TinyPDF
The most recommended of 3 PDF libraries
A 3kb JavaScript PDF library, much smaller than jsPDF, that people recommend for generating invoices without bloat. Critics note it only supports ASCII and Latin script, with no TTF font support.
A 3kb JavaScript PDF library, much smaller than jsPDF, that people recommend for generating invoices without bloat. Critics note it only supports ASCII and Latin script, with no TTF font support.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Very small, lightweight, minimal code
“I've been looking for something like this for generating invoice PDFs without bloat.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: TinyPDF – 3kb pdf library (70x smaller than jsPDF)” “thank you for fighting library bloat! Small libraries tend to perform better”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: TinyPDF – 3kb pdf library (70x smaller than jsPDF)” “Well ain’t that a useful 400 lines of code eh! Good work”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: TinyPDF – 3kb pdf library (70x smaller than jsPDF)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
No non-Latin or non-English text
“the lack of support for TTF fonts is a bummer for most non-english use cases”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: TinyPDF – 3kb pdf library (70x smaller than jsPDF)” “Only supports ASCII characters, which is part of the trick here.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: TinyPDF – 3kb pdf library (70x smaller than jsPDF)” “it only works with Latin script”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: TinyPDF – 3kb pdf library (70x smaller than jsPDF)”
Other PDF libraries people recommend
The two most recommended other PDF libraries, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TinyPDFThis page | 6 | 3 | 67% | 1 | — | — |
| Paged.js | 5 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| WeasyPrint | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Well ain’t that a useful 400 lines of code eh! Good work”
“though "hey I'll star this"”
“thank you for fighting library bloat! Small libraries tend to perform better”
“the lack of support for TTF fonts is a bummer for most non-english use cases”
“Since you're running this on a server, what difference does an extra 226KB make?”
“I've been looking for something like this for generating invoice PDFs without bloat.”
“Only supports ASCII characters, which is part of the trick here.”
“it only works with Latin script”
“Great exercize, but for most use cases - people will continue reaching for jsPDF.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.