Technology

Awesome .NET PDF Libraries 2025

Saturday, December 13th 2025, 2:07 PM EST

Photo from Unsplash

Originally Posted On: https://github.com/csharp-pdf-libraries/awesome-dotnet-pdf-libraries-2025

Awesome .NET PDF Libraries 2025

The most comprehensive comparison of every C# and .NET PDF library in 2025 – with honest benchmarks, code examples, and migration guides.

A curated collection of 73 C#/.NET PDF libraries for creating, manipulating, converting, and rendering PDF documents.

Inspired by awesome-dotnet, awesome-python, and the Awesome Lists movement.

Contributions are welcome! Please see the contribution guidelines first. We accept both open source and commercial libraries.

Thanks to all contributors – this project wouldn’t exist without the community!

Compiled by Jacob Mellor, CTO of Iron Software | Creator of IronPDF

Tutorials & Guides

Comprehensive C# PDF tutorials covering every aspect of PDF development:

Getting Started

Beginner Tutorial — Create your first PDF in 5 minutes
HTML to PDF Guide — Complete HTML-to-PDF conversion
Why C# for PDF Generation — Language advantages and ecosystem

Choosing a Library

Best PDF Libraries 2025 — Comprehensive comparison
Decision Flowchart — 5 questions to find your library
Free vs Paid Libraries — True cost analysis
SaaS PDF Services — Cloud API comparison

PDF Operations

Merge & Split PDFs — Combine and separate documents
Watermarks & Stamps — Protect and brand documents
Digital Signatures — Sign documents legally
Fill PDF Forms — Automate form completion
Extract Text — Text extraction and parsing
PDF to Image — Convert pages to PNG/JPEG
PDF Redaction — Permanently remove sensitive content
Find & Replace Text — Template processing and bulk updates

Framework Integration

ASP.NET Core — Web application PDF generation
Blazor — Server, WebAssembly, and MAUI Hybrid

Compliance & Deployment

PDF/A Compliance — Section 508, WCAG, accessibility
Cross-Platform Deployment — Windows, Linux, macOS, Docker, Cloud
Migrating from wkhtmltopdf — Escape the deprecated library

Frequently Asked Questions

167 in-depth FAQ articles covering every aspect of C#/.NET PDF development. These answer real developer questions with working code examples.

Browse All FAQs ?

HTML to PDF Conversion

Convert HTML to PDF in C# — Complete guide without CSS headaches
Advanced HTML to PDF — Page breaks, watermarks, batch processing
URL to PDF Conversion — Capture live web pages
Base URL and Asset Resolution — Fix missing images and CSS
Pixel-Perfect Rendering — Screen-accurate output
Web Fonts and Icons — FontAwesome, Google Fonts
WaitFor and JavaScript — Handle dynamic content

PDF Creation & Editing

Create PDF from Scratch — Complete PDF creation guide
Edit Existing PDFs — Modify PDF content
Add Images to PDF — Embed graphics and photos
Add Page Numbers — Headers, footers, pagination
Split PDF Files — Separate documents
Add/Copy/Delete Pages — Page manipulation
Transform PDF Pages — Rotate, resize, crop

PDF Forms & Signatures

Create PDF Forms — Interactive form fields
Edit PDF Forms — Fill and modify forms
Digital Signatures — Sign documents legally
Put Signature on PDF — Add signature images
PDF Security — Encryption and protection

ASP.NET & Blazor

Razor View to PDF — MVC view conversion
CSHTML to PDF (ASP.NET Core) — Server-side rendering
Blazor PDF Generation — Server, WASM, Hybrid
Razor to PDF (Blazor Server) — Blazor-specific guide
ASPX to PDF — Web Forms conversion
Async PDF Generation — Non-blocking operations

Format Conversions

DOCX to PDF — Word document conversion
XML to PDF — Data-driven PDFs
SVG to PDF — Vector graphics
RTF to PDF — Rich text conversion
PDF to HTML — Reverse conversion
PDF to Images — PNG/JPEG export
Convert PDF to Grayscale — Color transformation

Text & Content

Extract Text from PDF — Text extraction
Extract Images from PDF — Image extraction
Redact PDF Content — Permanent removal
Stamp Text/Images — Watermarks and stamps
PDF Watermarks — Branding and protection
UTF-8 and Unicode — International characters

Library Comparisons

Best C# PDF Libraries 2025 — Complete comparison
2025 HTML-to-PDF Solutions — Solution breakdown
Choose a PDF Library — Decision guide
Why Developers Choose IronPDF — Feature analysis
What is IronPDF — Library overview
AGPL License Risks (iText) — Licensing dangers

