PDFMonkey vs PlainMerge

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.

PlainMerge creates batches of personalized PDFs by combining a PDF template with rows from an Excel spreadsheet. Users can drag spreadsheet headers into positions on a template or match them to native PDF form fields. The app supports native forms, custom fonts, multi-page PDFs, and QR code rendering, and accepts.xlsx,.xls, and.ods files. Outputs can be personalized PDFs, emails with PDF attachments, or both. Its desktop app works offline on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The maker also links to Mergram, a browser-based PDF merging service that requires no installation. PlainMerge is described as open source, and its GitHub repository displays an AGPL-3.0 license. The PlainMerge plan costs $59 as a one-time purchase as a one-time fee. There is no free plan, though the maker offers a trial version for personal use without stating its duration. Support is available by email and GitHub Discussions. The privacy policy says personal information is collected when provided through support email and may be retained indefinitely, including in backups; the product page says purchases are not refundable.