Use Case

Invoice PDF Generation
HTML Templates to Downloadable PDFs

Generate professional, branded invoice PDFs from HTML templates. Design your invoice with CSS, inject dynamic line items, and get a pixel-perfect A4 or Letter PDF back. No wkhtmltopdf, no Puppeteer, no server setup.

Start Free — 100 requests/month
The problem

PDF generation shouldn't require DevOps

Self-hosting PDF generation means choosing between wkhtmltopdf (outdated WebKit engine, poor CSS support), Puppeteer/Playwright (full browser infrastructure to manage), or PDFKit/jsPDF (programmatic drawing, no HTML/CSS support).

SnapRender lets you design invoices with the tools you already know — HTML and CSS. Send your template to the API, get a PDF back. Modern CSS support, custom fonts, images — everything just works.

Code examples

Generate invoices in any language

Python
import requests

invoice_html = """
<html>
<head>
  <style>
    body { font-family: 'Helvetica', sans-serif; padding: 40px; color: #333; }
    .header { display: flex; justify-content: space-between; margin-bottom: 40px; }
    .logo { font-size: 24px; font-weight: bold; }
    .invoice-info { text-align: right; color: #666; }
    table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin: 30px 0; }
    th { background: #f5f5f5; text-align: left; padding: 12px; border-bottom: 2px solid #ddd; }
    td { padding: 12px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; }
    .total { text-align: right; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 20px; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="header">
    <div class="logo">Acme Corp</div>
    <div class="invoice-info">
      <div>Invoice #INV-2026-0412</div>
      <div>Date: April 12, 2026</div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <table>
    <tr><th>Item</th><th>Qty</th><th>Price</th><th>Total</th></tr>
    <tr><td>Pro Plan (Monthly)</td><td>1</td><td>$49.00</td><td>$49.00</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Additional Users (5)</td><td>5</td><td>$10.00</td><td>$50.00</td></tr>
  </table>
  <div class="total">Total: $99.00</div>
</body>
</html>
"""

resp = requests.post('https://api.snaprender.dev/v1/pdf',
    headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_KEY'},
    json={
        'html': invoice_html,
        'format': 'A4',
        'margin': {'top': '20mm', 'bottom': '20mm', 'left': '15mm', 'right': '15mm'}
    })

with open('invoice.pdf', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(resp.content)
Node.js
const res = await fetch('https://api.snaprender.dev/v1/pdf', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    html: invoiceHtml,  // Your HTML template with injected data
    format: 'A4',
    margin: {
      top: '20mm',
      bottom: '20mm',
      left: '15mm',
      right: '15mm'
    }
  })
});

const pdfBuffer = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());

// Save to disk, upload to S3, or send as email attachment
fs.writeFileSync('invoice.pdf', pdfBuffer);
How it works

Three steps to invoice PDFs

1

Design your invoice template

Create an HTML/CSS invoice template with your company branding, logo, and layout. Use CSS @page rules for margins, headers, and footers. Add placeholders for dynamic data.

2

Inject data and send to the API

Populate your template with invoice data — customer info, line items, totals, due dates. POST the complete HTML to /v1/pdf with your preferred paper size and margins.

3

Deliver the PDF

Save the PDF to storage, attach it to an email, or serve it as a download link. The PDF is print-ready with proper page breaks and formatting.

Simple pricing for invoice generation

Each PDF generation counts as one request. No per-page charges, no file size limits.

$0
100 PDFs/mo
$9
1,500 PDFs/mo
$29
5,000 PDFs/mo
Start Free

Frequently asked questions

You send an HTML invoice template to the /pdf endpoint with your dynamic data (line items, totals, customer info). SnapRender renders it in a headless browser and returns a downloadable PDF. You design the invoice with HTML/CSS — full control over layout, fonts, and branding.

Yes. Your HTML template can include any CSS, web fonts, your company logo, brand colors, and custom layouts. The PDF is rendered from a real browser, so it looks exactly like your HTML design.

SnapRender supports standard paper sizes including A4, Letter, Legal, and custom dimensions. You can set margins, orientation (portrait/landscape), and page breaks using CSS @page rules or API parameters.

Yes. Send parallel requests to the /pdf endpoint with different invoice data. SnapRender handles concurrent requests automatically. The $29/mo plan includes 5,000 requests — enough for most SaaS billing needs.

Typical generation time is 1-3 seconds per PDF. For time-sensitive workflows, you can pre-generate PDFs when invoices are created rather than on-demand when users click "download."

Almost always. Self-hosting wkhtmltopdf or Puppeteer for PDF generation requires server infrastructure ($20-200/mo), maintenance time, and debugging Chrome crashes. SnapRender starts at $9/mo with zero infrastructure.

Stop wrestling with PDF libraries.

HTML in, PDF out. Start free with 100 invoices/month. No credit card required.

Start Free — 100 requests/month