DEV Community: jalalbmnf

Kagyz vs PDFShift vs CraftMyPDF — Which PDF API Should You Use?

jalalbmnf — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 08:24:13 +0000

I spent a lot of time evaluating PDF generation APIs before building my own. Here's an honest comparison of three tools — what they're good at, where they fall short, and who each one is for.

The Short Version

	Kagyz	PDFShift	CraftMyPDF
Approach	Send JSON, get a PDF	Send HTML, get a PDF	Design template in editor, fill with JSON
Templates	Built-in (no design needed)	You build HTML/CSS yourself	Drag-and-drop visual editor
Best for	Invoices, receipts, quotes, business docs	Any HTML-to-PDF conversion	Custom-designed documents, reports
Free tier	100 PDFs/month	50 credits/month	50 PDFs/month, 3 templates
Paid from	$19/month	$9/month	$29/month
Arabic/RTL	Built-in	Not supported	Supported
Custom branding	Logo + accent color (all plans)	N/A (you control the HTML)	Full template control
Dashboard	Yes (API keys, usage, billing)	Yes	Yes
Setup time	5 minutes	15-30 minutes	30-60 minutes

Kagyz — JSON In, PDF Out

Website: kagyz.com

Kagyz takes a different approach. Instead of converting HTML to PDF, you send structured JSON and get back a formatted business document. No templates to build, no CSS to debug.

It currently supports five document types: invoices, receipts, quotes/estimates, credit notes, and packing slips. All five share a clean, consistent design.

What I like:

Zero setup. Send JSON, get a PDF. No HTML, no CSS, no template design.
Arabic/RTL support is built in — add direction: "rtl" to any request and it works. 12+ Arabic currencies supported.
Custom branding — upload your logo and pick an accent color. Every document comes out branded.
All features available on every plan, including free. You only pay for volume.
Dashboard for managing API keys, tracking usage, and handling billing.

What it doesn't do:

Only business documents. You can't generate arbitrary PDFs from HTML.
Five document types currently — no reports, certificates, or contracts.
Template design is fixed. You can add a logo and change the accent color, but you can't rearrange the layout.
Newer product with a smaller community.

Best for: Developers who need invoice/receipt/quote PDFs and don't want to deal with HTML templates. Especially strong for Arabic/MENA markets.

Example request:

POST https://api.kagyz.com/v1/invoice
{
  "invoice_number": "INV-001",
  "currency": "USD",
  "branding": { "accent_color": "#22c55e" },
  "from": { "name": "Acme Corp" },
  "to": { "name": "Client Inc." },
  "items": [
    { "description": "Consulting", "quantity": 10, "unit_price": 150 }
  ],
  "tax": { "rate": 8.25 }
}

That's it. No HTML. No CSS. You get a branded invoice PDF back.

PDFShift — HTML to PDF Conversion

Website: pdfshift.io

PDFShift is the most straightforward HTML-to-PDF converter. Give it a URL or raw HTML, and it returns a PDF. It uses headless Chromium under the hood, so the output matches what you'd see in a browser.

What I like:

Dead simple API. One endpoint, one job.
Supports modern CSS — flexbox, grid, web fonts, Tailwind, Bootstrap.
Parallel conversions for batch processing.
Webhook support for async generation.
HIPAA compliant — doesn't store documents by default.
Good documentation with examples in multiple languages.

What it doesn't do:

You have to build and maintain your own HTML templates. That's the whole point — but it's also the main work.
No visual template editor. Everything is code.
No built-in document types. You're starting from scratch.
No Arabic/RTL support out of the box.
Pricing is credit-based (1 credit per 5MB of output), which can be unpredictable.

Best for: Teams that already have HTML templates and just need a reliable rendering engine. Great for converting existing web pages to PDF.

CraftMyPDF — Visual Template Editor + API

Website: craftmypdf.com

CraftMyPDF is the most feature-rich option. It offers a drag-and-drop template editor where you design your PDF layout visually, then fill it with data via API or no-code tools like Zapier and Make.

What I like:

Visual drag-and-drop editor is genuinely good. Non-developers can design templates.
Huge component library: text, images, QR codes, barcodes, charts, tables.
Import existing PDFs as templates — overlay dynamic data on top.
Fillable PDF forms (text fields, checkboxes, dropdowns).
Regional API endpoints (US, EU, Singapore, Australia).
Integrations with Zapier, Make, Bubble, Coda.
Multi-language support including Arabic.

What it doesn't do:

More complex to set up. You need to design a template before making your first API call.
Steeper learning curve for the editor.
Paid plans start at $29/month — more expensive entry point.
Template limit on free tier (3 templates).
Overkill if you just need standard invoices and receipts.

Best for: Businesses that need custom-designed documents (reports, certificates, contracts) and want visual control over every pixel. Great for no-code teams using Zapier/Make.

