Sheet to PDF vs Publigo
Publigo (by Scriptit / Romain Vialard, Google Developer Expert) is the most credible competitor in the Google Workspace document-merge space. Sheet to PDF is the 2026 alternative built around smart templates and EU pricing. Here's a fair head-to-head.
TL;DR
- Pick Publigo if you need broad coverage across Sheets + Docs + Slides, a lifetime plan, Google Forms triggers, Microsoft Office export, or you already trust the YAMM/Mergo/Folgo ecosystem from the same team.
- Pick Sheet to PDF if your templates need real logic (
{% if %}, filters, loops), EU-priced billing with proper VAT handling, a bigger predictable free tier (50/mo vs 1 campaign), hosted PDFs with public share links, or you prefer bulk Gmail email built into the same tool.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Sheet to PDF | Publigo |
|---|---|---|
| Placeholder syntax | {{Variable}} | {{Variable}} |
Conditional logic {% if %} | ✓ Starter+ (€5/mo) | ✗ |
| Filters (currency, date, upcase…) | ✓ Starter+ | ✗ |
Loops {% for %} for line items | ✓ Pro+ (€60/mo) | ✗ |
| Math operations in templates | ✓ Pro+ | ✗ |
| Free tier shape | 50 PDFs/month, predictable | 1 free campaign, then 30 files / campaign |
| Cheapest paid plan | €5/mo (300 PDFs) | ~$2.50/mo |
| Currency | EUR with EU VAT auto-calc | USD |
| Lifetime plan | ✗ (monthly only) | ✓ |
| Compatible apps | Sheets only | Sheets + Docs + Slides |
| Export formats | PDF only | PDF + Google + Microsoft Office |
| Google Forms trigger | ✗ | ✓ |
| Zapier integration | Roadmap | ✓ |
| Scheduled generation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Bulk email through your Gmail | Pro+ plan, built-in, with bounce monitoring | ✓ (sister add-on Mergo) |
| Hosted PDFs with public share links | Pro+ plan, CDN-hosted | Drive shares only |
| Merge multiple PDFs into one | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom file naming with merge tags | Roadmap | ✓ |
| Granular share permissions | Public links only (Pro+) | View / comment / edit |
| Pre-built template gallery | 13 ready-made templates | 0 |
| OAuth scope | drive.file only | drive.file only |
| CASA audit done | In progress | ✓ |
| Active development | Weekly updates | Monthly updates |
| Marketplace rating | NEW | 4.7 ★ / 240 reviews |
| Marketplace installs | NEW | 1 M+ |
Where Sheet to PDF wins
Smart templates with real logic
Publigo only swaps {{tag}} for a value. If 40% of your invoices have VAT and 60% don't, Publigo asks you to maintain two Docs or live with empty rows. Sheet to PDF lets you write it once:
{% if VAT > 0 %}VAT ({{VATRate}}%): {{VAT | currency:"EUR"}}{% endif %}
{% for line in items %}- {{line.name}}: {{line.amount | currency:"EUR"}}{% endfor %}
One template, every variation. This single feature pays for the €5 difference in price within the first invoice batch.
EU billing in euros
Publigo prices in USD. Sheet to PDF prices in EUR with VAT calculated automatically at checkout per your billing address. For French and EU SMBs this means no FX surprises and a clean VAT line on every receipt.
Predictable free tier
Publigo's free tier is "your first campaign is free, then up to 30 files per campaign". Hard to plan with — what counts as a campaign? Sheet to PDF gives you 50 PDFs/month, refilled on the 1st, no campaign concept. You can earn up to 50 by sharing or referring.
Hosted PDFs with public share links
Pro+ Sheet to PDF users get pdf.sheet-to-pdf.com/abc123 URLs that anyone can open without a Google account. Publigo shares via Drive, which requires either a Google login or a Drive permission grant per share.
Bulk email built into the same add-on
Publigo handles email through a sibling add-on (Mergo) you install separately. Sheet to PDF includes bulk Gmail email at Pro plan — generate + send in one workflow, with bounce monitoring built in.
Where Publigo wins
Coverage across Workspace
Publigo merges into Docs, Slides AND Sheets. If your output is a slide deck (sales proposal with personalised slides per prospect) or a Doc you want to keep editable, Publigo is the right pick. Sheet to PDF is laser-focused on Sheets → PDF and won't pretend to do otherwise.
Microsoft Office output
Need to send a .docx contract that the recipient will edit? Publigo can export Word and PowerPoint directly. Sheet to PDF only outputs PDF (by design — we believe locked PDFs are the right end-state for invoices and contracts).
Forms + Zapier + scheduled
Publigo has had a Forms trigger, Zapier integration and scheduled generation for years. Sheet to PDF doesn't (yet — Zapier is on the roadmap). If your workflow starts from a Form submission, Publigo is the pragmatic pick today.
Lifetime plan
Publigo offers a lifetime subscription. We don't (we charge monthly only, cancel anytime). If you'd rather pay once for years of use, Publigo's lifetime is a genuine value play.
Trusted track record
Publigo is built by Romain Vialard, a Google Developer Expert who has shipped YAMM (Yet Another Mail Merge, 6M+ installs), Awesome Table, Form Publisher and Mergo. That's 10+ years of Google Apps Script credibility. Sheet to PDF is new — we're betting on smart-templates as our wedge, but Publigo has proof-of-track-record we don't yet.
Migration is mostly find-and-replace
Same {{tag}} syntax means your existing Publigo templates copy-paste straight into Sheet to PDF. The only thing you may want to add is smart logic where you previously kept multiple templates.
Try both in the same Sheet
Both add-ons can be installed side by side. Run the same batch in each on a 20-row test sheet. Compare the output, the bulk-email flow, and the share experience. Most teams decide within an hour.