Anvil PDF Generation API vs PDFCreator
Anvil PDF Generation API
useanvil.com
PDFCreator
pdfforge.orgSide by side
| Figure | Anvil PDF Generation API | PDFCreator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $99/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 4 |
| Spec score · PDF Creation Software | 8.6 (#3) | 7.4 (#26) |
| Integrations | Zapier | The product offers a COM interface, C# scripts, FTP uploads, and email actions; its Terminal Server edition is designed for Citrix and Windows RDS. |
| Intended users | The product is presented as an API for developers and agents, and the pricing page describes the AI Pack for technical teams working with high PDF volumes. | The Free edition is for personal use, while Professional targets business and professional users and the Server editions target shared or centralized environments. |
| Security | Anvil says it encrypts signed documents with a 2048 RSA private key stored in a secure Hardware Security Module, which its developers cannot access. | The Free edition includes 128-bit AES encryption; Professional includes 256-bit AES encryption, digital signatures, and user restrictions. |
| Support | Standard support is available by email at [email protected], while the pricing page lists priority support for Enterprise. | Business editions include priority support, while the support site also provides a user guide, knowledge base, and community forum. |
Plans
Anvil PDF Generation API
- FreeFree
- AI Pack$99 a month
- Product Pack$425 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
- PDF fill / generation over API$0.10, paid once
PDFCreator
- PDFCreator FreeFree
- PDFCreator ProfessionalPrice not published
- PDFCreator ServerPrice not published
- PDFCreator Terminal ServerPrice not published
In their own words
Anvil PDF Generation API
Anvil PDF Generation API creates PDFs on demand from HTML and CSS or Markdown. For HTML, it supports full CSS, custom TTF fonts, page dimensions and margins, headers and footers, page numbers, and fillable forms. Markdown conversion applies a default theme, and callers can provide CSS of their own. The API can also generate variable-length documents and merge data into PDFs. Anvil lists SDKs for C#/.NET, JavaScript, Python, and TypeScript; Go, Java, PHP, and Ruby are marked as coming soon. A Zapier integration can automate paperwork workflows, including filling a PDF or starting or pre-filling a Workflow. It is a cloud service with API and web access, email support, and listed SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance. Test mode is free and unlimited on every plan, though test documents are watermarked and use demo signatures. API PDF fill or generation costs $0.10 per use; enabling metered usage with a valid credit card provides 2,500 starter credits. The Free plan is free and UI-only; API key access requires a credit card or upgrade. Custom fonts must be TTF; OTF and WOFF are not supported.
PDFCreator
PDFCreator converts printable documents to PDF and other formats, including PDF/A, PDF/X, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and TXT. Its Free edition installs as a virtual printer, creating PDFs from programs with a print option; batch conversion is also supported. Users can merge documents, rearrange pages, add watermarks, and save files automatically. Automated actions include adding cover pages, sending files by email, FTP uploads, and custom scripts. Integration options include a COM interface, C# scripts, FTP, and email actions. Free includes 128-bit AES encryption; Professional adds 256-bit AES encryption, digital signatures, and user restrictions. PDFCreator Server runs as a Windows service and processes jobs through shared virtual printers and queues, while Terminal Server is designed for Citrix and Windows RDS. The open-source code can be downloaded and modified under the stated license terms. Free is for personal use; commercial use requires a business edition. Paid editions have a 30-day trial without a credit card. Starting with version 6.0, the software supports only 64-bit operating systems, and Free does not include an MSI installer.