When to Use Which

Choose Kagyz if:

You need invoices, receipts, quotes, credit notes, or packing slips
You want zero template work — just send JSON
You serve Arabic/MENA markets and need RTL support
You want all features on every plan (no feature gating)

Choose PDFShift if:

You already have HTML templates and need a rendering engine
You need to convert existing web pages to PDF
You want the simplest possible API (URL in, PDF out)
You need HIPAA compliance

Choose CraftMyPDF if:

You need full visual control over document design
You generate documents beyond invoices (reports, certificates, contracts)
Your team includes non-developers who need to edit templates
You use no-code tools like Zapier or Make

Pricing Comparison

Plan	Kagyz	PDFShift	CraftMyPDF
Free	100 PDFs/month, all features	50 credits/month	50 PDFs/month, 3 templates
Entry paid	$19/month — 2,000 PDFs	$9/month — 500 credits	$29/month — 1,200 PDFs
Mid	$49/month — 10,000 PDFs	$24/month — 2,500 credits	$59/month — 5,000 PDFs

Note: PDFShift's credit system means 1 credit = 1 PDF up to 5MB. Larger documents cost more credits.

My Take

These tools solve different problems. PDFShift is a rendering engine — bring your own HTML. CraftMyPDF is a design platform — build templates visually. Kagyz is a document API — send data, get a finished document.

If you're a developer building a SaaS and you just need invoice PDFs without the headache, Kagyz is the fastest path. If you need pixel-perfect custom layouts, CraftMyPDF gives you the most control. If you already have HTML and just need it converted, PDFShift is the simplest.

I built Kagyz because I kept setting up Puppeteer for invoice PDFs in every project. Now I don't have to.

Links:

Kagyz: kagyz.com | Docs | GitHub
PDFShift: pdfshift.io
CraftMyPDF: craftmypdf.com

We Added a Dashboard and Custom Branding to Our JSON-to-PDF API

jalalbmnf — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 04:46:08 +0000

Two weeks ago Kagyz was a simple API: send JSON, get a PDF. That's still the core, but we just shipped two features that make it feel like a real product.

Dashboard

Every API product needs a dashboard eventually. Ours lives at app.kagyz.com and covers the basics:

API key management — create, delete, copy keys. Keys are shown once on creation and never again.
Usage stats — see how many PDFs you've generated this month, broken down by day.
Billing — see your current plan, upgrade, or manage your subscription.

Custom Branding

This one was requested from day one. You can now:

Upload your company logo — it appears in the top corner of every document.
Set an accent color — applied to document titles, table headers, and dividers.

Upload once in the dashboard. Every PDF you generate after that carries your branding. You can also override the accent color per-request if you need different colors for different clients:

{
  "invoice_number": "INV-001",
  "branding": {
    "accent_color": "#ff6600"
  },
  "from": { "name": "Acme Corp" },
  "to": { "name": "Client Inc." },
  "items": [
    { "description": "Consulting", "quantity": 10, "unit_price": 150 }
  ]
}

What Kagyz Does

If you haven't seen it before — Kagyz is a JSON-to-PDF API for business documents. Send structured JSON, get a clean PDF back. No HTML templates, no CSS debugging, no Puppeteer.

Currently supports 5 document types:

Invoice
Receipt
Quote / Estimate
Credit Note
Packing Slip

Plus Arabic/RTL support, multi-currency, and item-level tax rates.

What's Next

We're working on email delivery (generate + send in one API call) and PDF storage (get a hosted URL instead of binary). After that, a proper comparison article against the alternatives.

Free tier is 100 PDFs/month with all features included. No feature gating between plans — you just pay for volume.

Try it: kagyz.com
Dashboard: app.kagyz.com
Docs: kagyz.com/docs
GitHub: github.com/kagyz

Auto-Generate PDF Receipts After Stripe Payments

jalalbmnf — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:27:23 +0000

Every app that takes payments needs to send receipts. Stripe has built-in receipts, but they're Stripe-branded and limited. If you need custom receipts — with your company info, tax breakdowns, payment details — you have to generate them yourself.

The typical approach is setting up Puppeteer, writing an HTML template, managing CSS, and rendering PDFs on your server. It works, but it's heavy and annoying to maintain.

Here's a simpler approach: listen for Stripe's payment_intent.succeeded webhook, call a receipt API, and email the PDF to your customer. No HTML templates. No Puppeteer. Under 50 lines of code.

The Setup

We need three things:

A Stripe webhook listener
A receipt PDF generator (we'll use Kagyz)
An email sender (SendGrid, Resend, or any SMTP)

Step 1: Listen for Stripe Payments

import Stripe from "stripe";
import express from "express";

const stripe = new Stripe(process.env.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY);
const app = express();

app.post(
  "/webhook/stripe",
  express.raw({ type: "application/json" }),
  async (req, res) => {
    const sig = req.headers["stripe-signature"];

    let event;
    try {
      event = stripe.webhooks.constructEvent(
        req.body,
        sig,
        process.env.STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET
      );
    } catch (err) {
      return res.status(400).send(`Webhook Error: ${err.message}`);
    }

    if (event.type === "payment_intent.succeeded") {
      await handlePayment(event.data.object);
    }

    res.json({ received: true });
  }
);

app.listen(3000);

Standard Stripe webhook setup. Nothing special here — we verify the signature and handle payment_intent.succeeded.

