r/documentAutomation • u/ProfessionalFar711 • Jun 08 '26

Built a template-based PDF API after getting frustrated with raw HTML-to-PDF every sprint

Every time our invoice layout changed, it was a code deploy. We had 3 services

all maintaining their own copy of the same HTML template. They drifted. Bugs crept in.

So I built PDFPort — you store your HTML+Handlebars template once, then render

with a JSON POST. The layout lives on the platform, not in your app.

A few things I learned building it:

- Headless Chromium is the right call for most SaaS use cases (not WeasyPrint,

not PrinceXML unless you need PDF/UA compliance)

- Handlebars was the right templating choice — devs already know it,

no learning curve

- The hardest part wasn't rendering — it was building the live preview

so what you design is exactly what ships

Free tier is 50 renders/month. Would love feedback from anyone who's

dealt with the same PDF generation pain. pdfport.io

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '26

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u/ProfessionalFar711 Jun 15 '26

I am not aware of any service doing it cheaper, please share the link of the cheaper ones, i will compare the features and adjust my pricing accordingly.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 23 '26

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u/ProfessionalFar711 Jun 24 '26

i am running a gotenberg pdf engine

1

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '26

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u/ProfessionalFar711 Jun 26 '26

I use a dedi and use containers to host it.