Carbone vs Foxit Document Generation API
Carbone
carbone.io
Foxit Document Generation API
foxit.comSide by side
| Figure | Carbone | Foxit Document Generation API |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $145.83/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 18 | 4 |
| Spec score · PDF Creation Software | 9.4 (#1) | 8.2 (#8) |
| Founded | 2013 | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Bellevigny, France | Fremont, California, United States |
| Integrations | Official connectors cover Airtable, Bubble, Glide, Make, n8n, Ninox, Retool, Zapier, HubSpot, Odoo, Pipedrive, Salesforce, DocuSign and Subnoto. | The product page says the cloud API integrates into business systems and can use ERP, CRM, or HR data; it does not name specific DocGen connectors. |
| Security | Carbone says its cloud infrastructure is hosted in France by OVHcloud and that it conducts annual security audits. | Foxit states API traffic is encrypted with TLS 1.2 or higher and documents at rest use AES-256 encryption. |
| Support | The Essential plan includes chat support from 9 AM to 6 PM UTC+2, with asynchronous email responses outside those hours. | Foxit’s API pricing page directs developers to submit a support case for technical guidance from first call through production. |
| What it does | Carbone merges JSON data with user-designed templates to generate PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODS, HTML and other files. | The cloud API generates PDFs and Word documents from structured data using templates. |
Plans
Carbone
- Cloud FreeFree
- FreeFree
- On-Premise CommunityFree
- On-Premise FreeFree
- Amazon Web Services$0.15, paid once
- Cloud Essential$29 a month
- Essential€29 a month
- Cloud Essential Plus$95 a month
- Essential Plus€95 a month
- Advanced€159 a month
Foxit Document Generation API
- DeveloperFree
- Startup$1,750 a year
- Business$4,500 a year
- VolumePriced on request
In their own words
Carbone
Carbone merges JSON data into document templates to generate files such as PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX. Templates can use formats including DOCX, ODT, ODS, XLSX, XML, Markdown, and HTML. Its conversion API handles more than 100 formats and supports LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, and Chromium. API access and bulk generation are listed, with Cloud, On-Premise, Private Cloud, and AWS deployment options. The pricing page lists free Cloud and On-Premise plans, plus a free 30-day trial for self-hosted On-Premise use. Cloud Essential costs $29.00 per month; documents are counted for each 1 MB of injected JSON and images, and additional documents beyond a plan allowance are invoiced separately. Carbone says Cloud stores templates for reuse but does not retain submitted JSON or generated documents beyond what rendering and delivery require. It says it has no access to customer templates, data, or generated documents in on-premise deployments. The service also offers an MCP server and an open-source Carbone Skill for connecting AI assistants and generating templates. Its listed platform options include API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows.
Foxit Document Generation API
Foxit Document Generation API creates PDFs and Word documents from DOCX templates and structured data through a cloud API. It is designed to automate document workflows, including producing invoices, contracts, and compliance reports using ERP, CRM, or HR data. The Analyze Document API can inspect a DOCX template and return its embedded tokens and types. The service can integrate into business systems, although Foxit does not name specific Document Generation connectors. Each generation operation uses one credit, shared across Foxit APIs; credit-based calls stop when the balance runs out until credits renew or the plan is upgraded, and unused credits do not roll over. The Developer plan is free and includes 500 shared credits per year; Startup costs $1,750 a year and includes 5,000 shared credits. Foxit states that API traffic uses TLS 1.2 or higher and stored documents use AES-256 encryption. It also says its cloud-hosted PDF APIs have SOC 2 Type II coverage and support HIPAA-related BAAs and features.