TechRadar Verdict
Pdfcrowd is a special PDF converter aimed at users who want to use HTML as their input. The program can convert web pages to PDF documents, and can work with live sites on the web, as well as ones uploaded by the user. It also supports direct HTML input, so if you only need to convert something small on the go, it can let you make small tweaks quickly and without unnecessary interruptions. It may not be the perfect solution for those who need advanced functionality and various different features, but there are plenty of PDF converters for those needs on the market.
Pros
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Easy to use
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Fast conversion
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Available in your browser
Cons
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Free version doesn’t offer much
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Having a complex, full-featured PDF converter is great for those cases when you need to make lots of adjustments and want to be in control of every little detail. But not every situation calls for that, and in some cases you just want to quickly convert HTML to a PDF document, maybe with some minor formatting here and there, but nothing too fancy. There are solutions on the market specifically aimed at that use case, and Pdfcrowd is one of them.
Pdfcrowd doesn’t offer many advanced features, and it’s a bit barebones as far as formatting capabilities go. But that’s not the application’s purpose – it’s aimed at users who just want to convert something quickly and without any hassle. Pdfcrowd works in your browser and is hosted online, meaning that it doesn’t rely on your system resources to get the job done. This can make it ideal for large batch jobs and other scenarios where you would otherwise have to invest lots of processing power.
Plans and pricing
Pdfcrowd has a free version, but it’s quite limited in functionality. Converted documents receive a watermark, and there are almost no settings to configure. It’s mostly a demo of the full application’s capabilities, but in this regard it works just fine. The premium version’s pricing is based on a credit system, with several packages that are charged monthly. There are some additional differences in the packages as well, including a rate limit and a guaranteed maximum delay.
Packages range from $11 to $106 per month, and there’s an Enterprise version available for heavier users as well. The company is open to communication, so if you have a more specific use case in mind, you should get in touch with them to discuss the details. They seem to be aware of the vastly different requirements of their users across the board and are doing their best to accommodate those.
Features
Users can pick a file – or type in their own HTML code – and have it converted in seconds. The application can also pick up code from any public website, which can be a very convenient feature when you quickly need to grab the contents of a specific page and don’t want to go through the trouble of copying it manually. There are some basic editing and formatting capabilities available, but most of them are locked behind the premium version. Even then, the tool doesn’t offer that much in this regard, as it’s not meant to be an advanced PDF editor.
One of the more interesting features of Pdfcrowd is that it provides an API for developers, meaning that you can even automate the conversion process if you’ve got some programming or scripting skills. The API seems reliable enough for larger projects, and there is a lot of documentation already available. Keep in mind that you might face some rate limitations, which are covered in more detail in the product’s pricing page. The developers are trying to keep things reasonable for all their users, but you may still encounter some obstacles if you try to use the API too frequently.
Interface and in use
The interface of Pdfcrowd is simple and straightforward. It doesn’t look very shiny compared to some other popular apps on this market, but it just gets straight to the point. Since it runs in a browser, the application is very lightweight and it won’t drag down your computer at all. You’re only running the frontend locally, with the actual conversion happening on the company’s servers. That way, all you need is a computer powerful enough to open a simple website, and you’re good to go with using Pdfcrowd.
Support
The company provides comprehensive help for using the tool, with lots of information available on their website. Their support representatives are very knowledgeable about the product, including on advanced topics related to automation and API use. Don’t be afraid to get in touch with them if you have any suggestions for improvements either – they seem to be quite receptive to feedback, from everything we’ve gathered about them online.
The competition
There are various other PDF converters out there, but few are available directly in a browser. Pdfcrowd is pretty unique in this regard, and it also stands out with the comprehensive API it provides to developers. At the same time, if you’re in need of something more advanced that will allow you to do complex conversion and formatting, you should probably look into a different tool. For the given price, there are better alternatives out there, including ones available with a one-time purchase instead of a subscription.
Final verdict
Pdfcrowd does its main job perfectly fine, and even though the tool leaves a lot to be desired in the way of advanced editing capabilities and formatting features, that’s not its main purpose. If you’re just looking for something simple and lightweight which can facilitate larger conversion jobs, this is definitely something that might interest you. Keep in mind that your usage will be limited by your credits though, so a very large conversion might end up being quite expensive.
Need to convert more files? Check out the best HTML to PDF converters, best Excel to PDF converters and the best PDF to Word converters
