Apdf vs PdfGen

Apdf generates and tracks PDFs through an API, sending reader activity to apps or AI agents. PDF operations include HTML-to-PDF generation, merging, splitting, compression, watermarking, OCR, and password security. Reader analytics report opens, page reads, time spent, downloads, prints, and other events. Tokenized recipient links associate activity with named readers and can be deactivated or revoked. Recipients use a hosted browser viewer without installing an app or plugin; they can annotate PDFs and submit form fields, with captured information delivered as structured data. Event-based automations send webhooks to external endpoints. The site describes MCP connections for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Gemini, alongside webhook examples involving Slack, HubSpot, Pipedrive, and S3. Apdf says data is hosted in the EU, encrypted in transit and at rest, and handled in a GDPR-compliant manner. The free Hobby plan includes 3 tracked documents and 500 PDF operations per month. Pro costs $39 a month, billed $39 / mo; Business costs $149 a month, billed $149 / mo.

PdfGen is a cloud platform for generating PDFs from HTML templates, including invoices, reports, certificates, contracts, guides, and proposals. It provides a code editor powered by Monaco, a rich text editor, and live PDF preview. Templates can use plain text, structured object, or tabular variables, and variable definitions can generate data-entry forms. For rendering, users can choose iText for metadata-rich output or Puppeteer/Chromium for web-to-PDF conversion. Its REST API manages templates, variables, and document generation; an MCP server connects with coding agents including Cursor and Claude Desktop. TypeScript and Python client libraries are available. Listed integrations include GitHub template sync, Google Fonts, Stripe, and AI providers Anthropic Claude, OpenRouter, MiniMax, and DeepSeek. Organizations offer Admin and User roles, email invitations, and shared templates, variables, and documents. The site says generation runs in isolated server-side environments, stored content is encrypted at rest, API keys are SHA-256 hashed, and data in transit uses TLS. Plans set monthly document allowances; extra documents use plan-specific credits. Pricing ranges from free to €25 a month.