PluginScout

Best WordPress PDF Plugins in 2026

Data from WordPress.org Updated First published 5 min read

PDF generation from posts and orders, plus viewers that embed documents in a page.

PDF plugins split into two jobs that share a file format. Generators turn a post, an order or a form submission into a document. Viewers display a document you already have inside a page rather than handing it to the browser.

Together these 10 plugins run on more than 1,050,000 active WordPress sites. Ranked from both WordPress.org orderings for "pdf", its tag listing and its search results.

On this page
  1. Best for each measure
  2. Quick comparison
  3. The top 10
  4. How to choose
  5. Head-to-head
  6. How this list is ranked
  7. FAQ
  8. Conclusion
  9. Other rankings

Best PDF Plugin for each measure

One plugin per measure, taken from the same WordPress.org figures as the ranking. A measure with nothing behind it is left out rather than guessed.

Most installed
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce

300,000+, active installs reported by WordPress.org

Highest rated
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce

5.0 out of 5, from 1,862 reviews, counting only plugins with at least 50

Most reviewed
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce

1,862 reviews, the largest body of feedback behind a score

Most recently updated
EmbedPress

September 1, 2026, the latest release in this list

Longest established
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce

January 17, 2014, first published on WordPress.org

Best support record
DearFlip

5 of 7 resolved, recent threads on the WordPress.org support forum

PDF Plugins compared: rating, reviews, installs

# Plugin Rating Reviews Active installs
1 PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 5.0 1,862 300,000+
2 PDF Embedder 4.7 519 300,000+
3 DearFlip 4.9 191 200,000+
4 EmbedPress 4.8 306 100,000+
5 PDF Poster 4.5 146 20,000+
6 Embed PDF Viewer 4.7 19 20,000+
7 3D FlipBook 4.8 182 70,000+
8 Pdf Embed 5.0 6 10,000+
9 Real3D Flipbook 4.5 11 10,000+
10 Fluent PDF Generator 5.0 6 20,000+

The 10 best PDF Plugins, ranked by WordPress.org

Ranked from both WordPress.org orderings for "pdf", its tag listing and its search results. Arrows show movement against the previous snapshot.

  1. 1.PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce

    5.0 (1,862) 300,000+ active installs Updated Aug 21, 2026 Tested up to 7.1

    Create, print & automatically email PDF or XML Invoices & PDF Packing Slips for WooCommerce orders.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  2. 2.PDF Embedder

    PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress

    4.7 (519) 300,000+ active installs Updated Aug 14, 2026 Tested up to 7.1

    Embed PDF files in WordPress posts and pages with a responsive PDF viewer block, live Block Editor preview, and no third-party services.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  3. 3.DearFlip

    DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer

    4.9 (191) 200,000+ active installs Updated Aug 11, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4

    DearFlip creates a PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF viewer, PDF embed for WordPress sites. Create impressive and realistic 3D flipbooks with PDFs.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org

  4. 4.EmbedPress

    EmbedPress – PDF Embedder, 3D PDF FlipBook, Google Reviews, YouTube Videos, Upload & Embed PDF documents

    4.8 (306) 100,000+ active installs Updated Sep 1, 2026 Tested up to 7.1

    EmbedPress lets you embed videos, pages, social feeds, embed PDF 3D flipbooks & other content on WordPress without coding & enhance storytelling.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  5. 5.PDF Poster

    PDF Poster – let visitors read PDFs without leaving the page

    4.5 (146) 20,000+ active installs Updated Aug 31, 2026 Tested up to 7.1

    PDF Poster lets you embed PDF files in WordPress using a responsive viewer and block support, including full-screen, download, and print options.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  6. 6.Embed PDF Viewer

    4.7 (19) 20,000+ active installs Updated Aug 12, 2026 Tested up to 7.1

    Embed a PDF from the Media Library or elsewhere via oEmbed or as a block into an iframe tag.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  7. 7.3D FlipBook

    3D FlipBook – PDF Embedder, PDF Flipbook Viewer, Flipbook Image Gallery

    4.8 (182) 70,000+ active installs Updated Aug 25, 2026 Tested up to 7.1

    3D FlipBook is PDF Viewer, allowing to browse images, PDFs or HTMLs as flipbook. Flipbook attracts user attention and makes more impression on him.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  8. 8.Pdf Embed

    5.0 (6) 10,000+ active installs Updated May 30, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4

    PDF embedder with official Adobe Embed API.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  9. 9.Real3D Flipbook

    Real3D Flipbook – 3D FlipBook, PDF FlipBook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder

    4.5 (11) 10,000+ active installs Updated Aug 19, 2026 Tested up to 7.0.4

    Upload a PDF or images, get a 3D flipbook. Embed it anywhere with a block or shortcode - a realistic page-flip PDF viewer for WordPress.

