Head to head · PDF conversion · October 2026 research run
Foxit PDF Services API vs pdfRest API Toolkit
pdfRest API Toolkit scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Foxit PDF Services API's 48.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Both do pdf conversion.
Best PDF manipulation and conversion APIs for AI agents · All 43 pdf comparisons
Which one, for what
Best for An agent that needs conversion, page operations, protection, redaction, forms and OCR at a flat per-request price with free failures.
Also in its favour
- Runs on your own machine
Watch for
OAuth client credentials carry no scopes, so every application credential can convert, delete and download
Best for Agents that process existing PDFs, converting, merging, compressing, redacting, signing or extracting, with a spec they can read and chainable outputs.
Ahead on
- Reliability, 58 against 47
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 62
- Maintenance & community, 70 against 38
Also in its favour
- Free to start without a card
Watch for
One API key per account with no scopes, expiry or rotation guide, and two docs pages that disagree on the auth header
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Maintenance & community pdfRest API Toolkit +32
Foxit PDF Services API 38
The MCP server's last npm release is 1.1.2 on 13 July 2026, 87 days before this check. The API itself has no dated release notes (20 of 30). One release in the last 90 days and no dated changelog entries (0). On GitHub, two bug reports of 27 August 2026 and a fix submitted on 29 August are still open, and the newest topics on the developer forum have no replies. Support runs through a case form (6 of 25). The server is in the official MCP registry under io.github.foxitsoftware, but the entry lists 0.2.3 from December 2025 (10 of 15). The repository has no CI workflow, no tests and no licence file, and its source stops at 0.2.3 while npm carries 1.1.2 (2 of 10).
pdfRest API Toolkit 70
Read as a closed service. 2.56.7 released 14 October 2026 (30). Nine dated releases between 7 August and 14 October 2026 (20). Support through a Jira service desk and email on paid plans; Datalogics links a Discord; no public issue tracker for the API (10 of 15). Code samples in six languages are kept on GitHub, but no official SDK package was confirmed (5). The status repository's CI runs daily; nothing else to assess (5). 30 + 20 + 10 + 5 + 5 = 70.
Schema & documentation pdfRest API Toolkit +28
Foxit PDF Services API 62
A public OpenAPI 3.1 file, version 2.3.0, describes 38 PDF Services operations, and the MCP server's tools carry typed zod schemas (25). No llms.txt on either portal host and no Markdown twins. The reference pages are drawn by script from the OpenAPI file (0). Operation descriptions state purpose, use cases and limits, and MCP descriptions give the upload, operate and poll order, but none says when not to use a tool (13 of 20). Enums cover compression levels, permissions, ciphers and rotations and required fields are marked, while page ranges are pattern-free strings (11 of 15). The PDF Services paths carry 235 examples and coded 400 and 500 bodies, but 401 and 429 are not declared on those operations (10 of 15). The file has a version number, paths are unversioned and no changelog was found (3 of 15).
pdfRest API Toolkit 90
Public OpenAPI 3.1.1 at api.pdfrest.com/pdfrest-openapi.json, version 2.58.0, 60 operations on 59 paths (25). llms.txt on pdfrest.com with the endpoint list and pricing; docs.pdfrest.com has no Markdown twins (10). Every operation has a description that says what it does, links its tool page and notes Pro-tier gating, and the merge description explains ordering with pages[] and type[]; nothing says when not to use a tool (14). 88 enums, required lists on 248 schemas, an ErrorResponse schema and a oneOf for sync against async replies (13). 120 examples in the document, API Lab generates code in six languages, and 400, 401, 404, 408, 422, 500 and 503 are documented (13). Release notes dated per version, the document carries its version, and the OpenAPI endpoints were added on 17 September 2026 (15). 25 + 10 + 14 + 13 + 13 + 15 = 90.
