Best wkhtmltopdf Alternative: ForgeKit
Last verified: Feb 1, 2026
TL;DR: wkhtmltopdf is legacy. ForgeKit uses modern headless Chrome for accurate JS-rendered PDFs.
Why developers switch from wkhtmltopdf
- Unmaintained WebKit fork
- No modern JS support
- Security concerns on old builds
What ForgeKit adds
- Unified API for screenshots, PDFs, OG images, QR codes, and link previews
- MCP server for AI agent integration
- Credit-based pricing with 250 free credits
- Async jobs for long-running captures
- OpenAPI spec and llms.txt for agent discovery
Migration checklist
- Create a ForgeKit account and generate an API key
- Replace wkhtmltopdf SDK calls with ForgeKit REST endpoints
- Map response formats (PNG, PDF, SVG) to your existing pipeline
- Update webhook handlers for async job completion
- Remove wkhtmltopdf infrastructure dependencies
Code migration
// wkhtmltopdf approach
const result = await captureWithwkhtmltopdf({
url: "https://example.com",
format: "png",
});// ForgeKit — one REST call
const res = await fetch("https://useforgekit.dev/api/v1/screenshot", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": "Bearer fk_live_...",
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({ url: "https://example.com", width: 1280 }),
});
const { jobId } = await res.json();