Convert Excel to PDF
Every sheet of your Excel workbook becomes PDF pages in sheet order, with print areas, column widths and page breaks respected, so readers see finished numbers instead of formulas. Pay per use with no subscription, and failed conversions are never charged.
This task is not available right now, so it cannot be purchased. Nothing is charged for it.
How it works & APIA spreadsheet is built for editing, not for reading on one screen — columns run off the page, sheets go unprinted, formulas mean nothing to someone outside the file.
The problem with sharing a live workbook
Excel files are wide, multi-sheet, and formula-driven, which is perfect for the person building the model and terrible for the person who just needs to read the numbers. Column widths that make sense on a 32-inch monitor spill across three printed pages. Send a raw XLSX to a client or auditor and you're also handing over your formulas, your named ranges, sometimes stray data on hidden sheets you forgot were there.
Who this is for
Finance teams closing monthly statements, sales operations sending quote sheets to customers, auditors who need a fixed snapshot of a ledger at a point in time, anyone whose spreadsheet's real audience is a person reading a printed or archived page rather than another spreadsheet user. Wherever Excel is the source of truth but PDF is what actually gets read, this fills that gap.
A note on the formats involved
XLSX is the Office Open XML spreadsheet format Microsoft introduced in 2007, an open, zipped XML container that replaced the older binary .xls. PDF has stayed a stable, printable target for three decades precisely because it captures layout rather than data — which is why turning a working spreadsheet into a PDF is a one-way trip toward something meant to be read, not recalculated.
What you can do with it
Monthly financial statements
A finance team closes the books in a workbook, then converts the final version to PDF for the archive and for the board packet.
Client-facing quotes
Sales builds a pricing sheet in Excel and converts it to PDF before sending, so the customer sees numbers, not formulas.
Audit snapshots
An auditor needs a dated, unchangeable record of a ledger; converting it to PDF fixes that moment in time.
Printed inventory reports
A warehouse system exports stock counts to XLSX nightly and converts them to a paginated PDF for the morning printout.
FAQ
Does it handle multiple sheets?
Yes, a multi-sheet workbook converts into a multi-page PDF, with each sheet's print area and page breaks respected.
Will wide columns get cut off?
The conversion follows the print area and page setup defined in the sheet, so set your print area in Excel first for predictable pagination.
Is there a free way to test it?
There's no free tier — free tiers get abused and slow everyone down. No subscription, no tokens, no invented credits, and a failed task is never charged.
Do failed conversions get billed?
Never. A task gets up to three automatic retries and is only charged on success; otherwise you get a clear error.
Why send a PDF instead of the Excel file itself?
A PDF captures the layout, not the working data. The reader gets the finished numbers on readable pages, while your formulas and named ranges stay in your own workbook instead of travelling with the file.
Related tools
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. This capability is currently available through the API, not as an interactive Web tool.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/doc/excel-to-pdf \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"file":"https://example.com/sheet.xlsx"}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/doc/excel-to-pdf", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"file": "https://example.com/sheet.xlsx"
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/doc/excel-to-pdf",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"file": "https://example.com/sheet.xlsx"
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/doc/excel-to-pdf", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"file":"https://example.com/sheet.xlsx"}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"file":"https://example.com/sheet.xlsx"}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/doc/excel-to-pdf", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"file": "https://example.com/sheet.xlsx"
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "doc.excel_to_pdf",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Limits
max_mb | 25 |
max_pages | 200 |
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |
413 | input_too_large | The file exceeds the size limit. |
Technical notes
This endpoint takes an XLSX and lays it out as a proper paginated PDF, the way it would look coming out of a printer.
What the conversion does
Multi-sheet workbooks come through as a multi-page PDF in sheet order, ready to file or forward. Post the XLSX, get a task_id back immediately, and the job renders each sheet with print areas, column widths and page breaks respected, so numbers land in readable pages instead of one unbroken ribbon.
Where it sits in an automated flow
Because it's asynchronous and billed per page only on success, it suits scheduled jobs well: a nightly export pulls figures into an XLSX template, this endpoint turns it into the PDF that lands in an inbox or a document store by morning, with the webhook confirming delivery rather than a script polling for it.
Technical questions
Is the Excel to PDF API live yet?
It's in deployment and will be available shortly; the endpoint and pricing described here are final.
What does it cost?
$0.052 per request plus $0.003 per page, published and predictable regardless of how large the workbook is.
How do I receive the PDF?
Via signed webhook when the task finishes, or from a signed link valid for 24 hours.
Can I convert a batch of spreadsheets?
Yes, each request handles one file and returns its own task_id, so batches are simply parallel requests collected by webhook.