PDFFleet

PDFFleet / Paperplane alternative

Paperplane alternative

The Paperplane alternative
that costs 53% less.

Paperplane and PDFFleet both render HTML to pixel-perfect PDFs with the same engine — headless Chromium. The difference: PDFFleet self-hosts on bare metal, so there's no cloud markup on every render. Same output, about 53% cheaper, plus a free tier Paperplane doesn't offer.

See pricing →Try it free
head-to-head

PDFFleet vs Paperplane

FeaturePaperplanePDFFleet
Entry price$19/mo$9/mo−53%
PDFs at entry tier1,000/mo2,000/mo
Free tier✗ none✓ 50 PDFs/mo free
Render engineHeadless ChromiumHeadless Chromium
HTML input✓✓
URL input✓✓
Template + data merge✓✓
Pro tier (50K PDFs)$39+/mo$29/mo
Infrastructure✗ cloud markup✓ self-hosted metal
Lock-inhosted templates✓ open HTML templates
migration

Switch in one line

Already calling Paperplane's render endpoint? Migrating is a one-line change — swap the URL and key. Your HTML and template logic stay exactly the same.

Before — Paperplane

POST to their endpoint.

POST https://api.paperplane.app/v1/render
{"template":"...","data":{...}}

After — PDFFleet

POST to ours with HTML or a template.

POST https://pdffleet.com/v1/pdf
{"template":"invoice","data":{...}}
faq

Paperplane alternative — questions

Is PDFFleet a good Paperplane alternative?

Yes. PDFFleet and Paperplane both render HTML to PDF with the same underlying headless Chromium engine, so output fidelity is equivalent. PDFFleet runs on self-owned hardware instead of VC-funded cloud, so it sells the same capability for roughly 53% less, and adds a free tier.

How much cheaper is PDFFleet than Paperplane?

PDFFleet's paid plan starts at $9/mo versus Paperplane's $19/mo — about 53% cheaper at the entry tier, with more PDFs included. There's also a permanent free tier (50 PDFs/month) that Paperplane does not offer.

Do I have to rewrite my code to switch from Paperplane?

No. Migrating is essentially a one-line change: point your render request at https://pdffleet.com/v1/pdf with your PDFFleet API key. Your HTML, CSS, and template logic stay the same — PDFFleet accepts inline HTML, a URL, or a named template with JSON data.

Does PDFFleet produce the same quality PDFs as Paperplane?

Yes — both use headless Chromium, which renders full CSS, web fonts, backgrounds, and images at print fidelity. The PDF output is equivalent; only the price differs.

Is there a free tier?

Yes. PDFFleet includes 50 PDFs per month free, forever, with no credit card required — enough to test, build, and ship small projects.

Save 53% on PDF generation

Start free with 50 PDFs/mo · upgrade to $9/mo for 2,000 · switch in one line

Get started →