In preparation Planned for spring 2027
pdfkiln Pro
The free pdfkiln replaces wkhtmltopdf. pdfkiln Pro adds what companies need on top: compliant PDF/A-3 and Factur-X invoices from the HTML templates you already have, Chromium updates tested against your templates before they reach you, and guarantees in writing.
Your answers decide what ships first and at what price.
What Pro adds
PDF/A-3 and Factur-X
Chromium does not write PDF/A, and an invoice in Factur-X or ZUGFeRD is a PDF/A-3 that carries its XML. Give pdfkiln Pro your current HTML template and the invoice’s CII XML: it checks the XML against the EN 16931 rules and writes the PDF/A-3 with the XML inside. PDF/A alone, for archiving, too.
E-invoicing becomes compulsory: in France, sending for small and mid-sized companies from 1 September 2027; in Germany, from 2027 for companies over €800,000 of turnover, from 2028 for all.
Your templates, tested on every version
Give us your templates, with sample data. Each new version, Chromium’s included, runs them before it reaches you, page count checked: you know whether they are compatible or not before you update. Chromium’s security fixes reach you as soon as they are tested.
Guarantees in writing
A fix time written in the contract for critical Chromium flaws, e-mail support with a written response time, long-term versions that get fixes without changes in rendering, and a package repository of your own: you choose the version, and install it on servers without internet access.
Later
Electronic signature and timestamps (PAdES, RFC 3161), and a high-volume server: a queue, workers on several machines, recovery and monitoring.
Same commands, nothing calls home
Pro answers to the same names, wkhtmltopdf and pdfkiln: moving to it changes no integration. A signed license file switches the Pro features on and is checked on your machine, without any call to our servers: your documents never leave it.
The license is yearly. A version released before its end date keeps working without limit; later versions need a renewal.
The free pdfkiln stays free
The core stays under the MIT license, without limits and without a key: the wkhtmltopdf mode, the native interface, wkhtmltoimage, pdfkiln serve, every platform, the latest Chromium in each release. Pro is sold for what the free edition does not do, never by taking something away from it.
Two ways to get it
| pdfkiln Pro, self-hosted | conv2pdf, hosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs | On your servers | On ours, in France |
| Documents | Never leave your machines | Pass through ours, deleted once downloaded |
| Integration | Command line, as wkhtmltopdf | API, n8n, Zapier, Make |
| Price | Yearly license, per server or per site | Subscription or quota |
| For | Sensitive data, large volumes, closed networks, existing wkhtmltopdf integrations | Small teams, no servers to run, low to medium volume |
conv2pdf already converts HTML and web pages to PDF with pdfkiln; its Factur-X conversion is planned with Pro.
Planned prices
Server
€490 per server per year
Every Pro feature, e-mail support.
Site
€1,990 per year
Unlimited servers within one company.
Planned prices, excluding VAT, which may change before launch. 30-day trial. Free for non-commercial use and open-source projects, on declaration. A server is a machine or a container that runs pdfkiln in production; development machines and CI do not count.
Join the waitlist
Tick the features you need, or describe your own: the answers decide what gets built, and in what order. We may ask a few of you to try the first builds on your own templates.
Questions
Will the free pdfkiln be limited one day?
No. The core is MIT-licensed and public; it has no key and no limit, and that will not change.
What does Factur-X need from me?
Your HTML template, as you print it today, and the invoice’s XML in the CII syntax, which your invoicing code or a library produces. pdfkiln Pro checks the XML and builds the file. Later, the invoice as JSON, from which pdfkiln will write the XML too.
Is a Factur-X file enough for the French reform?
The file is one of the three formats the reform accepts, but invoices travel through an approved platform (plateforme agréée). pdfkiln Pro makes a valid Factur-X that your platform accepts; it is not a platform itself.
What counts as a server?
A machine or a container that runs pdfkiln in production. Development machines and CI do not count. With Kubernetes or autoscaling, the site license is the simple choice: it covers every server of the company, whatever their number.
When?
The target is spring 2027, before the French deadline for small and mid-sized companies on 1 September 2027. Waitlist members hear first.