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Zeeshan Wazir
Zeeshan Wazir

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The 5 Node.js PDF Libraries Every Developer Must Know

#javascript #npm #tutorial #pdf

TL;DR

Skip fragile PDF workarounds. Use proven Node.js PDF libraries to generate reports, invoices, and documents at scale.

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Introduction

Node.js has become a popular choice for building server-side applications, and its versatility extends to various domains, including PDF file generation and manipulation. PDF generation in Node.js is a common requirement for applications that need to create reports, encrypted documents, invoices, or any other printable documents.

If you're a Node.js developer who finds themselves working with PDFs a lot, then be sure to stick around because today we'll be exploring and comparing 5 popular existing Node.js PDF libraries with a special focus on IronPDF, a powerful PDF library for Node.js.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction to Node.js PDF Libraries

  2. IronPDF

    1. Features
    2. What's New (with code example)
    3. Use Cases

  3. PDFKit

    1. Features
    2. Use Cases

  4. Puppeteer

    1. Features
    2. Use Cases

  5. jsPDF

    1. Features
    2. Use Cases

  6. jsreport

    1. Features
    2. Use Cases

  7. Conclusion

1. Introduction to Node.js PDF Libraries

Node.js PDF libraries offer a robust solution for handling PDF-related tasks in a server-side environment, providing developers with powerful tools to generate, manipulate, and extract content from PDF documents seamlessly. These libraries enable efficient handling of complex PDF operations, such as merging documents, adding annotations, and converting PDFs to other formats.

During the review, we paid special attention to the following aspects of PDF libraries:

  • Ease of use: How easy is the library to use? Is the API intuitive and easy to learn?

  • Performance: How does the library handle large datasets? Can it maintain speed and performance?

  • Key Features: What are the key features that the library has to offer? Does it offer a wider range of features or just a few features?

  • Possible use cases: We'll take a look at some possible real-world use cases to show how this library can be used.

2. IronPDF - Node.js library

IronPDF is a Node.JS PDF library that offers a comprehensive set of features for creating, manipulating, and reading PDF files from HTML file, string, and URL. It uses a Chrome-based rendering engine, so HTML, CSS and JavaScript render the same way they do in Google Chrome.

The Node.js PDF Library by IronPDF offers pixel-perfect formatting for seamless PDF generation within Node.js applications. With its robust capabilities, developers can achieve precise control over the layout and design of PDF documents, ensuring a professional and polished appearance. Explore comprehensive tutorials on converting HTML to PDF using IronPDF in Node.js through the detailed guide available on its website. You can download IronPDF directly by clicking here.

Cross-Platform Support

IronPDF is built for modern Node.js environments, running reliably across operating systems, cloud platforms, and popular developer tools.

Category Items
Runtime Node.js 18+
Operating Systems Windows; macOS; Linux
App Environments Local Development; Docker; Cloud Platforms
Cloud Platforms Azure; AWS
Package Manager npm
IDEs Visual Studio Code; WebStorm
Container Support Docker

Features

IronPDF provides a number of advantages over other Node.JS PDF libraries, including:

Support for a wide range of PDF features: IronPDF supports a wide range of PDF features, including creating, manipulating, and reading PDF files. It also supports features such as encryption, digital signatures, and watermarks.

Ease of use: IronPDF is easy to use, even for beginners. It provides a simple API that makes it easy to create, manipulate, read, and modify PDF documents.

Performance: IronPDF is a fast and reliable PDF generator, and recent releases have further reduced rendering overhead (see below).

Here's how little code it takes to turn HTML into a PDF:

import { PdfDocument } from "@ironsoftware/ironpdf";

(async () => {
    // Create a PDF from an HTML string
    const pdf = await PdfDocument.fromHtml("<h1>Hello World</h1>");

    // Export the PDF to a file
    await pdf.saveAs("output.pdf");
})();
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IronPDF is a good choice for businesses and developers who need a powerful and reliable Node.JS PDF library. It is also a good choice for developers who need to create PDFs from dynamic content, such as web pages, and modify existing PDF documents.

What's New in IronPDF for Node.js (2025–2026)

IronPDF for Node.js has introduced several capabilities for developers who need more than basic HTML-to-PDF conversion:

  • PDF Accessibility (PDF/UA-2): Support for creating PDF/UA-2 (ISO 14289-2:2024) accessible documents, with PDF/UA structure, document language and accessibility metadata now preserved when merging, importing or securing PDFs.
  • Advanced PDF Compression: Fine-grained controls for reducing file size, including image DPI downsampling, JPEG quality settings, and opt-in bitonal (1-bit) compression for scanned documents.
  • Automatic Bookmarks and Table of Contents: Generate hierarchical bookmarks from HTML headings (H1–H6) during rendering, plus table of contents generation with configurable titles.
  • PDF Linearization: Create linearized ("fast web view") PDFs optimized for incremental loading over the web.
  • Enhanced Document Security: AES-128 and AES-256 encryption, digital signatures with RFC 3161 trusted timestamps, and support for signing existing named signature fields. Note that a document takes one signature at a time: to add several, sign and save, then reopen and sign again.
  • Rendering Performance Improvements: Fewer internal render calls and reuse of browser tabs to reduce startup overhead in server-side PDF generation.

