Gotenberg vs Puppeteer(2026)
Gotenberg is better for teams that need self-hosted (no vendor lock-in). Puppeteer is the stronger choice if free and open source. Gotenberg is open-source (from $0) and Puppeteer is open-source (from $0).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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Gotenberg
Gotenberg is a Docker-powered PDF microservice that wraps Chromium and LibreOffice — converting HTML, Word, Excel, and other formats to PDF via a simple REST API.
Starting at $0
Visit GotenbergPuppeteer
Puppeteer is Google's Node.js library to control Chrome/Chromium — widely used to generate pixel-perfect PDFs from HTML by launching a headless browser with page.pdf().
Starting at $0
Visit PuppeteerHow Do Gotenberg and Puppeteer Compare on Features?
| Feature | Gotenberg | Puppeteer |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | open-source |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 |
| HTML to PDF (Chromium) | ✓ | — |
| Office files to PDF (LibreOffice) | ✓ | — |
| URL to PDF | ✓ | — |
| PDF merge/split | ✓ | — |
| Webhook callback | ✓ | — |
| Docker-based | ✓ | — |
| REST API | ✓ | — |
| HTML to PDF | — | ✓ |
| Screenshot capture | — | ✓ |
| Full Chrome control | — | ✓ |
| Headless mode | — | ✓ |
| PDF format options (margin, paper size) | — | ✓ |
| Network interception | — | ✓ |
| CDP protocol | — | ✓ |
Gotenberg Pros and Cons vs Puppeteer
Gotenberg
Puppeteer
Should You Use Gotenberg or Puppeteer?
Choose Gotenberg if…
- •Self-hosted (no vendor lock-in)
- •Supports Office files
- •Docker simple deployment
Choose Puppeteer if…
- •Free and open source
- •Pixel-perfect output
- •Full Chrome rendering