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pdfRest

REST API for PDF processing built on Adobe PDF Library, with a self-hosted option.

Jobs Edit Convert Protect OCR Merge Compress Sign Extract

Operated by Datalogics, Inc.

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Opens the vendor's own site.

Jobs covered

Open a task to see exactly what the vendor documentation supports.

Edit Browse all edit tools

adding content to PDFs with pdfRest, where the Add to PDF endpoint documents adding new content to a PDF, including text, images, lines, rectangles, tables and file attachments, and says developers can enhance existing PDFs without disrupting the underlying content, or pair it with Create Blank PDF to generate new PDFs; the scope is adding new content and attachments rather than rewriting the existing text or layout, and no existing-text editing or layout-reflow claim is made

Convert Browse all convert tools

converting documents with pdfRest, where the PDF to Word endpoint converts PDFs into editable DOCX files, Convert to PDF accepts Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images including JPEG, TIF, BMP and PNG, email and other structured inputs, Convert to PDF/A produces archival output, and the endpoint set also documents PDF to Excel, PowerPoint, images, PostScript, PDF/X and PDF to Markdown; the scope records the documented conversion directions, makes no fidelity guarantee and claims no format beyond the endpoints

Protect Browse all protect tools

protecting PDFs with pdfRest, where the Encrypt PDF endpoint documents encrypting all content and requiring a password to open the document, the Restrict PDF endpoint documents applying usage restrictions with a permissions password to forbid printing, copying text or editing, and the Redact PDF endpoint, listed as a Pro tool, documents removing sensitive information by targeting specific text or using custom regular expressions for PII and financial data; the scope records the password, permission and redaction endpoints, keeps the documented removal as a vendor statement rather than a test, and makes no specific encryption-algorithm or reader-enforcement claim beyond the endpoint pages

OCR Browse all ocr tools

running OCR with pdfRest, where the OCR PDF endpoint, listed as a Pro tool, documents converting scanned documents and images in PDFs into searchable and extractable text and turning static documents into searchable text PDFs; the endpoint page read does not state an OCR language list, a language count or an accuracy figure, so the scope records the scanned-to-searchable-text capability without a language or accuracy claim and leaves handwriting recognition unclaimed

Merge Browse all merge tools

merging and splitting PDFs with pdfRest, where the Merge PDFs endpoint documents joining any number of full PDF files or specified pages from separate documents into a consolidated PDF with control over assembly, and the Split PDF endpoint documents separating a single PDF into multiple new documents by page range, extracting sections or removing unwanted pages; the scope records the documented merge and split operations, with no claim about preserving signatures, forms or annotations across a merge

Compress Browse all compress tools

compressing PDFs with pdfRest, where the Compress PDF endpoint documents reducing file size while maintaining document integrity and preserving content and layout according to the endpoint page; the scope records the documented compression capability and makes no lossless or specific size-reduction guarantee

Sign Browse all sign tools

signing PDFs with pdfRest, where the Sign PDF endpoint, listed as a Pro tool, documents applying cryptographic digital signatures using PFX or certificate credentials with embedded signatures, and says the signatures inherently include electronic signature elements with custom visual appearances using typed text or image files; the scope records the certificate-based digital signature and visual appearance, and makes no certificate-authority, timestamping, long-term-validation or e-signature-workflow claim

Extract Browse all extract tools

extracting PDF content with pdfRest, where the Extract Text endpoint documents extracting text from PDFs with options to include detailed style and positional information, and the Extract Images endpoint documents extracting all embedded images without altering the original PDF; the endpoint set also documents Query PDF and PDF to Markdown, and the scope records the documented text and image extraction, leaves scanned text to the OCR endpoint, and makes no accuracy or structure-reconstruction guarantee

Where your files are processed

Mixed - depends on version and feature

The vendor's own documentation separates them. On the device: Self-hosted. On their servers: API. A single answer for the whole product would be wrong for one of them.

