it, such as DocRaptor (https://docraptor.com/documentation/api, as of Sep 2026).
- Can I move to my own WeasyPrint later?
- Yes. WeasyPrint is open source, so HTML written for pdfrender also renders on your own install. Use WeasyPrint 70 and the DejaVu fonts to stay close to pdfrender's output. Another version or other fonts can change the layout.