These capabilities make IronPDF particularly relevant for Node.js applications generating invoices, business reports, accessible documents, and large PDF files that need further processing or distribution. For full release details, see the IronPDF for Node.js Changelog.

Example: one report, three outputs

This example uses several of the new APIs together. It renders an HTML report with an automatic table of contents and bookmarks, then saves a web-optimized copy, a compressed copy for email, and an AES-256 password-protected copy:

import {
    PdfDocument,
    TableOfContentsTypes,
    PdfEncryptionType,
} from "@ironsoftware/ironpdf";

(async () => {
    const html = `
        <div id="ironpdf-toc"></div>
        <h1>Annual Report</h1>
        <h2>Summary</h2><p>Highlights of the year...</p>
        <h2>Results</h2><p>Revenue and growth figures...</p>
    `;

    // Render with a table of contents and bookmarks generated from h1–h2 headings
    const pdf = await PdfDocument.fromHtml(html, {
        renderOptions: {
            tableOfContents: TableOfContentsTypes.WithPageNumbers,
            tableOfContentsTitle: "Contents",
            autoBookmarksFromHeadings: true,
            autoBookmarkMaxHeadingLevel: 2,
        },
    });

    // 1. Linearized ("fast web view") copy for viewing in the browser
    await pdf.saveAsLinearized("report-web.pdf");

    // 2. Smaller copy for email: downsample images to 150 DPI at JPEG quality 70
    await pdf.compressAndSaveAsAdvanced("report-small.pdf", {
        jpegQuality: 70,
        targetImageDpi: 150,
    });

    // 3. Password-protected copy with AES-256
    //    (set the encryption type BEFORE setting the password)
    await pdf.setEncryptionType(PdfEncryptionType.Aes_256);
    await pdf.setUserPassword("change-me");
    await pdf.saveAs("report-secure.pdf");

    await pdf.close();
})();
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The older compressSize() method still works but is deprecated. Use compressAndSaveAs(), compressPdfToBytes() or compressAndSaveAsAdvanced() in new code.

Use Cases

Here are some examples of how IronPDF can be used:

Checkout IronPDF Examples

Generate reports: IronPDF can be used to generate reports from data. For example, you could use IronPDF to generate a sales report or a customer report.

Create invoices: IronPDF can be used to create invoices. You could use IronPDF to create a PDF invoice from a database record.

Generate documents from HTML: IronPDF can be used to generate documents from HTML. For example, you could use IronPDF to generate a PDF document from a web page.

Accessible and web-optimized documents: IronPDF can produce PDF/UA-compliant documents for accessibility requirements and linearized PDFs for faster viewing in the browser.

IronPDF is a commercial library. Licenses start at $999 (Lite: 1 developer, 1 project), with other tiers for larger teams. If you want to give it a go before committing, a 30-day free trial unlocks full functionality.

3. PDFKit

PDFKit is an MIT-licensed JavaScript PDF library for Node.js and the browser that lets developers build PDF documents programmatically. Instead of converting HTML, you construct each page in code: text, graphics, images, tables and forms. Its chainable API makes even complex, multi-page documents straightforward to build.

Features

Some of its key features include:

Text and Graphics: You can add text with line wrapping, alignment and bulleted lists, along with images (JPEG and PNG) and shapes.

Vector Graphics: PDFKit supports vector graphics with an HTML5 canvas-like API, SVG paths, transformations and gradients, allowing you to create scalable, high-resolution illustrations and diagrams.

Font Embedding: Supports TrueType, OpenType and WOFF fonts, with font subsetting.

Tables, Forms and Annotations: Build tables, AcroForms, outlines, links and other annotations directly in code.

Security and Accessibility: Supports encryption, access permissions, and tagged PDF with PDF/UA support.

Page Layout: You have control over the page layout, including margins, page size, and orientation, allowing you to format your documents as needed.

Use Cases

PDFKit is a good choice for a variety of tasks, including:

Generating reports: PDFKit can be used to generate reports from data. For example, you could use PDFKit to generate a sales report or a customer report.

Creating invoices: PDFKit can be used to create invoices. You could use PDFKit to create a PDF invoice from a database record.

