puppeteer vs wkhtmltopdf

Struggling to choose between puppeteer and wkhtmltopdf? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

puppeteer is a Development solution with tags like automation, testing, headless, browser, chromium, nodejs.

It boasts features such as Headless Chrome/Chromium automation, Page screenshot capturing, PDF generation, Crawls pages, Executes JavaScript, Intercepts network requests, Emulate devices, Sandboxed execution and pros including Powerful API for browser automation, Runs in a headless environment, Fast and lightweight, Built on top of DevTools Protocol, Supports latest Chrome features, Open source and free.

On the other hand, wkhtmltopdf is a Office & Productivity product tagged with html, pdf, converter, open-source.

Its standout features include Converts HTML to PDF using WebKit rendering engine, Supports CSS, JavaScript, images and web fonts, Command line interface allows automation and scripting, Supports page headers and footers, Has options for page size, margins, orientation, zoom level, Can create outlined bookmarks from headings, Supports table of contents generation, Has security options like disabling JavaScript, Works on Linux, Windows and macOS, and it shines with pros like Open source and free, Produces high quality PDF from HTML, Fast and lightweight, Many options for customization, Easy to use in scripts and automation.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

puppeteer

puppeteer

Puppeteer is a Node.js library developed by Google which provides a high-level API to control headless Chrome or Chromium over the DevTools Protocol. It allows developers to automate browser testing and scraping tasks.

Categories:
automation testing headless browser chromium nodejs

Puppeteer Features

  1. Headless Chrome/Chromium automation
  2. Page screenshot capturing
  3. PDF generation
  4. Crawls pages
  5. Executes JavaScript
  6. Intercepts network requests
  7. Emulate devices
  8. Sandboxed execution

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Powerful API for browser automation

Runs in a headless environment

Fast and lightweight

Built on top of DevTools Protocol

Supports latest Chrome features

Open source and free

Cons

Requires basic Node.js knowledge

Headless only, no visible UI

Limited to Chromium-based browsers

Steep learning curve for advanced usage

Requires managing browser lifecycle


wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf is an open source command line tool that uses the WebKit rendering engine to convert HTML to PDF. It works by taking HTML and CSS as input and generating a PDF file as output, allowing users to create PDF versions of web pages.

Categories:
html pdf converter open-source

Wkhtmltopdf Features

  1. Converts HTML to PDF using WebKit rendering engine
  2. Supports CSS, JavaScript, images and web fonts
  3. Command line interface allows automation and scripting
  4. Supports page headers and footers
  5. Has options for page size, margins, orientation, zoom level
  6. Can create outlined bookmarks from headings
  7. Supports table of contents generation
  8. Has security options like disabling JavaScript
  9. Works on Linux, Windows and macOS

Pricing

  • Open Source
  • Free

Pros

Open source and free

Produces high quality PDF from HTML

Fast and lightweight

Many options for customization

Easy to use in scripts and automation

Cons

Lacks a GUI or web interface

Limited to converting HTML to PDF

Requires installing dependencies

Not as full-featured as paid alternatives