DevVersus

WeasyPrint vs Gotenberg(2026)

WeasyPrint is better for teams that need excellent css support. Gotenberg is the stronger choice if self-hosted (no vendor lock-in). WeasyPrint is open-source (from $0) and Gotenberg is open-source (from $0).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

Affiliate disclosure: Some “Visit” links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you sign up — at no extra cost to you. It does not affect our rankings or editorial coverage. Learn more.

WeasyPrint logo

WeasyPrint

open-source

WeasyPrint is a Python library that converts HTML and CSS documents to PDF — using a CSS Paged Media spec implementation for precise control over headers, footers, and page breaks.

Starting at $0

Visit WeasyPrint
Gotenberg logo

Gotenberg

open-source

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 Gotenberg

How Do WeasyPrint and Gotenberg Compare on Features?

FeatureWeasyPrintGotenberg
Pricing modelopen-sourceopen-source
Starting price$0$0
HTML + CSS to PDF
CSS Paged Media support
Headers/footers
Python library + CLI
Unicode
Image support
Open source (BSD)
HTML to PDF (Chromium)
Office files to PDF (LibreOffice)
URL to PDF
PDF merge/split
Webhook callback
Docker-based
REST API

WeasyPrint Pros and Cons vs Gotenberg

W

WeasyPrint

+Excellent CSS support
+Python-native
+Open source
+Good typography
Python only
No JavaScript rendering
Slower than Chrome-based tools
Some CSS gaps
G

Gotenberg

+Self-hosted (no vendor lock-in)
+Supports Office files
+Docker simple deployment
+Free
Requires Docker hosting
No managed cloud option
Heavy resource usage

Should You Use WeasyPrint or Gotenberg?

Choose WeasyPrint if…

  • Excellent CSS support
  • Python-native
  • Open source

Choose Gotenberg if…

  • Self-hosted (no vendor lock-in)
  • Supports Office files
  • Docker simple deployment

More PDF Generation APIs Comparisons