Building documents entirely in code: PDFKit fits certificates, forms, labels and other documents where you want precise control over every element. Note that it does not render HTML; if your source content is HTML, an HTML-rendering library is a better fit.

4. Puppeteer

Puppeteer is a headless Chrome browser automation tool. While it's not specifically a PDF library, it can generate PDFs from web pages by taking advantage of Chrome's built-in PDF rendering. It does not edit existing PDFs or encrypt documents, so those tasks require a separate PDF library.

Features

Here are its features related to PDF generation:

HTML to PDF Conversion: Puppeteer can convert HTML pages to PDF documents with page.pdf(). This is particularly useful for web applications that need to generate PDF versions of their web pages. PDF generation is supported in headless Chrome.

Custom Printing Options: Puppeteer allows you to customize PDF output, including page size, margins, scale, header and footer templates, and background graphics. It can also produce tagged (accessible) PDFs.

JavaScript Execution: Since Puppeteer uses a headless Chrome browser, it can execute JavaScript within the page, which is beneficial for converting interactive web pages to PDF.

Use Cases

Puppeteer is a good choice for a variety of tasks, including:

Generating PDFs from web pages: Puppeteer can render pages built with modern HTML, CSS and JavaScript and save them as PDFs.

Web scraping: Puppeteer can be used to scrape data from web pages. This is useful for tasks such as collecting product data from e-commerce websites or extracting news articles from news websites.

Testing: Puppeteer can be used to test web applications. This is useful for tasks such as testing the functionality of a web application or ensuring that a web application is accessible.

Automating tasks: Puppeteer can be used to automate a variety of tasks, such as filling out forms, clicking on buttons, and navigating to web pages. This is useful for tasks such as creating bots or automating repetitive tasks.

5. jsPDF

jsPDF is a versatile JavaScript PDF library that can be used both in the browser and in Node.js. It is mainly used for building PDFs programmatically, with its HTML conversion features aimed at the browser.

Features

Here are some of its key features:

Text Formatting: You can add styled text, including different fonts and text sizes, to your PDF documents.

Images and Graphics: jsPDF allows you to insert images and graphics into your PDFs, making it suitable for creating visually appealing documents.

Custom Fonts: It supports the use of custom fonts, enabling you to maintain consistent branding and typography in your PDFs.

Multiple Page Formats: jsPDF offers various page formats, including A4, letter, and more, allowing you to create documents with different layouts.

Use Cases

jsPDF is a good choice for a variety of tasks, including:

Generating reports: jsPDF can be used to generate reports from data. For example, you could use jsPDF to generate a sales report or a customer report.

Creating invoices: jsPDF can be used to create invoices. You could use jsPDF to create a PDF invoice from a database record.

Client-side HTML to PDF: jsPDF's html() method can convert page elements to PDF in the browser. It relies on html2canvas, which needs browser DOM APIs, so it doesn't run as a direct server-side conversion in Node.js and may not reproduce every CSS feature.

6. jsreport

jsreport is a Node.js-based reporting server that can dynamically produce reports in various formats, including existing PDFs, Excel, DOCX, PPTX, and many other text-based formats. It is a popular choice for generating reports because it is flexible, extensible, and easy to use.

Features

Here are some of the key features of jsreport:

Support for a wide range of output formats: jsreport can generate reports in a variety of formats, including PDF, Excel, DOCX, PPTX, HTML, CSV, and more. This makes it easy to choose the right format for your report, depending on your audience and needs.

Templating engine support: jsreport supports a variety of templating engines, including HTML, Handlebars, and EJS. This allows you to create complex and dynamic reports using your preferred templating engine.

Extensibility: jsreport is highly extensible, allowing you to add new features and functionality using plugins. There are a variety of plugins available, including plugins for adding support for new output formats, data sources, and templating engines.

Easy to use: jsreport is relatively easy to use, even for beginners. It provides a simple API that allows you to generate reports with just a few lines of code.

In addition to the above features, jsreport also offers a number of other features that make it a powerful and versatile reporting solution, such as:

Data binding: jsreport supports data binding, which allows you to bind data to your reports from a variety of sources, including databases, APIs, and local files.

Conditional logic: jsreport supports conditional logic, which allows you to create dynamic reports that change based on the data.

Subreports: jsreport supports subreports, which allows you to embed smaller reports within larger reports.

Scheduling: jsreport allows you to schedule reports to be generated and delivered at specific times.

Versioning: jsreport keeps track of versions of your reports, so you can easily revert to a previous version if necessary.

Security: jsreport provides several security features, such as user authentication and authorization, to protect your reports from unauthorized access.