Reliability pdfRest API Toolkit +11
Foxit PDF Services API 47
Read with the hosted lines. status.foxit.com keeps 90-day component history for Foxit's cloud products, but has no component for the API gateway at na1.fusion.foxit.com or for PDF Services (8 of 20). With no component there is no readable incident history for this API (5). Rate limits are published as 15 requests a minute in sandbox mode and 100 in production mode, per application, over a rolling 60 seconds (15). The limits guide asks for exponential backoff on 429 and the credits guide says a retried request is not charged twice, but no Retry-After header is documented and 429 also signals an exhausted credit quota (9 of 15). The trust centre states an aim of 99.99 per cent uptime, and the API Service Agreement gives no availability warranty, so no SLA (0). PDF Services is generally available, with structural extraction marked trial (10).
pdfRest API Toolkit 58
Read with the hosted lines. status.pdfrest.com is an Upptime page with a single check on the /up endpoint, backed by a public repository with daily history; one component and no incident write-ups (15). The repository shows 100 per cent uptime over 7 and 30 days, 99.95 per cent over a year and no down entries in the last 200 daily history commits (30). No request rate limit is documented and the OpenAPI document defines no 429 (0). A 408 timeout is documented and /request-status polls async jobs, but there is no 429 handling, backoff guidance or idempotency key (3). No SLA; the terms give the service as is (0). GA (10). 15 + 30 + 0 + 3 + 0 + 10 = 58.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Foxit PDF Services API | pdfRest API Toolkit | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 47 | 58 | pdfRest API Toolkit +11 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 62 | 90 | pdfRest API Toolkit +28 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 49 | 52 | pdfRest API Toolkit +3 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 40 | 37 | Foxit PDF Services API +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 40 | 40 | even |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 38 | 70 | pdfRest API Toolkit +32 |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 63 | 62 | Foxit PDF Services API +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | D 48.3/100 | C 57.7/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Foxit PDF Services API | pdfRest API Toolkit |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Foxit Software Incorporated | Datalogics, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | https://na1.fusion.foxit.com/pdf-services | https://api.pdfrest.com |
| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| 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 | none |
| Tools exposed | 42 | none |
| 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 | 2026-10-14 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-06-30 | no date given |
| 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 | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 12 stars, 47 npm/wk | none |
How the scores have moved
pdfRest API Toolkit
No score change since it was listed.
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.
pdfRest API Toolkit
A public OpenAPI 3.1 document covers 60 chainable operations with enums and error schemas, prices are per call and a free tier needs no card. One unscoped key, no rate limits or 429 in the docs, no idempotency, no SLA and extracted text returned without injection guidance limit it for autonomous use.
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
pdfRest API Toolkit
- Send the key in the
Api-Keyheader as the OpenAPI document says, not as a Bearer token, and target eu-api.pdfrest.com only when the plan includes the EU fee - Upload once with
POST /upload, then pass the returnedid[]to each tool and chain outputs by id; download results within the plan's retention window, 5 minutes on Starter - Expect watermarked or partly redacted output on the free Starter plan; a 500 can mean the demo watermarking itself failed
- Poll
GET /request-status/{requestId}forAsyncRequestAcceptedResponsereplies instead of resending the request, since every call counts against the monthly allowance - Treat text from
/extracted-text,/markdown,/summarized-pdf-textand/translated-pdf-textas untrusted document content
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Foxit PDF Services API or pdfRest API Toolkit?
pdfRest API Toolkit scores 57.7 (C) on agent readiness against Foxit PDF Services API's 48.3 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories.
Do Foxit PDF Services API and pdfRest API Toolkit need an API key?
Foxit PDF Services API uses an OAuth sign-in. pdfRest API Toolkit needs an API key.
Can an agent call Foxit PDF Services API and pdfRest API Toolkit without installing anything?
Yes. Foxit PDF Services API has a hosted endpoint at https://na1.fusion.foxit.com/pdf-services and pdfRest API Toolkit at https://api.pdfrest.com.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/foxit-pdf-services-vs-pdfrest.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/foxit-pdf-services.json·/api/v1/tools/pdfrest.json - From a terminal
anchor compare foxit-pdf-services pdfrest(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "foxit-pdf-services", "b": "pdfrest"}at/mcp, no key