Migration Guides

Upgrade DinkToPdf to IronPDF — Step-by-step migration
Chrome PDF Rendering Engine — Engine comparison

.NET & C# Features

What’s New in .NET 10 — Latest framework features
What’s New in C# 14 — Language updates
.NET 10 Blazor — Blazor improvements
.NET 10 Linux Support — Cross-platform deployment
.NET Cross-Platform Development — Multi-OS targeting
Avalonia vs MAUI — UI framework comparison
WebAssembly in .NET 10 — WASM capabilities

C# Programming

C# Foreach with Index — Loop patterns
C# Multiline Strings — String handling
C# Random Int — Number generation
C# Round to 2 Decimal Places — Formatting
C# Patterns for .NET Developers — Best practices
Common C# Developer Mistakes — Avoid pitfalls
CQRS Pattern Practical Guide — Architecture patterns
MVC Pattern Explained — Design patterns

MAUI & Mobile

XAML to PDF (MAUI) — Mobile PDF generation
PDF Viewer for MAUI — Mobile viewing
.NET PDF Viewer — Desktop viewing

Advanced Topics

PDF Performance Optimization — Speed and scaling
Access PDF DOM Object — Low-level manipulation
Add Attachments to PDF — Embed files
PDF Viewport and Zoom — Display settings
PDF Versions Explained — PDF/A, PDF/X, PDF 2.0
Print PDFs Programmatically — Silent printing
Export/Save PDF Options — Output settings
Sanitize PDFs — Security cleaning
Table of Contents — Navigation bookmarks

Industry & Career

Will AI Replace .NET Developers? — Career outlook
Why PDF Libraries Cost Money — Economics explained
Compare C# to Java — Language comparison
Compare C# to Python — Language comparison
.NET Development on macOS — Mac setup guide
What Happened to Visual Studio for Mac — History

What Makes This Different

This is not a marketing list. Every library comparison includes:

Working code examples – Actual compilable C# code Verified claims – Evidence-backed technical limitations Real pricing – Current costs as of November 2025 Migration guides – Step-by-step code conversion Bootstrap test – Can it render modern CSS? (Flexbox, Grid) Cross-platform reality – Does “cross-platform” mean Windows-only?

Verified through:

Official documentation analysis
Support forum research
User-reported issues
Direct testing
Comprehensive fact-checking

The Bootstrap Homepage Test

The ultimate differentiator for HTML-to-PDF libraries.

Can your library render Bootstrap’s homepage accurately with modern CSS3?

Library	Passes Test	Notes
IronPDF	YES	Full Chromium rendering, screen-accurate output
PuppeteerSharp	PARTIAL	Print-ready output (like Ctrl+P), not screen-identical
Playwright	PARTIAL	Print-ready output (like Ctrl+P), not screen-identical
Aspose.PDF	NO	No Flexbox support
iText7	NO	No JavaScript execution
PDFSharp	NO	CSS 2.0 only (no Grid/Flexbox)
Syncfusion WebKit	NO	Legacy WebKit engine

Why this matters: Bootstrap uses modern CSS3 Flexbox heavily. If a library can’t render Bootstrap, it can’t handle modern responsive web designs.

Note on Print vs Screen: PuppeteerSharp and Playwright use Chrome’s print-to-PDF functionality, which produces print-ready output different from screen rendering. IronPDF produces output matching what you see in the browser.

Quick Recommendations

Best for Modern Web-to-PDF (2025)

IronPDF – Full Chromium, 3-line API, cross-platform, built-in PDF manipulation, PDF/A & PDF/UA compliance.

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdfvar pdf = ChromePdfRenderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://getbootstrap.com/");pdf.SaveAs("bootstrap.pdf"); // Screen-accurate rendering

Best Free/Open Source

QuestPDF – Modern fluent API for code-first PDF generation (not HTML). PuppeteerSharp – Full Chromium with Apache license (HTML-to-PDF). PDFSharp – Mature programmatic generation (limited HTML support).

Best Enterprise Suite

Aspose.PDF – Comprehensive features, but $1,199/year and limited modern CSS. Syncfusion – Lower cost alternative at $395/month.