Use Cases

Generating reports: With jsreport you can generate reports into easy-to-read PDF formats, thanks to its support for different file formats, you can turn your Excel spreadsheets and graphs into PDF when you need to display this data alongside your reports.

Create company-wide templates: Make use of jsreport's template support to create templates for your company to adhere to when it comes to generating reports, invoices, and more.

Portfolio creation: If you have a portfolio web page but need to convert it into an easy-to-read and share PDF, then jsreport has you covered. Using its support for HTML to PDF conversion, convert your portfolio into a cleanly formatted, structured PDF file.

Overall, jsreport is a powerful and versatile reporting solution that offers a wide range of features and functionality. It is a good choice for businesses of all sizes that need to generate reports from a variety of data sources and in a variety of formats.

Comparison of Key Features Between Node JS Libraries

Feature PDFKit Puppeteer jsPDF jsreport IronPDF
Create PDF files from scratch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Convert HTML to PDF No Yes Yes (browser only) Yes Yes
Modify existing PDF files No No No Yes Yes
Extract text, images, and other data from PDF files No No No Yes (text) Yes
Convert PDF to image No No No No Yes
Merge and split PDF files No No No Yes Yes
Encrypt PDF files Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Add digital signatures to PDF files No No No Yes Yes
Support for complex PDF features (forms, interactivity, etc.) Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Ease of use Easy Moderate Moderate Easy Easy

Each library fits a different job:

  • Puppeteer is best for browser automation and rendering web pages to PDF, when you don't need to edit or secure the PDF afterwards.
  • PDFKit is best for building documents programmatically, element by element, with no HTML involved.
  • jsPDF suits lightweight PDF creation, especially client-side in the browser.
  • jsreport suits template-driven reporting across many output formats.
  • IronPDF combines Chrome-accurate HTML rendering with PDF manipulation, compression, accessibility and document security in one library.

If you are looking for a PDF library for your Node.JS project and need both HTML rendering and post-processing (encryption, signatures, compression, PDF/UA), I would personally recommend considering IronPDF.

7. Conclusion - Choosing the Best Node.js PDF Library

When selecting a PDF library for your Node.js project, it's essential to consider various factors that will influence your development process and the final output. The libraries discussed—PDFKit, Puppeteer, jsPDF, jsreport, and IronPDF—each offer unique features and capabilities that cater to different use cases.

Here are some key criteria to help you determine the best PDF library for your needs:

  • Performance and Speed: How fast can the library generate complex PDF documents?

  • Ease of Use: Does the library provide a simple and intuitive API that is easy to understand and implement?

  • Feature Set: Does the library support all the necessary features you need, such as text formatting, image embedding, encryption, digital signatures, accessibility, and more?

  • Integration: How well does the library integrate with other tools and systems that you are using in your project?

  • Customization and Flexibility: Can the library be customized to meet your specific requirements, such as custom fonts, page formats, and layout controls?

  • Cost: What are the licensing costs associated with the library? Are there free versions available that meet your needs?

By considering these factors, you can make an informed decision about which Node.js PDF library is best suited for your project. Whether you need a programmatic builder like PDFKit, a comprehensive tool like IronPDF for HTML rendering plus advanced PDF features, or a flexible reporting solution like jsreport, there is a library that will meet your requirements.

Why IronPDF

Thousands of downloads every week plus regular updates show developers trust IronPDF's Node.js PDF engine for accurate HTML-to-PDF conversion, advanced features like encryption, digital signatures, compression and PDF/UA accessibility, and a simple API, all in one library.

Get IronPDF From NpmJS

Top comments (7)

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andrewtrefethen profile image
AndrewTrefethen •

I'd add pdf-lib to the list. It is supported on both server and client side, can open most existing PDFs, and can be used to create, modify, or fill out PDF forms in addition to the normal PDF editing capabilities.

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xeshan6981 profile image
Zeeshan Wazir •

Yes that's too a good option.

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itlackey profile image
IT Lackey •

I've found this library/tool set to be very handy

vivliostyle.org/

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meirlamdan profile image
meirlamdan •

If it is a marketing article, it should be noted that this is it

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fyodorio profile image
Fyodor •

I'd add client-side support to the comparison table — looks like only jspdf supports generating pdfs in brosers, right?

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xeshan6981 profile image
Zeeshan Wazir • • Edited

Yes! you are right. At the moment IronPDF only works for server-side as it uses Chrome Engine to render PDFs. I think the comparison is for Node.JS which is a server-side language, so client-side doesn't come into play. If we talk purely about client-side then its JavaScript and yes in this context jspdf have an advantage over others.

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jammawtf profile image
jammawtf •

"The 5 Node.js PDF Libraries Every Developer Must Know"

Every developer should know atleast 5?! Here I thought only a small fraction ever needed to do something with pdf..