Enterprise PDF for PHP

The enterprise PDF library
PHP doesn't have.

Generate archival PDF/A, sign documents with PAdES, encrypt with AES-256 and produce accessible PDF/UA from plain PHP. One memory-safe core, the same behavior as every other binding, running entirely on your servers: no per-document SaaS fees, no data leaving your network, no AGPL strings.

Install from Packagist. Pure PHP; the native core is fetched on first use.

composer require rust-pdf/rustpdf

Start free · PHP View pricing & licensing

Validated by independent tools: veraPDFpdfsigopenssl cmsqpdfmutool

Why PHP teams pick rust-pdf

PHP runs a huge share of the world's invoicing, billing and government portals, exactly where PDF/A archival, qualified signatures, AES-256 and PDF/UA are required. Yet the classic options (TCPDF, FPDF, dompdf) predate those standards, so teams bolt on headless Chrome or pay a per-document SaaS that ships their documents off-site.

rust-pdf is one composer require using the FFI extension. The package is pure PHP; the native core for your platform loads on first use, and a single offline license unlocks the corporate features.

Standards-grade, not a legacy lib: real PDF/A, PAdES and PDF/UA, not just box-and-text drawing.
Runs on your servers: documents never leave your network and nothing phones home, ideal for LGPD/GDPR, fintech and health.
No AGPL trap: a commercial per-application license, never the AGPL of iText or the per-server billing of Aspose.
Deterministic output: the same input always produces the same bytes, so you can diff and audit it.
Free to build with: everyday PDF generation is free forever; you only license the regulated-grade features.

Free to build with. Licensed when you ship.

Prototype and generate everyday PDFs for free. When you need archival, signatures, encryption or accessibility, one license unlocks them all in PHP and every other binding.

Community free

Pages & vector graphics
Embedded/subset fonts, Unicode shaping
Justified paragraphs & tables
Images (JPEG/PNG/alpha/16-bit)
Merge / split / rotate
Text extraction & optimize

Corporate licensed

PDF/A: 1b / 2b / 2a / 3b / 3a / 4 / 4e / 4f archival
Digital signatures: PKCS#7, visible & multiple
PAdES: B-B / B-LT / B-LTA + RFC 3161 timestamps
Encryption: RC4 / AES-128 / AES-256 (R6)
Accessibility: Tagged PDF / PDF/UA-1
AcroForm: fields with generated appearances
Validate & convert: verify signatures, PDF→PDF/A, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X
Process: redaction, image extraction, form fill/flatten, page→PNG

Try every licensed feature free for 5 days.

Get a trial token by email and unlock PDF/A, digital signatures, encryption and accessibility in PHP. No account, no card required.

Author a tagged PDF/A in a few lines of PHP

// composer require rust-pdf/rustpdf
use RustPdf\Document;
use RustPdf\PdfaLevel;

$doc = new Document();
$doc->pdfa(PdfaLevel::A2a)->tagged()->setInfo(title: 'Q3 Report');
$f = $doc->addFontFile('Roboto-Regular.ttf');
$doc->addPage()->showText($f, 26, 72, 760, 'Annual report', 1); // H1
$bytes = $doc->toBytes();          // archival-grade, accessible PDF

The full PHP reference (fonts, images, forms, manipulation, encryption and signatures) lives in the PHP docs.

Fits Laravel, Symfony and plain PHP

toBytes() returns a binary string, so streaming a PDF is a Laravel response($bytes)->header('Content-Type', 'application/pdf'), a Symfony Response with the same header, or a bare header() + echo in any framework. No shell_exec to wkhtmltopdf, no temp directory to clean up.

The package is pure PHP over the bundled FFI extension, so composer require rust-pdf/rustpdf needs no native build. Enable ext-ffi in php.ini and the native core for your platform loads on first use, including under FPM and Octane.

// Laravel: return a PDF/A from a controller
use RustPdf\Document;
use RustPdf\PdfaLevel;

public function invoice()
{
    $doc = new Document();
    $doc->pdfa(PdfaLevel::A2b);
    $f = $doc->addFontFile('Roboto-Regular.ttf');
    $doc->addPage()->showText($f, 18, 72, 760, 'Invoice #1024');
    return response($doc->toBytes())
        ->header('Content-Type', 'application/pdf');
}

Common PDF tasks in PHP

Focused, copy-paste guides in PHP, all backed by the same Rust core. Each one uses the same fluent Document / EditableDoc API.

Generate a PDF in PHP and sign it with PAdES.
Create PDF/A in PHP and encrypt with AES-256.
Merge PDFs, extract text and compress.
Fill PDF forms in PHP, plus concept hubs: PDF/A, PAdES, AES-256.

Start building in PHP

composer require rust-pdf/rustpdf and ship your first archival PDF today. Free for everyday generation; license the corporate features when you go to production.

Start free · PHP View pricing & licensing

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PHP PDF library FAQ

What do I need to install besides Composer?

PHP 8.1+ with the FFI extension enabled (ffi.enable in php.ini). The Composer package is pure PHP and carries the native core per platform, so there is no native build, no PECL compile and no system PDF tool to install.

Does it work under PHP-FPM, Octane and Swoole?

Yes. The native core loads on first use within the worker process and stays resident, which suits long-lived FPM and Octane / Swoole workers. Each Document is independent, so concurrent requests do not share state.

How do I send the PDF from Laravel or Symfony?

toBytes() returns a binary string. Wrap it in a Laravel response() or a Symfony Response with Content-Type: application/pdf (and a Content-Disposition header for downloads). No files touch disk unless you choose to save them.

The enterprise PDF libraryPHP doesn't have.