# DocRaptor vs iLoveAPI

> DocRaptor scores 53.3 (D) to iLoveAPI's 42.1 (E) for pdf generate. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-iloveapi
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-iloveapi.md (~3,900 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

DocRaptor scores 53.3 (D) on agent readiness against iLoveAPI's 42.1 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. iLoveAPI leads on maintenance & community. Both do pdf generate.

- DocRaptor: grade D, 53.3/100, rank #841 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/docraptor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docraptor.json
- iLoveAPI: grade E, 42.1/100, rank #1180 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/iloveapi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/iloveapi.json
- Best PDF manipulation and conversion APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/pdf-tools/index.md
- All 43 pdf comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pdf-tools/index.md

## Which one, for what

### DocRaptor (D)

Good for: Agents that already have HTML and CSS and need print-quality PDFs with Prince's paged-media support, or an XLSX from an HTML table.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 26
- Schema & documentation, 62 against 37
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 30
- Transparency & trust, 69 against 53

Watch for: One API key per account with no scopes, and the docs still offer it as the `user_credentials` query parameter

### iLoveAPI (E)

Good for: An agent that needs common PDF and image operations with a monthly free allowance and a choice of processing region.

Ahead on:
- Maintenance & community, 62 against 21

Watch for: No OpenAPI file, llms.txt or Markdown docs. The reference is one HTML page


## Why the edge

### Reliability: DocRaptor +42

- DocRaptor (68): Read with the hosted lines. status.docraptor.com is an Atlassian Statuspage with components (20). Its front page reported no incidents on any of the days it lists, the history page needs JavaScript our reader lacks, and history.rss redirects to an inactive feed, so the record is clean for the days we could read and unread beyond them (20). The limits page gives numbers, 60 seconds synchronous, 600 asynchronous, 30 simultaneous requests and 100 MB hosted output (15). Too many simultaneous requests answer 403 with no Retry-After or backoff guidance, callbacks are retried up to three times, and there is no idempotency key (3). No SLA found; the about page's 99.99 per cent uptime is a marketing figure and the terms are unread (0). GA (10). 20 + 20 + 15 + 3 + 0 + 10 = 68.
- iLoveAPI (26): Graded as a hosted API. No status page is linked from the site, the docs or the security page (0), so there is no readable incident history (5). Rate limits are described as tier-dependent and reported in response headers, with no numbers. The open-task cap of 10% of the monthly file limit and two signature reminders a day are the only figures (3). 429 is documented with advice to back off exponentially, and failed files are not charged, but there is no Retry-After and no idempotency key (8). The pricing FAQ says the API guarantees over 99.95% uptime and the functions page says 99.9%+, with no SLA document or remedy, and the terms disclaim availability (0). Generally available (10).

### Maintenance & community: iLoveAPI +41

- DocRaptor (21): Read as a closed service with open-source clients. The last dated product change found is the changelog entry of 5 September 2023, and the client libraries were last tagged in 2023 (docraptor-python 3.1.0 on 19 July 2023, npm docraptor 1.0.1 on 28 December 2023); the about and security pages were rewritten after the October 2025 acquisition but carry no dated API change (0). No releases in the last 90 days (0). Support by email, site chat and a help centre with stated hours, and a per-document help request from the dashboard; GitHub issue replies couldn't be read (8 of 15). Official clients in six languages exist and still match the API, but none has shipped since 2023 (10). The Python client pins 2023 dependencies and its test suite runs through tox with no CI workflow in the repository (3). 0 + 0 + 8 + 10 + 3 = 21.
- iLoveAPI (62): The .NET library v1.6.4 was tagged on 3 September 2026, 36 days before this check (20). Three library releases in the last 90 days, PHP v1.4.1 on 22 July, Python v1.1.0 on 28 July and .NET v1.6.4 (20). Closed service with no API changelog. Support is by email and a chat widget, and GitHub issue replies were not read (6). PHP, .NET and Python libraries are current, while Node.js last changed in May 2025 and Ruby in October 2024 (10). CI workflows and tests in the Python, .NET and Node.js repositories (6).

