using IronPdf; // Disable local disk access or cross-origin requests Installation.EnableWebSecurity = true; // Instantiate Renderer var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer(); // Create a PDF from a HTML string using C# var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>"); // Export to a file or Stream pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf"); // Advanced Example with HTML Assets // Load external html assets: Images, CSS and JavaScript. // An optional BasePath 'C:\site\assets\' is set as the file location to load assets from var myAdvancedPdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<img src='icons/iron.png'>", @"C:\site\assets\"); myAdvancedPdf.SaveAs("html-with-assets.pdf");

using IronPdf; using System; // Step 1. Creating a PDF with editable forms from HTML using form and input tags // Radio Button and Checkbox can also be implemented with input type 'radio' and 'checkbox' const string formHtml = @" <html> <body> <h2>Editable PDF Form</h2> <form> First name: <br> <input type='text' name='firstname' value=''> <br> Last name: <br> <input type='text' name='lastname' value=''> <br> <br> <p>Please specify your gender:</p> <input type='radio' id='female' name='gender' value= 'Female'> <label for='female'>Female</label> <br> <br> <input type='radio' id='male' name='gender' value='Male'> <label for='male'>Male</label> <br> <br> <input type='radio' id='non-binary/other' name='gender' value='Non-Binary / Other'> <label for='non-binary/other'>Non-Binary / Other</label> <br> <p>Please select all medical conditions that apply:</p> <input type='checkbox' id='condition1' name='Hypertension' value='Hypertension'> <label for='condition1'> Hypertension</label><br> <input type='checkbox' id='condition2' name='Heart Disease' value='Heart Disease'> <label for='condition2'> Heart Disease</label><br> <input type='checkbox' id='condition3' name='Stoke' value='Stoke'> <label for='condition3'> Stoke</label><br> <input type='checkbox' id='condition4' name='Diabetes' value='Diabetes'> <label for='condition4'> Diabetes</label><br> <input type='checkbox' id='condition5' name='Kidney Disease' value='Kidney Disease'> <label for='condition5'> Kidney Disease</label><br> </form> </body> </html>"; // Instantiate Renderer var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer(); renderer.RenderingOptions.CreatePdfFormsFromHtml = true; renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(formHtml).SaveAs("BasicForm.pdf"); // Step 2. Reading and Writing PDF form values. var FormDocument = PdfDocument.FromFile("BasicForm.pdf"); // Set and Read the value of the "firstname" field var FirstNameField = FormDocument.Form.FindFormField("firstname"); FirstNameField.Value = "Minnie"; Console.WriteLine("FirstNameField value: {0}", FirstNameField.Value); // Set and Read the value of the "lastname" field var LastNameField = FormDocument.Form.FindFormField("lastname"); LastNameField.Value = "Mouse"; Console.WriteLine("LastNameField value: {0}", LastNameField.Value); FormDocument.SaveAs("FilledForm.pdf");

PDF TOOLS

What is the Best PDF Library for C#?

Updated August 13, 2024

PDF files are the go-to format when it comes to sharing documents. It’s in the name - Portable Document Format. Not only are they universally compatible, they also preserve the layout of your content and can be easily secured with encryption and password-protection.

PDF documents are a must for any modern, agile business - and when it comes to creating PDFs in C#, there are a handful of PDF generating libraries which allow you to generate PDF documents more efficiently and for lower costs. Whether it’s converting other file types to PDF or automatically adding custom branding and formatting to your PDF documents, some libraries perform better than others.

In this guide, we’ll compare four popular .NET PDF libraries - IronPDF, iText Core, wkhtmltopdf, and PDFSharp - and see how they create PDF documents from this HTML page.

IronPDF

IronPDF is a lightweight .NET PDF library designed specifically with web developers in mind. PDF conversion is just one of many uses - it makes reading, writing, and manipulating PDFs a breeze, and you can use it in your .NET projects for both desktop and web. The best part - it’s free to try out in a development environment.

