PDF.co's credit system is confusing and unpredictable. cloudlayer.io offers transparent per-document pricing and a focused document generation API.
| Feature | PDF.co | cloudlayer.io |
|---|---|---|
| Rendering Engine | Chromium | Chromium |
| PDF Generation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Direct HTML-to-Image | ✕ | ✓ |
| Template System | Handlebars | Nunjucks |
| Visual Template Editor | ✕ | ✓ |
| Pricing Model | Confusing credits | Per-document plans |
| Webhook Notifications | ✕ | ✓ |
| Cloud Storage (S3/GCS) | Presigned URLs | Direct upload |
| CDN Asset Hosting | ✕ | ✓ |
| JavaScript Execution | ✓ | ✓ |
| Starting Price | $9.99/mo | $49/mo (5K docs) |
PDF.co uses a credit system where different operations cost different amounts. Users report unexpected costs and difficulty predicting bills.
PDF.co can't generate images directly from HTML. You'd need to generate a PDF first, then convert it to an image — a two-step workaround.
PDF.co tries to do everything — OCR, barcodes, e-signatures, form filling. cloudlayer.io is focused on document generation and does it well.
Create your cloudlayer.io account and get an API key in under a minute. No credit card required. Full API access from day one.
Bring your existing HTML templates or build new ones with the visual editor or Nunjucks. Upload fonts and assets to our CDN.
Swap the PDF.co endpoint with cloudlayer.io. Our REST API accepts HTML, template IDs, or URLs — most migrations take minutes.
Simple plans based on document count. $49/month for 5,000 documents — you always know what you'll pay.
Generate PNG, JPEG, and WebP images directly from HTML — no two-step PDF-to-image workaround needed.
cloudlayer.io does one thing well: generate documents from HTML. Templates, rendering, and delivery — all production-grade.
Full API access, visual template editor, PDF + image generation, webhooks, and cloud delivery. No credit card required — start your 30-day free trial.
No commitment. Cancel anytime.
Teams using cloudlayer.io