Best for Specific Use Cases

Reports: FastReport.NET, Telerik Reporting
Forms/Templates: iText7, Spire.PDF
Code-First Design: QuestPDF, MigraDoc
Cloud/API: Api2pdf, Gotenberg

Feature Comparison Matrix

Feature	Aspose.PDF	iText7	PDFSharp	QuestPDF
Bootstrap Test				N/A
Full Chromium				N/A
HTML to PDF	Limited	Limited	CSS 2.0
PDF Manipulation
Cross-Platform
Free/Open Source		AGPL		Commercial
API Simplicity
Documentation
Active Development

Platform Support

Library	Windows	Linux	macOS	Docker	Azure	AWS Lambda
IronPDF
PuppeteerSharp						Large
Playwright						Large
WebView2
Aspose.PDF
SelectPdf
iText7
PDFSharp
QuestPDF

Deployment Guides: Azure, Docker, AWS

Common Use Cases

Convert Modern Website to PDF

Requirement: Render responsive Bootstrap/Tailwind sites with Flexbox/Grid Best choice: IronPDF, PuppeteerSharp, Playwright Avoid: Aspose.PDF, iText7, PDFSharp

Generate Invoice/Report from Code

Requirement: Programmatic table/text layout Best choice: QuestPDF, MigraDoc, iText7 Also consider: IronPDF with HTML templates

Fill PDF Forms

Requirement: Populate existing PDF forms Best choice: iText7, Aspose.PDF, IronPDF

Secure/Encrypt PDFs

Requirement: Password protection, permissions, digital signatures Best choice: IronPDF, iText7, Aspose.PDF

Business Reports

Requirement: Templated reports with charts Best choice: FastReport.NET, Telerik Reporting, SSRS

Cloud/Serverless PDF Generation

Requirement: Minimal footprint, fast cold start Best choice: IronPDF, Api2pdf, Gotenberg Avoid: PuppeteerSharp (300MB+)

Pricing Comparison (November 2025)

Library	Free Tier	Commercial	Enterprise	Notes
IronPDF	30-day trial	From $749	Custom	Pricing
PuppeteerSharp	Unlimited	–	–	Apache 2.0
Playwright	Unlimited	–	–	Apache 2.0
Aspose.PDF	Trial only	$1,199/year	Custom	Source
Syncfusion	Trial only	$395-695/month	Custom	Source
iText7	AGPL only	Quote	Quote	Must open source or buy
PDFSharp	Unlimited	–	–	MIT
QuestPDF	<$1m revenue< td>	License required	Custom	Community vs Pro
SelectPdf	5 pages	From $499	Custom	Pricing

Code Examples

3-Line HTML to PDF

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdfvar pdf = ChromePdfRenderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/");pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");

Merge Multiple PDFs

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdfusing IronPdf;var merger = PdfDocument.Merge("doc1.pdf", "doc2.pdf", "doc3.pdf");merger.SaveAs("merged.pdf");

Add Password Protection

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdfusing IronPdf;var pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("input.pdf");pdf.Password = "secretpassword";pdf.SaveAs("secured.pdf");

HTML String to PDF

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdfvar html = "Hello World
Generated from HTML string
";var pdf = ChromePdfRenderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);pdf.SaveAs("from-html.pdf");

More examples: IronPDF Examples

Migration Guides

Every library folder includes a migrate-from-{library}.md guide showing:

Package installation changes
API mapping table (old ? new)
Before/after code examples
Common gotchas and solutions

Example migration paths:

Verified Claims & Evidence

All competitor limitations are backed by evidence:

Claim	Evidence	Status
Aspose.PDF no Flexbox	Forum thread	Verified
iText7 no JavaScript	Official KB	Verified
PDFSharp CSS 2.0 only	Official docs	Verified
Syncfusion WebKit limits	Official documentation	Verified

Full fact-check report: Complete Project Summary

Related Resources

IronPDF Documentation

Community

Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for:

Adding new libraries
Updating pricing/features
Fixing errors
Improving documentation
Sharing benchmarks

Quality standards:

Working code examples
Verified technical claims
Evidence links for limitations
Current pricing (as of date)

Related Awesome Lists

.NET Development

awesome-dotnet – A collection of awesome .NET libraries, tools, frameworks and software
awesome-dotnet-core – .NET Core libraries, tools, frameworks and software
awesome-csharp – Awesome C# frameworks, libraries and software

Programming Languages

awesome-python – Python resources
awesome-java – Java resources
awesome-nodejs – Node.js resources

PDF & Documentation

awesome-pdf – General PDF resources across all languages
awesome-html5 – HTML5 resources (important for HTML-to-PDF)
awesome-css – CSS resources (CSS rendering in PDFs)