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

  10. 10.Fluent PDF Generator

    5.0 (6) 20,000+ active installs Updated Apr 7, 2026 Tested up to 6.8.8

    Generate PDF from Your Form Submissions and Download/Email Them

    Stats and rankings WordPress.org Website

How to choose a PDF Plugin for WordPress

  1. 1

    Know which of the two you need

    Making invoices and reading a brochure on screen are unrelated problems. Plugins that claim both usually do one properly.

  2. 2

    Generation is heavier than it looks

    Rendering a PDF costs memory and time. On shared hosting, a plugin that builds documents on request can time out where one that queues them will not.

  3. 3

    Check fonts and non-Latin text early

    Accents, Cyrillic, Arabic and Asian scripts are where PDF libraries fail. Generate a real document in your language before committing.

  4. 4

    Viewers should not need a plugin in the browser

    Modern browsers render PDFs natively. A viewer earns its place with page thumbnails, search or download control, not with basic display.

PDF Plugin comparisons: side by side

The top four against each other on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.

How we rank PDF Plugins

WordPress.org publishes two orderings for "pdf" and neither is reliable alone. The tag listing covers every tag the directory files these plugins under, "pdf", "pdf-generator", "pdf-invoice", "embed-pdf" and "pdf-viewer", and is sorted by active installs, which lets a large plugin carrying one of them loosely sit above the ones the category is about. Its search results are sorted by relevance and carry their own noise. So a plugin is placed here by where it sits across both lists: high in each one lifts it, high in only one does not. We fetch both every day at 03:00 UTC, keep every day's snapshot, and add nothing of our own. No plugin is inserted, removed or sponsored, and each entry shows its position in both lists on its own page. Full methodology.

PDF Plugins FAQ

What is the best PDF Plugin for WordPress?

On WordPress.org's own ranking for "pdf", PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce is #1 as of September 7, 2026, with 300,000+ active installs and a 5.0 out of 5 rating.

Which PDF Plugin has the most active installs?

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce, with 300,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org as of September 7, 2026. It ranks #1 in this list.

Which PDF Plugin has the highest rating?

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce, rated 5.0 out of 5 by 1,862 reviewers on WordPress.org. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted, so a single 5-star review does not win.

Which PDF Plugin was updated most recently?

EmbedPress shipped its latest release on September 1, 2026. 8 of the 10 plugins in this list were updated in the last 90 days, which is the usual sign of active maintenance.

How many PDF Plugins are there on WordPress.org?

WordPress.org lists 366 plugins tagged "pdf", "pdf-generator", "pdf-invoice", "embed-pdf" and "pdf-viewer" as of September 7, 2026. This page shows the top 10 in the directory's own order.

Do I need a PDF Plugin to show a document on a page?

Not necessarily. Browsers display PDFs on their own, so a plain link opens the file for most visitors. A viewer plugin is worth it when the document should stay inside your layout, when you want page navigation and search, or when you need to discourage downloading.

Why do my generated PDFs have missing or broken characters?

The font being used has no glyph for those characters. This bites any language beyond basic Latin, so accented, Cyrillic, Arabic and Asian text turns into boxes or blanks. The fix is loading a font that covers your alphabet into the PDF library, which good plugins expose as a setting.

PDF Plugins: the bottom line

As of September 7, 2026, PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce holds the #1 spot for "pdf" on WordPress.org, followed by PDF Embedder and DearFlip. If install base matters most, PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce leads with 300,000+ active installs. If ratings matter most, PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce scores 5.0 out of 5 across 1,862 reviews.

Weekly · free

Follow this ranking

One email a week: how this ranking changed, which plugins climbed, and what launched on WordPress.org.

Confirm by email. Unsubscribe in one click. No third parties.