Head to head · Pdf convert · October 2026 research run
Foxit PDF Services API vs PDF.co API + MCP
Foxit PDF Services API scores 48.3 (D) on agent readiness against PDF.co API + MCP's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. PDF.co API + MCP leads on schema & documentation. Both do pdf convert.
Which one, for what
Good for An agent that needs conversion, page operations, protection, redaction, forms and OCR at a flat per-request price with free failures.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 47 against 20
- Security & auth, 40 against 23
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
- Transparency & trust, 63 against 51
Watch for
OAuth client credentials carry no scopes, so every application credential can convert, delete and download
Good for An agent that needs many PDF operations from one vendor and can handle files by URL.
Ahead on
- Schema & documentation, 74 against 62
Watch for
No status page. status.pdf.co redirects to betterstack.com/uptime
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Foxit PDF Services API | PDF.co API + MCP | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 47 | 20 | Foxit PDF Services API +27 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 62 | 74 | PDF.co API + MCP +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 49 | 49 | even |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 40 | 23 | Foxit PDF Services API +17 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 40 | 20 | Foxit PDF Services API +20 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 38 | 34 | Foxit PDF Services API +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 63 | 51 | Foxit PDF Services API +12 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 48.3 · D | 37.9 · F |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Foxit PDF Services API | PDF.co API + MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Foxit Software Incorporated | PDF.co (Artifex Software) |
| Hosted endpoint | https://na1.fusion.foxit.com/pdf-services | https://api.pdf.co/v1 |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under the Foxit API Service Agreement. The MCP server is MIT per its package.json, with no licence file in the repository | MIT (MCP server) |
| Tools exposed | 42 | 38 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | io.github.foxitsoftware/foxit-pdf-api-mcp-server | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-07-13 | 2026-07-28 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-06-30 | 2026-03-24 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | 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 | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 12 stars, 47 npm/wk | 9 stars, 20 PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |
Verdicts
Foxit PDF Services API
One credit per successful request, with failed calls, uploads, polling and downloads free, and a 500-credit yearly free plan. Access has no scopes, and the official MCP server reads and writes any local path. The status page has no component for the API, and no changelog was found.
PDF.co API + MCP
OpenAPI 3.0.1 document with structured error bodies for 400 to 454, plus llms.txt and Markdown docs. No status page. status.pdf.co redirects to betterstack.com/uptime.
Before you call either
Foxit PDF Services API
- Exchange the client ID and secret at
https://na1.fusion.foxit.com/oauth/tokenand cache the Bearer token.expires_inis about 24 hours and there is no refresh token - Upload first with
POST /pdf-services/api/documents/upload, start the operation, pollGET /pdf-services/api/tasks/{task-id}untilCOMPLETED, then downloadresultDocumentId - Read the body of a 429. It means either the rate limit (15 a minute in sandbox, 100 in production) or
QUOTA_EXCEEDEDwhen credits run out - Keep uploads under 100 MB, and delete documents with
DELETE /pdf-services/api/documents/{document-id}when done. Deletion is permanent - With the MCP server, pass only paths the task needs.
upload_documentreads anyfile://path anddownload_documentwrites to any absolute path
PDF.co API + MCP
- Upload local files with
upload_fileor the presigned upload first, then pass the returned URL - Read the
contentfield, notstatus. The MCP server saysworkingeven when the API returned an error - Call
wait_job_completionafter each job. Every MCP call runs async and returns a job id - Download results within the hour. Output links expire after 60 minutes by default
- Keep the key in
X_API_KEYand leave theapi_keyargument empty
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Foxit PDF Services API or PDF.co API + MCP?
Foxit PDF Services API scores 48.3 (D) on agent readiness against PDF.co API + MCP's 37.9 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. PDF.co API + MCP leads on schema & documentation.
Do Foxit PDF Services API and PDF.co API + MCP need an API key?
Foxit PDF Services API uses an OAuth sign-in. PDF.co API + MCP needs an API key.
Can an agent call Foxit PDF Services API and PDF.co API + MCP without installing anything?
Yes. Foxit PDF Services API has a hosted endpoint at https://na1.fusion.foxit.com/pdf-services and PDF.co API + MCP at https://api.pdf.co/v1.
Other comparisons with Foxit PDF Services API or PDF.co API + MCP
Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/foxit-pdf-services-vs-pdf-co.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/foxit-pdf-services.json·/api/v1/tools/pdf-co.json - From a terminal
anchor compare foxit-pdf-services pdf-co(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "foxit-pdf-services", "b": "pdf-co"}at/mcp, no key