One of the main advantages of IronPDF is its flexibility. It can be used as a standalone desktop application or integrated into your web application using the IronPDF API. Additionally, IronPDF is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Pros of IronPDF

IronPDF is easy to use, even easier to install, and doesn’t require any third-party software to work with your project
IronPDF has near-universal support of the .NET ecosystem - Standard 2.0+, Framework 4.6.2+, and Core 3.1+, 5, 6, 7, and 8
IronPDF also works on all major app environments - Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker, Azure, and AWS
IronPDF is a feature-rich library which allows you to modify PDF files, add password protection, support digital signatures, and more
IronPDF produces pixel-perfect copies of HTML pages
Straightforward functions allow you to generate PDF documents with just a few lines of code
Every license comes with a year’s free support, and the support team is available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week
There is a 30-day free trial for production, and it’s free to use in development environments indefinitely
Lifetime licenses are available for a one-time purchase, while monthly licenses are also an option

Cons of IronPDF

IronPDF is just for commercial use in .NET applications. It is not suitable for educational purposes
Any projects created using the free version will have the IronPDF watermark

iText Core

iText Core (previously iText7, and iTextSharp before that) is a .NET PDF library created by Java developers. It provides Java and C# code-based PDF creation and modification functions and a free API for .NET applications.

Pros of iText Core

It is easy to install the package via the NuGet package manager
iText Core is an open-source library. It can be used in projects under the AGPL license
iText Core is suitable for educational and personal use

Cons of iText Core

iText Core only comes with basic functionality. HTML to PDF conversion, PDF redaction, data extraction, and more require add-ons for an additional cost
It can be confusing understanding which versions of iText’s products work with each other, as seen in their compatibility matrix
Unclear documentation means it’s difficult to find out full compatibility information without contacting them
Finding out licensing costs requires contacting the business for a bespoke quote
PDF rendering can be inaccurate and poor quality. The library doesn’t recognize CSS or JavaScript, so you can see some display issues when converting a Wikipedia page to PDF:

What is the Best PDF Library for C#?: Figure 1

wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf is a command line tool that converts HTML to PDF. It’s a WebKit-based HTML-to-PDF converter. The primary function of wkhtmltopdf is to render text, images, and other basic page elements contained inside an HTML file as an image in the PDF file.

Pros of wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf is open source and can be used without any cost
You can use wkhtmltopdf directly from the command line
wkhtmltopdf supports a variety of app environments and operating systems

Cons of wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf requires an external executable file for use in a .NET project, potentially causing vulnerabilities in your application
Compilation of wkhtmltopdf requires the codebases of Qt and WebKit. Currently, Qt is outdated and WebKit is too intensive for use
Editing existing PDF documents to include different headers/footers and margin settings require writing very complex code
wkhtmltopdf has difficulty when using special characters. For example, when rendering documents containing Japanese and English text, it will fail to render properly
wkhtmltopdf struggles to render complex web pages. In the example below, you can see a PDF document of the UPS website generated by wkhtmltopdf:

What is the Best PDF Library for C#?: Figure 2

The GitHub repository was archived in January 2023, meaning that no meaningful updates will be made to the product

PDFSharp

PDFSharp is an open-source, lightweight library for reading, modifying, and writing PDF documents. It is written in C# and supports Windows.

Pros of PDFSharp

Installation of PDFSharp is straightforward, using the NuGet package manager
PDFSharp is open-source and can be used for commercial and personal use
Includes basic password and encryption features for increased security
Suitable for smaller HTML files without lengthy CSS rules
The best option for personal and educational use cases

Cons of PDFSharp

There are multiple packages of PDFSharp listed on the NuGet website, making it difficult for users to select one according to their project requirements
PDFSharp has cross-platform rendering issues. Code which works on Windows will fail to work on the macOS platform
PDFSharp struggles with complex web pages and HTML documents with sophisticated CSS rule sets
Functionality is quite basic, with only simple text layouts supported and elements such as page breaks requiring manual work
Doesn’t support older version of .NET

Conclusion

Each and every PDF library has its own strengths and weaknesses, but we believe that IronPDF is the best all-round product, suitable for projects of any size and scale, and with an industry-leading support team which no other service can compete with.

IronPDF is able to convert complex HTML pages with lengthy CSS styling to PDF documents with pixel-perfect accuracy. Furthermore, its customization, security, and compatibility options are more comprehensive and don’t require any additional software or costs to utilize.

Flexibility is key with IronPDF, compatible with many operating systems, .NET versions and project types, and IDEs. On top of the free trial and free development use, there are many different licensing options which can be tailored to your needs.

Convert PDF documents, manipulate PDF files, and comprehensive PDF generation features make IronPDF one of the most powerful PDF libraries on the market.

Ready to get your hands on IronPDF? You can start with our 30-day free trial. It’s also completely free to use for development purposes so you can really get to see what it’s made of. And if you like what you see, IronPDF starts as low as $749. For even bigger savings, check out the Iron Suite where you can get all nine Iron Software tools for the price of two. Happy coding!

What is the Best PDF Library for C#?: Figure 3