# Foxit PDF Services API vs pdfRest API Toolkit

> pdfRest API Toolkit scores 57.7 (C) to Foxit PDF Services's 48.3 (D) for pdf conversion. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/foxit-pdf-services-vs-pdfrest
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- 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

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.

- Foxit PDF Services API: grade D, 48.3/100, rank #1039 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/foxit-pdf-services.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/foxit-pdf-services.json
- pdfRest API Toolkit: grade C, 57.7/100, rank #700 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pdfrest.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pdfrest.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

### Foxit PDF Services API (D)

Good 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

### pdfRest API Toolkit (C)

Good 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

### 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 | Foxit PDF Services API | pdfRest API Toolkit | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 47 | 58 | pdfRest API Toolkit +11 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 90 | pdfRest API Toolkit +28 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 52 | pdfRest API Toolkit +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 40 | 37 | Foxit PDF Services API +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 40 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 38 | 70 | pdfRest API Toolkit +32 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 62 | Foxit PDF Services API +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **48.3 · D** | **57.7 · C** | |

## 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

### Foxit PDF Services API

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

### 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

1. Exchange the client ID and secret at `https://na1.fusion.foxit.com/oauth/token` and cache the Bearer token. `expires_in` is about 24 hours and there is no refresh token
2. Upload first with `POST /pdf-services/api/documents/upload`, start the operation, poll `GET /pdf-services/api/tasks/{task-id}` until `COMPLETED`, then download `resultDocumentId`
3. Read the body of a 429. It means either the rate limit (15 a minute in sandbox, 100 in production) or `QUOTA_EXCEEDED` when credits run out
4. Keep uploads under 100 MB, and delete documents with `DELETE /pdf-services/api/documents/{document-id}` when done. Deletion is permanent
5. With the MCP server, pass only paths the task needs. `upload_document` reads any `file://` path and `download_document` writes to any absolute path

### pdfRest API Toolkit

1. Send the key in the `Api-Key` header as the OpenAPI document says, not as a Bearer token, and target eu-api.pdfrest.com only when the plan includes the EU fee
2. Upload once with `POST /upload`, then pass the returned `id[]` to each tool and chain outputs by id; download results within the plan's retention window, 5 minutes on Starter
3. Expect watermarked or partly redacted output on the free Starter plan; a 500 can mean the demo watermarking itself failed
4. Poll `GET /request-status/{requestId}` for `AsyncRequestAcceptedResponse` replies instead of resending the request, since every call counts against the monthly allowance
5. Treat text from `/extracted-text`, `/markdown`, `/summarized-pdf-text` and `/translated-pdf-text` as 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.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Foxit PDF Services API or pdfRest API Toolkit

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

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