CUPS-PDF vs PDFMonkey
CUPS-PDF
cups-pdf.de
PDFMonkey
pdfmonkey.ioSide by side
| Figure | CUPS-PDF | PDFMonkey |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | €5/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 12 |
| Spec score · PDF Creation Software | 8.0 (#13) | 8.4 (#7) |
| Deployment | The software is available as a source package and is packaged for multiple distributions. | cloud |
| Integrations | Documented client setups include UNIX clients and queues receiving input through Samba or Netatalk for Windows, OS/2, or Mac OS. | Official integrations and connectors include Zapier, Make, n8n, Workato, Bubble, Glide and InvoiceBerry. |
| License | CUPS-PDF is distributed under the GPL, version 2 or any later version, and is provided without warranty. | The hosted PDFMonkey service is proprietary, while its CLI and several connector repositories are published under the MIT license. |
| Support | The maker invites comments, suggestions, and bug reports by email to Volker C. Behr. | Support is provided through in-app chat and [email protected], with typical replies within a few hours during Central European business hours. |
Plans
PDFMonkey
- 30-day TrialFree
- 30-day TrialFree
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Starter€5 a month
- Starter€5 a month
- Pro€15 a month
- Pro€15 a month
- Pro+€60 a month
- Pro+€60 a month
In their own words
PDFMonkey
PDFMonkey is a cloud document-generation API that turns templates and dynamic data into files. Templates can be built in a visual drag-and-drop editor or written in HTML, CSS, and Liquid; JSON data can be sent through the REST API to generate documents. Its Chrome-based renderer supports JavaScript, external fonts, images, charts, and other web technologies. Outputs include PDF, PNG, WebP, and JPG, and bulk generation from datasets is supported. Connectors include Zapier, Make, n8n, Workato, Bubble, Glide, and InvoiceBerry; developer tools include Ruby and Node.js SDKs and webhooks. API traffic uses HTTPS/TLS, dynamic data is stored in encrypted database columns, and generated files are kept in private S3 buckets with one-hour presigned URLs. PDFMonkey states that it has no formal SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification. The free plan allows 20 documents per month with one-day retention and a 30-second generation limit, and excludes external images, fonts, CSS, and JavaScript. Paid plans start at €5/mo.