Side by side
HTML2PDF vs pdf-lib
Both stand on pdf creation software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Self-hosted
HTML2PDF focuses on creating structured business PDFs from prepared HTML rather than converting complete webpages. Its free, self-hosted setup and Composer installation suit PHP projects that can meet its runtime and input requirements.
Visit HTML2PDF
Free plan Self-hostedWeb
pdf-lib offers a broad set of PDF creation and modification tools across several JavaScript runtimes, with no native dependencies. Check its text-handling and encrypted-document limits against your project before choosing it.
Visit pdf-libThe facts
| HTML2PDF | pdf-lib | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Self-hosted | Self-hosted, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | html2pdf.fr | pdf-lib.js.org |
| On pdf creation software | #16 of 46 | #20 of 46 |
HTML2PDF: what it does well
- Free plan listed at 0.00 USD
- Uses TCPDF for PDF generation
- Self-hosted deployment
- Composer installation
- Open Software License project
What to know first
- Requires PHP greater than 7.2
- Requires gd and mbstring extensions
- Input cannot use html, head, or body tags
- Does not support all HTML tags
pdf-lib: what it does well
- Creates, modifies, and rearranges PDF pages
- Creates, fills, reads, and flattens forms
- Runs in browsers, Node, Deno, and React Native
- Embeds fonts and draws images, vectors, and SVG paths
What to know first
- Does not support encrypted PDFs
- Cannot extract plain page text
- Cannot edit page text outside form fields
- Does not add PDF content using HTML or CSS
Alternatives to HTML2PDF Alternatives to pdf-lib The whole list