A hosted REST API: the document is posted to Datalogics and processed there. The same endpoints are sold as a container you can deploy on-premises or in a private cloud, which the vendor describes as achieving "total independence" - so the same product can be local or hosted, and which one you get is a licensing and deployment choice rather than a feature.

Recorded as not-local because the default and the documented quick start is the hosted API.

What it does

pdfRest is an HTTP API for the ordinary PDF jobs - convert, merge, split, compress, redact, OCR, sign, extract - built on Adobe PDF Library rather than on an open-source engine. Every endpoint is callable from the API Lab console before you write any code, and clients are documented in JavaScript, Python, PHP, C# and cURL.

It is sold by Datalogics, Inc., which also sells the underlying library, and the same endpoints can be deployed in the customer's own AWS account or container instead of calling the cloud API.

Best for

Teams that want PDF processing as an HTTP call without embedding a library, particularly where the fidelity argument for Adobe's engine matters and where a self-hosted container is acceptable as an alternative to a public API. The API Lab makes it unusually easy to evaluate before integrating.

Worth knowing

The product is split across three deployment modes and the choice changes who processes the document. The Cloud API is hosted by Datalogics in the United States by default, with an optional EU GDPR backend at eu-api.pdfrest.com that adds per-call fees on Starter and Premium; the AWS deployment runs the container or AMI inside the customer's own VPC and is billed through AWS Marketplace or BYOL; and the Container is self-hosted on-premises with Docker or Kubernetes under a license key with a 14-day trial, though a container is not automatically an offline licence.

Cloud plans meter API calls rather than documents, and authenticated POST and DELETE requests and status polling are billable. Starter is free with 100 calls a month, watermarked output, no overage and a 5-minute retention; Premium and Pro are watermark-free with 30-minute retention, and Pro adds the Pro tools, including PDF to Word, Redact, OCR and Sign.

Included and maximum upload sizes differ by plan, overage and upload-size fees apply, and Enterprise retention and configuration are custom. Data residency is therefore a deployment decision rather than a product-wide property: the standard cloud stores in the United States, the EU backend is an optional paid routing choice, and the AWS and Container modes keep processing in infrastructure the customer controls.

The redaction endpoint documents removal by text or regular expression, but that is a vendor statement rather than a test we ran. OCR language support and accuracy are not stated on the endpoint page read, conversion makes no fidelity guarantee, and the endpoints are individually documented so a specific behaviour should be checked on that endpoint's page.

Details, and where each comes from

Vendor statements, our own reading of their pages, and the things nobody has established yet, each answered separately. Where we have not confirmed something it says so rather than guessing, and a row nobody has established is greyed out.

Versions covered
API · Self-hosted
Website
pdfrest.com
Requires an account
Not verified
Free tier
Yes
Watermark on the free tier
Yes
Maximum file size
Not verified
Batch processing
Yes
Data residency
Multiple regions
Open source
No
Self-hostable
Yes
Licence
Commercial.

Commercial. Datalogics, Inc., 1207 Delaware Ave, Suite 1810, Wilmington, DE 19806-4743, provides the Site and Services under terms governed by Delaware law, covering the cloud-hosted API, the AWS deployment and the downloadable container.

Cloud plans are Starter at 0 with 100 API calls a month and watermarked output, Premium at USD 9.99 per month or USD 8.99 billed annually with 600 calls, Pro at USD 99.99 or USD 89.99 billed annually with 5,000 calls and the Pro tools, Enterprise at USD 349.99 or USD 314.99 billed annually with 15,000 calls, and Enterprise+ by arrangement. Included upload size runs from 5 MB to 500 MB and maximum upload from 100 MB to 1 GB by plan, overage calls are billed per plan, and file retention is 5 minutes on Starter, 30 minutes on Premium and Pro and custom on Enterprise.

