API keys, rate limits and the free tier
How pdfrender access works: anonymous calls at a per-IP limit, API keys that raise it, credit-metered renders, and what each response header means.
| Anonymous | 10 requests/minute per IP — no key needed |
|---|---|
| Free tier | 100 renders/month, no card |
| Essential | €20/month — 10,000 renders |
| Scale | €80/month — 100,000 renders |
Three escalating levels, no surprises:
- Anonymous — every render endpoint works without a key at a low per-IP rate limit (10/minute). Good for evaluation and one-off scripts.
- Free account — sign up, create a key in the dashboard, send it as
X-API-Key. You get 100 renders a month and a higher per-minute budget. - Subscription — Essential (€20/mo, 10,000 renders) or Scale (€80/mo, 100,000 renders). Credits reset each cycle; cancel anytime. There are no other SKUs and no top-up packs.
An invalid or missing key never errors — the call just runs anonymously.
Every response carries X-RateLimit-* headers with your remaining budget;
429 means slow down, 402 means the month's credits are spent (the
response includes an upgrade link).
Billing fairness
Metering is charge-on-success: a render that fails with a server
error (including a 504 timeout) automatically refunds its credit. Client
errors (4xx — oversized HTML, blocked external URLs) stay charged on keyed
calls, so validate locally with the free tool while
iterating on a template.
Try it free
Try it free — the free tier needs no card — or start with zero setup in the browser tool.