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PDF API vs iLovePDF & Smallpdf

iLovePDF and Smallpdf are the big, polished PDF suites — OCR, compression, splitting, e-signatures, Office conversion, mobile apps, the works. Their programmatic API sits behind a paid plan. The Forge PDF API does one family of jobs and does it free: convert a URL, raw HTML, or Markdown into a PDF, and merge PDFs together — no API key, no signup, no watermark, no file-count cap, rendered with Playwright for accurate output. It is the conversion endpoint you script; they are the full editing suites you click through.

The Quick Comparison

Where Forge PDF Wins

1. A free programmatic API, not a paid plan

iLovePDF and Smallpdf gate their REST APIs behind paid developer plans. Forge's conversion endpoints are one curl away — no account, no key in your CI secrets:

curl "https://forge-node.tail2b516d.ts.net/url-to-pdf?url=https://example.com" -o page.pdf

2. URL and Markdown to PDF, rendered with Playwright

Point it at a live URL and get a faithful PDF rendered by a real headless browser — CSS, web fonts, and layout intact. Or send Markdown and get a clean document back:

curl "https://forge-node.tail2b516d.ts.net/md-to-pdf" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"markdown":"# Invoice\n\nThanks for your order."}' -o invoice.pdf

The big suites focus on file-to-file operations; a free, scriptable URL-to-PDF and Markdown-to-PDF endpoint is exactly the gap Forge fills.

3. No watermark, no file-count cap

Free tiers on the big services often watermark output or cap you at a handful of tasks per day. Forge is rate-limited per IP but does not stamp a watermark or count your files against a daily quota.

4. HTML to PDF for generated documents

Render an invoice, a report, or a receipt from server-side HTML straight to PDF in your pipeline via POST /html-to-pdf — no headless-browser setup of your own to maintain.

When iLovePDF & Smallpdf Are Still Fine

• You need OCR — turning a scanned PDF into searchable text. The big suites do this; Forge does not.
• You need compression, splitting, page reordering, rotation, or unlocking of existing PDFs. Forge converts and merges; it is not a full editor.
• You need e-signatures or a signing workflow with audit trails.
• You need Office conversion — Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to and from PDF.
• You want polished desktop and mobile apps with drag-and-drop and account history.

Use Cases for Forge PDF

• Invoices and receipts. Render server-side HTML or Markdown to a PDF in your checkout or billing pipeline.
• Webpage archiving. Snapshot a live URL to PDF for records or compliance with one GET request.
• Report generation. Build a Markdown report in a cron job and convert it to a shareable PDF.
• Doc bundling. Merge several generated PDFs into one deliverable via /merge-pdf.
• CI artifacts. Produce a PDF build artifact (a rendered changelog or release note) without managing your own headless browser.

FAQ

Is the Forge PDF API really free?

Yes. No signup, no API key, no watermark. Rate-limited per IP. See the PDF API docs for every endpoint and parameter.

What can it convert?

URL to PDF, raw HTML to PDF, and Markdown to PDF, plus merging multiple PDFs into one. Rendering is done with Playwright for accurate layout.

Can it OCR or compress an existing PDF?

No. Forge handles conversion and merging. For OCR, compression, splitting, or e-signatures, use a full suite like iLovePDF or Smallpdf.

Where do I go next?

Try the PDF Converter, or browse the full free API catalog for 15 more developer APIs in the same no-signup style.