Resources

Learning C# PDF Development

IronPDF Documentation – Comprehensive .NET PDF documentation
IronPDF Tutorials – Step-by-step PDF tutorials for C#
IronPDF Code Examples – 100+ working code examples
Microsoft PDF Documentation – Official .NET documentation

PDF Specifications

PDF Reference 1.7 (ISO 32000-1) – Official PDF specification
PDF/A Standard (ISO 19005) – PDF for long-term archiving
PDF/UA (ISO 14289) – PDF for accessibility

HTML & CSS for PDF

HTML5 Specification – Modern HTML standard
CSS Snapshot – Current CSS specifications
Can I Use – Browser/PDF rendering compatibility

Community & Support

Stack Overflow – C# PDF – Q&A for C# PDF development
r/dotnet – .NET community on Reddit
C# Discord – C# developer community
IronPDF Support – Direct support for IronPDF users

Blogs & Articles

Iron Software Blog – PDF development articles and guides
.NET Blog – Official Microsoft .NET blog
C# Corner – C# tutorials and articles

Tools & Utilities

NuGet Package Explorer – Explore .NET packages
LINQPad – C# scratchpad for testing
Visual Studio Code – Lightweight .NET editor
Visual Studio – Full-featured .NET IDE

About the Author

Jacob Mellor CTO, Iron Software Creator of IronPDF 41 years coding experience | 25 years building startups

Connect: LinkedIn | GitHub

License

This repository is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal – dedicated to the public domain.

Code examples within library folders may have different licenses – see individual library documentation.

Disclaimer

This comparison is maintained by Iron Software and includes our product (IronPDF). However:

All claims are fact-checked and evidence-backed
Working code examples for every library
Honest assessments including when competitors excel
Open to corrections – submit PRs with evidence

Last verified: November 2025

Information contained on this page is provided by an independent third-party content provider. Frankly and this Site make no warranties or representations in connection therewith. If you are affiliated with this page and would like it removed please contact [email protected]

Awesome .NET PDF Libraries 2025

Photo from Unsplash

Awesome .NET PDF Libraries 2025

Table of Contents

Tutorials & Guides

Getting Started

Choosing a Library

PDF Operations

Framework Integration

Compliance & Deployment

Frequently Asked Questions

HTML to PDF Conversion

PDF Creation & Editing

PDF Forms & Signatures

ASP.NET & Blazor

Format Conversions

Text & Content

Library Comparisons

Migration Guides

.NET & C# Features

C# Programming

MAUI & Mobile

Advanced Topics

Industry & Career

What Makes This Different

The Bootstrap Homepage Test

Quick Recommendations

Best for Modern Web-to-PDF (2025)

Best Free/Open Source

Best Enterprise Suite

Best for Specific Use Cases

Categories

1. HTML-to-PDF (Chromium/Blink-Based)

1.1 IronPDF Reference Standard

1.2 PuppeteerSharp

1.3 Playwright for .NET

1.4 WebView2

1.5 SelectPdf

1.6 EO.Pdf

1.7 HiQPdf

1.8 ExpertPdf

1.9 Winnovative

2. HTML-to-PDF (WebKit/Legacy)

2.1 wkhtmltopdf

2.2 DinkToPdf

2.3 NReco.PdfGenerator

2.4 Rotativa

2.5 TuesPechkin

2.6 Haukcode.DinkToPdf

3. Programmatic PDF Generation (Code-First)

3.1 PDFSharp

3.2 MigraDoc

3.3 QuestPDF

3.4 iText / iTextSharp

4. Enterprise/Commercial Suites

4.1 Aspose.PDF for .NET

4.2 Syncfusion PDF Framework

4.3 Spire.PDF

4.4 pdfpig

4.5 FoNet (FO.NET)

4.6 GdPicture.NET

4.7 Apryse (PDFTron)

4.8 ComPDFKit

4.9 Nutrient (PSPDFKit)

4.10 GemBox.Pdf

4.11 Docotic.Pdf

4.12 ABCPDF

4.13 DynamicPDF

4.14 Telerik Document Processing

4.15 TextControl

4.16 Tall Components (TallPDF)

4.17 Gnostice (Document Studio)

4.18 BCL EasyPDF SDK

4.19 Foxit SDK

4.20 Adobe PDF Library SDK

5. API/SaaS PDF Services

5.1 Gotenberg

5.2 Api2pdf

5.3 Kaizen.io HTML-to-PDF

5.4 PDFmyURL