Exploring PDF Watermarking APIs: ApyHub vs. PSPDFKit vs. pdfRest vs. iLovePDF
Tags: pdf, api, devops
Published: 2023-10-31 15:41:16

## Introduction

PDF watermarking APIs allow users to add watermarks to PDF Documents, enhancing brand recognition and increasing security. More benefits of using watermarks include:

- Deter unauthorized use
- Prevent copyright infringement
- Brand promotion
- Establish authenticity

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![Watermark on PDF](https://assets.apyhub.com/blog/top-pdf-watermarking-apis/first.png)

*Watermark on PDF*

In this article, we will explore and compare some of the most popular watermarking APIs.

## Features & Functionality

### Input Format

[ApyHub](https://apyhub.com/utility/watermark-video) allows you to provide source input in both **Text** and **Image** to watermark a PDF. Similarly, PDFRest, iLovePDF and PSPDFKit also allow you to provide source input in both **Text** and **Image.**

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![Text watermark (left) & image watermark (right) in a PDF](https://assets.apyhub.com/blog/top-pdf-watermarking-apis/Second.png)

*Text watermark (left) & image watermark (right) in a PDF*

### Customization

Whether it's an image watermark or a text watermark, proper alignment and positioning are important in order to ensure that the message of the image is not disrupted. ApyHub offers additional parameter options, such as the **watermark's position, rotation angle, opacity, and size**. PSPDFKit also allows for some customization, for **Dimension, Font, Opacity, Text Color, Text Size, Rotation, Font Style**. PDFRest allows you to customize the **Font, Opacity, Text Color, Text Size, Rotation, and Offset.** iLovePDF allows you to customize **Pages, Opacity, Position, Mosaic, Rotation, Font and Text Color.**

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![pdfRest API Documentation Example](https://assets.apyhub.com/blog/top-pdf-watermarking-apis/third.png)

*pdfRest API Documentation Example*

### SDKs and Client Libraries

ApyHub provides the client code in **8 languages (C, C#, JavaScript, Go, NodeJS, Java, Python, and PHP) and SDKs in Node.js and Go**. iLovePDF provides SDKs in about 4 different languages, including **PHP, Node.js, Ruby, Java** and **. NET**. PSPDFKit offers developer guides in 5 languages including **JavaScript, C#, Python, PHP and Java.** PDFRest doesn’t seem to provide any SDKs.

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![PSPDFKit Documentation Page](https://assets.apyhub.com/blog/top-pdf-watermarking-apis/fourth.png)

*PSPDFKit Documentation Page.*

### Documentation and Tutorials

[Apyhub APIs](https://apyhub.com/search?query=Watermark&category=&sortBy=Relevance) are supported with thorough documentation, including the Authentication method, Error Codes, HTTP Response Codes, and Request Examples. CloudConvert also has rich language-specific documentation but does not include an error and response code. Bannerbear has [universal documentation](https://developers.bannerbear.com/) for the developers. Api.video has provided documentation in the form of [step by step guide](https://docs.api.video/vod/add-a-permanent-watermark?) which is easily understandable.

### API Testing

Most of the providers let you test the APIs right from a terminal in the platform. ApyHub also has an API Playground where you can test the APIs in the UI plus you can see the snippet of the provided input in cURL. pdfRest offers a really rich API Lab for developers.

iLovePDF and PSPDFKit don’t seem to have any API Playground, although they provide you with cURL to test APIs in tools Postman/Hopscotch.

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![PDFRest API Lab](https://assets.apyhub.com/blog/top-pdf-watermarking-apis/fifth.png)

*PDFRest API Lab*

### Availability

ApyHub has served [*99.99% of uptime](https://status.apyhub.com/). [PSPDFKit](https://status.pspdfkit.com/), [iLovePDF](https://www.ilovepdf.com/blog/what-is-ilovepdf-developers), and [pdfRest](https://status.pdfrest.com/) also claim to have high uptime.

### Pricing

This is subject to change but at the time of writing, all providers offer a subscription-based tiered model including a free plan. The most generous free plan is from ApyHub, [offering 2 Million API calls per month for free](https://apyhub.com/pricing), [PSPDFKit offers 100 calls per month](https://pspdfkit.com/api/pricing/), [iLovePDF offers free 250 API Calls Per Month](https://www.bannerbear.com/pricing/) and [pdfRest offers 300 API Calls per month](https://developer.ilovepdf.com/pricing).

### Community Support

Most of the providers offer dedicated channels such as Discord, Slack, or Chatbot Agent to their users to ask support questions. ApyHub has a dedicated [Discord Server](https://discord.gg/KcjnPHef7p), which lets you interact directly with the support team in addition to email support. Whereas PSPDFKit, iLovePDF and pdfRest have email-based support.

Below is a summary of the comparison of the providers I looked at.

| Provider | # Calls (Free) | Input Format | Customization | File Size | Pricing ( Paid ) | Throttling |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ApyHub | Upto 2M calls in the free plan | Image & Text | Opacity, Font Size, Angle |  50 MB  | Starting from 10 EUR/month.  Custom pricing plan for Enterprises. | 1 call/s in the free plan |
| PSPDFKit | 100 Calls Per Month | Image & Text | Dimension, Font, Opacity, Text Color, Text Size, Rotation, Font Style | 5 MB | Starting from 73 EUR/month. | 1 call/in the free plan |
| PDFRest | 300 Calls per Month | Image & Text | Font, Opacity, Text Color, Text Size, Rotation, Offset | 2 MB | Starting from 8 EUR/month. | 1 call/s in the free plan |
| iLovePDF | 250 Calls per Month | Image & Text | Pages, Opacity, Position, Mosaic, Rotation, Font, Text Color | 1 GB | Starting from 38 EUR/month | 1 call/in the free plan |

## Conclusion:

While all the providers offer PDF watermarking APIs, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, the best API for your specific requirements will depend on factors such as the level of customization needed, developer support, and budget constraints. We recommend exploring each provider's offerings in more detail to determine the best fit for your needs.

This is the third article I wrote on the subject of watermarking. Read here to see my comparison of the top [Image watermarking providers](https://apyhub.com/blog/exploring-top-image-watermarking-apis) and [video watermarking providers](https://apyhub.com/blog/exploring-top-video-watermarking-apis).

Do you agree with our list of the above API Providers? What do you think is the best watermarking API? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

**Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed are solely based on the research and may vary based on individual experiences and preferences.*