pdfmill vs CustomJS
Both give you a dedicated n8n node that renders a PDF without self-hosting Chrome. The real differences are the pricing model (a flat monthly budget vs a daily request limit), and the shape: pdfmill ships built-in document templates; CustomJS is an HTML-first PDF toolkit that also merges, compresses, and converts.
We build pdfmill, so treat this as our honest case — not a neutral review. pdfmill is newly launched. Every CustomJS fact below is linked to its public source and dated (checked July 28, 2026); pricing changes, so verify anything load-bearing on CustomJS's own site, and tell us if something here is out of date.
| pdfmill | CustomJS | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing unit | Flat monthly plan; one document = one count, any page length. | A daily request rate limit (requests/day), not a monthly quota[customjs.space/pricing · July 28, 2026]. |
| Entry price | $9/mo for 500 docs; $19/mo for 2,000. | $9/mo (Pro) = 100 requests/day (~3,000/mo); $29 Ultra, $99 Mega[customjs.space/pricing · July 28, 2026]. |
| Free tier | Permanent Free: 75 documents/month, no card, no watermark. | 20 requests/day (~600/mo) — but the free tier adds a watermark (removed on paid)[customjs.space/pricing · July 28, 2026]. |
| At the limit | Hard cap: a clear 402 upgrade prompt, never a silent overage. | A per-day rate limit; behavior past it isn’t stated on the pricing page. |
| n8n node | One node, two operations (template / HTML). | A community “PDF Toolkit” node with several operations[customjs.space/integration · July 28, 2026]. |
| Scope | Branded document generation with built-in starters (invoice, quote, report, certificate, packing slip). | HTML-to-PDF plus merge, compress, and PDF→image/text — but bring-your-own HTML (no built-in document templates)[customjs.space/integration · July 28, 2026]. |
Where pdfmill fits better
- Built-in templates. pdfmill ships polished starters for invoices, certificates, and reports; with CustomJS you design and maintain the HTML/CSS yourself.
- A clean free tier. pdfmill’s 75 free docs/month are un-watermarked; CustomJS watermarks free output until you upgrade[customjs.space/pricing · July 28, 2026].
- A monthly budget, not a daily throttle. pdfmill counts per month, so a busy day doesn’t hit a wall; CustomJS caps requests per day.
- A hard cap you can trust and binary-return only — the document comes back to your workflow, not to a hosted URL.
Where CustomJS fits better
Being fair: CustomJS is a genuinely close, capable option. It does more than generate — merge, compress, and convert PDFs are built in[customjs.space/integration · July 28, 2026] — and at the $9 tier its 100 requests/day is a lot of raw throughput[customjs.space/pricing · July 28, 2026] if a daily rate limit fits your pattern and you’re happy writing your own HTML. If you need a PDF toolkit rather than a focused document generator, CustomJS is the broader tool.
Sources
- https://www.customjs.space/pricing — accessed July 28, 2026Free tier 20 req/day with watermark; Pro $9 (100/day, no watermark), Ultra $29, Mega $99; limits are per-day.
- https://www.customjs.space/integration/n8n/ — accessed July 28, 2026CustomJS community “PDF Toolkit” node for n8n (HTML-to-PDF, merge, compress, convert).
- https://www.customjs.space/integration/pdf-api/html-to-pdf/ — accessed July 28, 2026HTML-to-PDF is HTML-first (you supply the HTML/CSS).
See for yourself
Render your first PDF from an n8n workflow in about five minutes — the Free plan is 75 documents a month, no card required.