Step 2: Generate the Receipt PDF

This is where it gets simple. Instead of rendering HTML with Puppeteer, we send JSON to Kagyz and get a PDF back:

async function generateReceipt(paymentData) {
  const response = await fetch("https://api.kagyz.com/v1/receipt", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KAGYZ_API_KEY}`,
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      receipt_number: `REC-${paymentData.id.slice(-8)}`,
      date: new Date().toISOString().split("T")[0],
      currency: paymentData.currency.toUpperCase(),
      payment_method: paymentData.payment_method_types[0],
      transaction_id: paymentData.id,
      from: {
        name: "Your Company Name",
        email: "billing@yourcompany.com",
        address: "123 Business St\nNew York, NY 10001",
      },
      to: {
        name: paymentData.metadata.customer_name || "Customer",
        email: paymentData.receipt_email,
      },
      items: [
        {
          description: paymentData.description || "Payment",
          quantity: 1,
          unit_price: paymentData.amount / 100,
        },
      ],
      notes: "Thank you for your purchase!",
    }),
  });

  return await response.arrayBuffer();
}

That's it. No HTML template. No CSS. No Puppeteer running on your server. The API returns a professionally formatted PDF with a PAID badge, payment method, transaction ID, and all the details your customer needs.

Step 3: Email it to the Customer

import { Resend } from "resend";

const resend = new Resend(process.env.RESEND_API_KEY);

async function emailReceipt(email, pdfBuffer, receiptNumber) {
  await resend.emails.send({
    from: "billing@yourcompany.com",
    to: email,
    subject: `Receipt ${receiptNumber} — Thank you for your payment`,
    html: `<p>Hi,</p><p>Thanks for your payment. Your receipt is attached.</p><p>— Your Company</p>`,
    attachments: [
      {
        filename: `receipt-${receiptNumber}.pdf`,
        content: Buffer.from(pdfBuffer).toString("base64"),
      },
    ],
  });
}

Putting It All Together

async function handlePayment(paymentIntent) {
  // Skip if no email
  if (!paymentIntent.receipt_email) return;

  const receiptNumber = `REC-${paymentIntent.id.slice(-8)}`;

  // Generate PDF
  const pdfBuffer = await generateReceipt(paymentIntent);

  // Email to customer
  await emailReceipt(
    paymentIntent.receipt_email,
    pdfBuffer,
    receiptNumber
  );

  console.log(`Receipt ${receiptNumber} sent to ${paymentIntent.receipt_email}`);
}

When a Stripe payment succeeds:

Webhook fires
We build receipt data from the payment intent
Kagyz generates the PDF
We email it to the customer

The whole flow runs in under a second.

Adding Tax Support

If you need tax on receipts (VAT, GST, sales tax), add a tax field:

// Invoice-level tax — applies to all items
tax: { rate: 20 }  // 20% VAT

// Or item-level tax — different rates per item
items: [
  {
    description: "Software License",
    quantity: 1,
    unit_price: 99,
    tax: { rate: 20 }  // 20% on this item
  },
  {
    description: "Support Plan",
    quantity: 1,
    unit_price: 29,
    tax: { rate: 0 }   // Tax-exempt
  }
]

Item-level tax overrides invoice-level tax for that item — useful for EU VAT where digital services and physical goods have different rates.

Why Not Just Use Stripe's Built-in Receipts?

Stripe's receipts work, but they have limitations:

Stripe branding — the receipt says Stripe, not your company
Limited customization — you can't add custom fields, detailed tax breakdowns, or your own notes
No PDF file — Stripe sends an email with a link, not a downloadable PDF attachment
Inconsistent with your other documents — if you also generate invoices and quotes, they'll look different from Stripe's receipts

With Kagyz, your receipts match your invoices. Same design, same layout, same professional look — just different content.

Testing Locally

Use the Stripe CLI to forward webhooks to your local server:

# Install Stripe CLI, then:
stripe listen --forward-to localhost:3000/webhook/stripe

# In another terminal, trigger a test payment:
stripe trigger payment_intent.succeeded

The Full Picture

Once this is running, you have automated receipts with zero manual work. But the same pattern works for other documents too:

payment_intent.succeeded → generate receipt via POST /v1/receipt
Subscription created → generate invoice via POST /v1/invoice
Deal closed in your CRM → generate quote via POST /v1/quote
Refund issued → generate credit note via POST /v1/credit-note

Same API, same design language, four document types. Full docs here.

Kagyz is a JSON-to-PDF API for business documents. Free tier: 100 PDFs/month, no credit card needed.

→ kagyz.com
→ API docs
→ Receipt endpoint docs