### Schema & documentation: DocRaptor +25

- DocRaptor (62): An OpenAPI 3.0 description, docraptor.yaml with seven operations and a Doc schema, is public in the client repositories and generates the libraries, but it is not served from docraptor.com (18). No llms.txt and no Markdown twins (0). The API parameters page describes each option, when to use async, how pipelines map to Prince and JavaScript engines, and why both JavaScript engines shouldn't be enabled together (14). Options are listed with their allowed values and defaults, and the OpenAPI Doc schema types them, though nested `prince_options` are documented in prose (11). Examples in seven languages, a status-code page, an XML error example and the async failure body (11). Pipelines are versioned with a dated changelog, but its last entry is 5 September 2023 and the API path carries no version (8). 18 + 0 + 14 + 11 + 11 + 8 = 62.
- iLoveAPI (37): No OpenAPI file or other machine-readable contract was found (0). `llms.txt` answered 404 and there are no Markdown docs (0). The single-page reference states what each tool and parameter does, without guidance on when not to use one (10). Parameters carry types, accepted values and defaults, such as rotation 0, 90, 180 or 270 (11). JSON response samples, an error table, and file and task status lists, with request examples mostly in the library guides (10). The path carries `/v1`. No API changelog was found, and the Python and PHP libraries keep their own (6).

### Transparency & trust: DocRaptor +16

- DocRaptor (69): Closed service; the terms render through a script and were not read, the client libraries are MIT (12). The security FAQ states retention options, that logs hold metadata only, that content isn't used for model training and that metadata may be used for analytics, and the privacy policy on artifex.com of 19 November 2025 names the entities; the sub-processor list is a help-centre page that rendered empty for our reader (18). Pipelines 1 to 7 were deprecated with a dated notice in 2020 and pipeline versions are selectable, but there is no written notice period (12). AWS us-east-1 is named as the processing location and the FAQ says customers are emailed when the sub-processor list changes, though the list itself was unread (12). 12 + 18 + 12 + 12 = 54.
- iLoveAPI (53): Closed service with terms naming iLovePDF S.L., last modified 14 February 2017, and MIT client libraries (15). The reference says files are deleted after an hour depending on tier and elsewhere after two hours, the security page says two hours and the terms say at most 48 hours. The privacy policy is an iubenda document closed to us by robots.txt and was not read (12). No deprecation policy, and the terms allow the API to be discontinued at any time (0). Seven processing regions are selectable per task and Stripe is named for payments. No subprocessor list was read (10).

### Payments & pricing: DocRaptor +5

- DocRaptor (35): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plan prices are public and the plans page says overage is a per-document price by plan, with the per-document figures shown through a plan selector that our reader saw only for the Free plan (15). The Free plan has 5 documents a month and unlimited watermarked test documents, but the signup form shows card fields and no page says whether the Free plan needs a card (10). A person signs up in a browser (0). 0 + 15 + 10 + 0 = 35.
- iLoveAPI (30): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). The credit cost of every tool is public without a login, but the euro price of a credit is drawn by script and was not read, so this is scored as public plan pricing (10). 2,500 free credits a month, and the sign-up form asks for name, email and password with no card field (20). A person registers in a browser to get keys (0).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | DocRaptor | iLoveAPI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 26 | DocRaptor +42 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 37 | DocRaptor +25 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 63 | 61 | DocRaptor +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 41 | 41 | even |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 30 | DocRaptor +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 21 | 62 | iLoveAPI +41 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 53 | DocRaptor +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.3 · D** | **42.1 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | DocRaptor | iLoveAPI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | DocRaptor, LLC (Artifex Software) | iLovePDF S.L. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.docraptor.com/docs` | `https://api.ilovepdf.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT (client libraries) | Proprietary service under the iLovePDF API terms. The client libraries are MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2023-09-05 | 2026-09-03 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-06-03 | 2017-02-14 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2025-11-19 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 17k npm/wk | 9.6k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.8/5 (4) |

## How the scores have moved

### DocRaptor

No score change since it was listed.

