Side by side
PDFShift vs ScrapingBee
Both stand on screenshot apis. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan Web
Choose PDFShift for API-based HTML-to-PDF conversion, particularly when CSS and JavaScript rendering or Amazon S3 integration is useful. The Free plan has limited credits, file size, and timeout; the paid Boost plan costs $24 a month.
Visit PDFShift
Free plan APIWeb
ScrapingBee combines browser rendering, extraction methods, proxy handling, and dedicated APIs in a cloud service. Free credits provide a starting point, while paid usage scales through monthly credit and concurrency plans.
Visit ScrapingBeeThe facts
| PDFShift | ScrapingBee | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Web | API, Web |
| Lowest paid plan | Boost: $24 a month | Hobby: $19 a month |
| Plans published | 2 | 5 |
| Maker | SASU PDFShift | VostokInc SAS |
| Website | pdfshift.io | scrapingbee.com |
| On screenshot apis | #17 of 40 | #13 of 40 |
PDFShift: what it does well
- Converts public URLs and raw HTML into PDFs.
- Renders or injects CSS and JavaScript.
- Supports encryption, watermarking, headers, and footers.
- Handles asynchronous and parallel conversion requests.
- Generates screenshots and Open Graph images.
What to know first
- The Free plan is limited to 50 credits.
- Free conversions have a 15 MB maximum file size.
- Free conversions have a 30-second timeout.
- There is no free trial.
ScrapingBee: what it does well
- Headless Chrome rendering
- AI and CSS/XPath extraction
- Automatic proxy rotation
- 1,000 free credits without card
- SOC 2 Type II and GDPR stated
What to know first
- Paid plans exclude VAT
- Advanced features consume more credits
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