The EU GDPR backend is optional and adds per-call fees on Starter and Premium. The AWS deployment is billed through AWS Marketplace or BYOL, and the self-hosted container is licensed with a 14-day trial.

Redaction
Removes the content
Programmatic access
HTTP API
Last availability check
Responded in 988 ms 21 October 2026

Checked automatically by our own runner, not reported by the vendor. 100% of our last 30 checks got a response.

What the redaction verdict rests on

From the vendor's own documentation, read 16 October 2026. Not tested by us.

“Redact PDF is a REST API tool designed to securely remove sensitive information from PDF documents, ensuring privacy and compliance with data protection regulations.”

What that does not establish

Documentation read again on 2026-10-16; the endpoint page describes the mechanism as sanitising rather than covering, removing by specific text or custom regular expressions with presets for phone numbers, email addresses and URLs. That is a removal claim for the specific endpoint rather than shared feature-list wording.

What it does not establish is a test: no page read states whether metadata or attachments are handled, so a reader relying on it for a confidential document should redact one and check.

https://pdfrest.com/apitools/redact-pdf-api/

What the vendor says

Claims are labelled rather than repeated as fact. Where we have checked something ourselves, it says so and shows when. Checked means we read the vendor's own page and it says what we recorded - not that we tested the behaviour, unless the note says we did.

  • “pdfRest is the world's most powerful PDF REST API service, powered by trusted Adobe® PDF Library™ technology.”

    Checked by us - the source says this Read 1 October 2026

    Confirmed. The quoted text appears in the rendered page as read on 2026-10-01.

    This claim was carried as reported rather than checked until this read.

    Standing: Not re-read against the live source

    Check it yourself: the source, the SHA-256, and how we checked
    Read
    https://pdfrest.com/
    From
    the text a browser renders
    SHA-256
    c2dfea19dbfe966ff34e398cd73219f88337502252fed2f7e21aaf9ab0268d71

    How we checked

    Read as rendered text in headless Chrome on 2026-10-01 and saved to the evidence archive, so the read can be repeated against the same file. Comparison ignores case, punctuation and hyphenation, which is why "open-source" on the record matches "open source" on the page.

    What this hash proves, and what it does not

  • “Achieve total independence with a self-hosted solution. Deploy on-premises or in any private cloud, retaining complete command over your data, backend environment, and security procedures.”

    Checked by us - the source says this Read 1 October 2026

    Confirmed. The quoted text appears in the rendered page as read on 2026-10-01.

    This claim was carried as reported rather than checked until this read.

    Standing: Not re-read against the live source

    Check it yourself: the source, the SHA-256, and how we checked
    Read
    https://pdfrest.com/
    From
    the text a browser renders
    SHA-256
    c2dfea19dbfe966ff34e398cd73219f88337502252fed2f7e21aaf9ab0268d71

    How we checked

    Read as rendered text in headless Chrome on 2026-10-01 and saved to the evidence archive, so the read can be repeated against the same file. Comparison ignores case, punctuation and hyphenation, which is why "open-source" on the record matches "open source" on the page.

    What this hash proves, and what it does not

Each claim is quoted from the vendor's own pages. This section describes what we have and have not checked - it is not a judgement about anyone.

Sponsorship is distribution, not an endorsement or a promise of search rankings, AI citations, traffic, or sales. This listing is a free entry, compiled from published sources.

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Related reading

How this record was put together

Editorial review.
No editor has signed this record off. That is not the same as nothing having been checked, and the lines below say what has.
Source reading.
2 claims taken from the vendor's own pages, read between 1 October 2026 and 1 October 2026.
Website availability.
The vendor's site was last checked on 21 October 2026.
Behaviour testing.
We have not run this tool ourselves, so everything here rests on the vendors’ own pages.

Sources: pdfrest.com: the home page and the Redact PDF API endpoint page, read 2026-09-22 with headless Chrome, read alongside the Datalogics product pages for the underlying library. Vendor documentation, not independently tested; no document was submitted to the API.