Predictable Pricing
PdfKong operates on a pure pay-as-you-go wallet credit system. There are no monthly subscriptions. You can top up starting from $1 ($1 = 100 paid credits) with lifetime validity. Unused credits never expire.
Credit Costs
Costs are calculated per document, completely independent of the resulting page count. Failed conversions are never charged.
HTML / Markdown / URL
Charged exactly 1 credit per successful generation.
Office Document
Charged exactly 2 credits for Word, Excel, PPT, or text files.
Free Credits Monthly Refill
- Every developer receives 100 free credits immediately upon registration.
- A background scheduler checks accounts periodically. If a month has passed since your registration date (or last refill), your Free Credits balance is automatically refilled back to 100 free credits.
- Note: Free credits do not stack. The maximum cap is 100.
- Paid Credits are completely untouched and unaffected by the monthly free refill cycle.
Account Levels & Batch Limits
Your account tier is determined dynamically based on the total accumulated lifetime credits that have entered your account. Upgrades happen immediately, and you will never be downgraded.
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FreeRequires >= 0 lifetime creditsTier Status 100 free monthly creditsDaily Batch Limit 5 batches / dayMax Files / Batch 5 files
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StarterRequires >= 1 lifetime creditsTier Status Starting from $1 top-upDaily Batch Limit 20 batches / dayMax Files / Batch 50 files
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ProRequires >= 10,000 lifetime creditsTier Status Accumulated 10,000+ creditsDaily Batch Limit 100 batches / dayMax Files / Batch 200 files
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BusinessRequires >= 50,000 lifetime creditsTier Status Accumulated 50,000+ creditsDaily Batch Limit 500 batches / dayMax Files / Batch 500 files
Concurrency Limit
There is a hard limit on concurrent batches running simultaneously per user based on your account level (e.g., 2 concurrent batches for Pro, 5 concurrent batches for Business). Any additional batches dispatched will wait safely in the queue until your active batches complete processing.
Consumption Priority
- Paid Credits First: When a PDF is generated, the API automatically deducts the cost from your Paid Credits balance first.
- Free Credits Second: If your paid credits are exhausted, any remaining cost is automatically deducted from your Free Credits balance.
- Rejection (HTTP 402): If your total combined balance (Paid + Free) is lower than the required cost, the API immediately rejects the request with an
HD-A002error (Insufficient Balance).