Generating PDFs in Laravel: Comparing Two Popular Packages

PDF generation is a common requirement in Laravel applications. From invoices and reports to certificates, order summaries, and user documents, PDFs are widely used because they are easy to download, share, and store.

Laravel does not provide built-in support for generating PDF files. To solve this, developers rely on third-party Laravel packages that convert HTML or Blade views into PDF documents. Among all available options, Spatie Laravel PDF and Barryvdh Laravel DomPDF are two of the most popular and reliable choices.

Although both packages serve the same purpose, they follow very different approaches internally. Understanding how they work helps developers choose the right solution based on design complexity, hosting environment, and project requirements.

Spatie Laravel PDF – Modern PDF Generation with Browser Accuracy

Spatie Laravel PDF is a modern Laravel package developed by the Spatie team, well known for building high-quality tools for the Laravel ecosystem. This package generates PDFs by rendering Blade views in a headless Chromium browser using the Browsershot library.

Because it relies on a real browser engine, the rendered PDF closely matches how the page appears in a web browser. This makes it an excellent choice for applications that use modern frontend technologies and require high design accuracy.

Key Features of Spatie Laravel PDF:

• Full support for modern CSS including Tailwind CSS, Flexbox, and Grid




• High-quality, pixel-perfect PDF rendering




• Direct Blade view integration




• Browser-based rendering for layout accuracy




• Suitable for complex and branded document designs

Installation is straightforward:

composer require spatie/laravel-pdf

Since the package depends on browser-based rendering, Node.js and Chromium (or Puppeteer) must be available on the server. These dependencies are commonly supported on VPS, Docker-based setups, and modern hosting platforms.

A basic usage example looks like this:

use Spatie\LaravelPdf\Facades\Pdf;



return Pdf::view('pdfs.invoice', ['invoice' => $invoice])

    ->format('a4')

    ->download('invoice.pdf');

Beyond basic downloads, the package allows developers to save PDFs to storage, stream them in the browser, configure margins and orientation, add headers and footers, and even execute JavaScript during rendering.

Spatie Laravel PDF is best suited for projects where visual quality, branding consistency, and modern UI support are important.

Laravel DomPDF – Simple and Lightweight PDF Generation

Laravel DomPDF is a long-established wrapper around the DomPDF library and has been widely used in Laravel projects for its simplicity and reliability. The package is written entirely in PHP and does not depend on external tools or browser engines.

This package works by parsing HTML or Blade output and converting it directly into a PDF using PHP. Because no browser is involved, setup is minimal and performance is predictable, especially for simple documents.

Key Features of Laravel DomPDF:

• Simple and fast installation




• No Node.js or Chromium dependency




• Lightweight and PHP-only solution




• Works well for basic layouts and text-heavy documents




• Stable and widely adopted in Laravel projects
  
  

composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

No additional system-level dependencies are required, making it suitable for shared hosting environments and restricted servers.

A basic usage example is shown below:

use Barryvdh\DomPDF\Facade\Pdf as DomPdf;



$pdf = DomPdf::loadView('pdfs.invoice', ['invoice' => $invoice]);



return $pdf->download('invoice.pdf');

Laravel DomPDF supports streaming PDFs in the browser, saving them to storage, and configuring paper size and orientation. It integrates smoothly with Blade templates and is easy to learn for beginners.

However, because it supports only limited CSS standards, complex layouts and modern frontend frameworks may not render as expected. Advanced styling features such as Flexbox, Grid, and Tailwind CSS are not fully supported.

Conclusion

Both Spatie Laravel PDF and Laravel DomPDF are excellent Laravel packages for generating PDF files, but they are designed for different use cases.

Spatie Laravel PDF is ideal for modern applications that require accurate layouts, advanced CSS support, and professional document design. It is best suited for projects where PDFs must closely match the website’s appearance.

Laravel DomPDF is better suited for straightforward PDF generation, especially when working with simple layouts or limited hosting environments. Its ease of use and dependency-free setup make it a reliable option for many applications.