PDF.co API
PDF processing API for converting, merging, splitting, extracting text/data from PDFs, adding annotations, and running OCR on documents via a simple REST interface.
Score Breakdown
⚙ Agent Friendliness
🔒 Security
PDF processing API. API key auth. PDFs may contain sensitive data — check data retention policies. Files uploaded to their servers temporarily.
⚡ Reliability
Best When
You need versatile PDF manipulation and extraction capabilities in agent workflows without managing PDF processing infrastructure.
Avoid When
You need legally binding signatures, very high-volume processing, or real-time document generation.
Use Cases
- • Extracting text and structured data from PDFs for agent workflows
- • Converting PDFs to Word, Excel, HTML, or images
- • Merging and splitting PDF documents programmatically
- • Filling PDF forms and adding digital signatures
- • OCR processing of scanned documents and images
Not For
- • Legally binding eSignatures (use DocuSign)
- • Real-time document rendering with sub-second requirements
- • Very high-volume processing (costs can add up)
Interface
Authentication
Single API key per account. Passed as x-api-key header or query parameter.
Pricing
Credit-based pricing where different operations cost different credits. Can be affordable for moderate use but scales with volume.
Agent Metadata
Known Gotchas
- ⚠ Large file processing is asynchronous - agents must poll job status or wait for completion URL
- ⚠ Files can be provided as URLs or base64-encoded - URL method is much more efficient for large files
- ⚠ Processing time varies significantly with file size and complexity - plan for timeouts
- ⚠ Credits are consumed even if processing fails partway through
- ⚠ OCR quality depends heavily on input scan quality - agents should validate output
Alternatives
Full Evaluation Report
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Scores are editorial opinions as of 2026-03-07.