Back to Blog
comparisondocraptor

LightningPDF vs DocRaptor - Which PDF API is Right for You?

Compare LightningPDF and DocRaptor for HTML to PDF conversion. Learn about pricing, performance, features, and which solution fits your needs.

By LightningPDF Team ·

LightningPDF vs DocRaptor: A Detailed Comparison

When choosing a PDF generation API, DocRaptor and LightningPDF are both strong contenders. But they take fundamentally different approaches to solving the same problem. Let's break down the key differences to help you make an informed decision.

Overview

DocRaptor is a mature HTML-to-PDF API powered by PrinceXML, a commercial rendering engine known for excellent CSS support and print-specific features. It's been around since 2012 and serves thousands of customers.

LightningPDF is a modern dual-engine PDF API that combines a native Go fast path (sub-100ms for invoices/receipts) with a Chromium-based engine for complex layouts. It includes a template designer, marketplace, and batch API.

Pricing Comparison

DocRaptor

  • Free tier: 5 test documents/month
  • Starter: $15/month for 250 documents
  • Growth: $35/month for 1,000 documents
  • Pro: $79/month for 5,000 documents
  • Enterprise: $399/month for 100,000 documents

Effective cost: $0.06-$0.06 per document (cheaper at scale but still expensive)

LightningPDF

  • Free: 50 documents/month ($0/month)
  • Starter: $9/month for 2,000 documents
  • Pro: $29/month for 10,000 documents
  • Business: $99/month for 50,000 documents
  • Enterprise: $249/month for 150,000 documents

Effective cost: $0.002-$0.005 per document (simple, predictable pricing)

Winner: LightningPDF offers 10x more free documents and 6-12x lower cost per document at every tier.

Performance

DocRaptor

  • Based on PrinceXML, a standalone rendering engine
  • Typical generation time: 2-5 seconds for standard documents
  • Good for complex print layouts with advanced CSS
  • Single rendering path

LightningPDF

  • Dual engine architecture:
    • Native Go engine: <100ms for invoices, receipts, simple documents
    • Chromium engine: 1-3 seconds for complex web layouts
  • Automatically routes simple documents to fast path
  • chromedp browser pool for Chromium path

Winner: LightningPDF is 10-50x faster for common use cases like invoices and receipts.

Features

DocRaptor Strengths

  • Excellent CSS Paged Media support (page headers, footers, page numbers)
  • PDF/A compliance out of the box
  • Advanced print features (crop marks, bleed, CMYK)
  • Mature, stable API
  • Great for book/magazine printing

LightningPDF Strengths

  • Template designer: Build PDF templates visually in the dashboard
  • Template marketplace: Download pre-built templates (invoices, reports, etc.)
  • Batch API: Generate 100+ PDFs in one request
  • Dual engine: Fast path for simple docs, full Chromium for complex layouts
  • Self-hostable: Run on your own infrastructure (open core model)
  • Credit system: Simple usage tracking and billing

Winner: Depends on use case. DocRaptor wins for advanced print workflows. LightningPDF wins for modern web apps needing speed and templates.

API Design

Both APIs are REST-based and easy to integrate:

DocRaptor

curl https://docraptor.com/docs \
  -u YOUR_API_KEY: \
  -d document_url=https://example.com/invoice.html \
  -o invoice.pdf

LightningPDF

curl https://lightningpdf.dev/api/v1/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"html": "<html>...</html>"}' \
  -o invoice.pdf

Both support async generation, webhooks, and extensive customization options.

When to Choose DocRaptor

Choose DocRaptor if you:

  • Need advanced CSS Paged Media features (running headers, page counters)
  • Require PDF/A compliance for archival purposes
  • Generate print-ready documents with crop marks and CMYK
  • Have a budget for premium PDF rendering ($0.06+/doc)
  • Need PrinceXML's specific rendering quirks/features

When to Choose LightningPDF

Choose LightningPDF if you:

  • Generate high volumes of invoices, receipts, or reports (<100ms each)
  • Want a visual template designer instead of hand-coding HTML
  • Need batch processing (generate 1000s of PDFs in one API call)
  • Prefer simple, predictable pricing ($0.01/doc flat rate)
  • Want the option to self-host for compliance/data residency
  • Build modern web apps with standard HTML/CSS

Migration Path

Switching from DocRaptor to LightningPDF is straightforward:

  1. Replace API endpoint: docraptor.com/docs → lightningpdf.dev/api/v1/generate
  2. Update authentication from Basic Auth to Bearer token
  3. Adjust HTML if you used PrinceXML-specific features
  4. Test with free tier (50 docs/month)
  5. Scale up as needed

Most customers see 50-80% cost savings and 10x faster generation times for typical documents.

Conclusion

Both DocRaptor and LightningPDF are excellent PDF APIs, but they serve different audiences:

  • DocRaptor is best for publishing workflows needing advanced print features and PDF/A compliance
  • LightningPDF is best for SaaS apps needing fast, cost-effective PDF generation with modern tooling

For most web applications generating invoices, reports, and transactional documents, LightningPDF's dual-engine architecture delivers 10x better performance at 1/6th the cost.

Ready to try LightningPDF? Sign up free and get 50 documents/month with no credit card required.

Ready to generate PDFs?

Start free with 50 PDFs per month. No credit card required.

Get Started Free