### iLoveAPI

- -0.1 on 28 October 2026: correction
- +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist

## Verdicts

**DocRaptor.** One POST turns HTML into a print-quality PDF or an Excel file, with published limits, free watermarked test documents and clients in seven languages. The single key can travel in a query string, there is no idempotency key, the terms page needs JavaScript our reader lacks, and nothing dated has changed since 2023.

**iLoveAPI.** Per-tool credit costs are public, 2,500 free credits arrive each month on a sign-up that asks for no card, and five official libraries are MIT. No OpenAPI file, status page or published rate-limit numbers were found, and the governing terms date from 14 February 2017.

## Before you call either

### DocRaptor

1. Send the key as the HTTP Basic username with a blank password, never as `user_credentials` in the URL, and send `test: true` while iterating since test documents are free and watermarked
2. Use `async: true` for documents that may take more than 60 seconds, then poll `/status/{status_id}` until `completed` and fetch `download_url` within the account's retention period
3. Treat a 403 as either a permission problem or more than 30 simultaneous requests; back off and retry rather than fail the task
4. JavaScript errors and, on pipelines before 7, console messages fail the document; set `javascript: true` only when the HTML needs it and define `docraptorJavaScriptFinished()` for async scripts
5. Do not retry a synchronous POST blindly after a timeout; check the document log or listing first, since each success counts against the monthly quota

### iLoveAPI

1. Run four calls per job. `GET /v1/start/{tool}/{region}` returns a `server` and a `task`, then send upload, process and download to that server
2. Sign a JWT with the project secret key and send it as `Authorization: Bearer`. Tokens expire after one hour
3. Download results promptly. The reference says files are deleted one to two hours after processing, depending on tier
4. Back off exponentially on 429 and read the rate-limit headers on each response. No limit numbers are published
5. Add `debug=true` to any request to have the server echo the parameters without processing or spending credits

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, DocRaptor or iLoveAPI?

DocRaptor scores 53.3 (D) on agent readiness against iLoveAPI's 42.1 (E), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. iLoveAPI leads on maintenance & community.

### Do DocRaptor and iLoveAPI need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call DocRaptor and iLoveAPI without installing anything?

Yes. DocRaptor has a hosted endpoint at https://api.docraptor.com/docs and iLoveAPI at https://api.ilovepdf.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-iloveapi.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-iloveapi.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "docraptor", "b": "iloveapi"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare docraptor iloveapi`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docraptor.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/iloveapi.json

## Other comparisons with DocRaptor or iLoveAPI

- [CloudConvert API vs DocRaptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudconvert-vs-docraptor.md)
- [CloudConvert API vs iLoveAPI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudconvert-vs-iloveapi.md)
- [Foxit PDF Services API vs iLoveAPI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foxit-pdf-services-vs-iloveapi.md)
- [iLoveAPI vs Nutrient DWS Processor API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iloveapi-vs-nutrient-dws-processor.md)
- [iLoveAPI vs PDF.co API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iloveapi-vs-pdf-co.md)
- [iLoveAPI vs pdfRest API Toolkit](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iloveapi-vs-pdfrest.md)
- [DocRaptor vs Foxit PDF Services API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-foxit-pdf-services.md)
- [DocRaptor vs Nutrient DWS Processor API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-nutrient-dws-processor.md)
- [DocRaptor vs PDF.co API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-pdf-co.md)
- [DocRaptor vs PDFMonkey](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-pdfmonkey.md)
- [DocRaptor vs pdfRest API Toolkit](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docraptor-vs-pdfrest.md)
- [iLoveAPI vs PDFMonkey](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iloveapi-vs-pdfmonkey.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp