- Published on
PDF export options in dotnet
- Authors
- Name
- Sambasivarao Velnati
- @sambavelnati
Introduction
A PDF writer is a crucial component for enterprise software when it comes to disseminating reports. There are numerous paid options available in the market. Let’s take a look at some of the well-supported libraries.
Key parameters
- Active development
- Exceptional performance
- Free/ Paid
- Long-term support
Available options
Quest PDF - Modern .NET library for PDF document generation
Puppeteer Sharp - Puppeteer Sharp is a .NET port of the official Node.JS Puppeteer API
iText7 PDF - iText Core is our innovative PDF library to program PDF documents
Comparison
Features
| FEATURES | QuestPDF | Puppeteer Sharp | IText7 (HTML to PDF) | IText7 (PDF document) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concept | Canvas | Headless browser | PDF HTML | PDF canvas |
| Spacing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Header Repetition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Footer Repetition | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Charts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CSS 3 | NA | Yes | Yes | NA |
| External CSS | NA | Yes | Yes | NA |
Performance
| # Records with 10 columns | QuestPDF | Puppeteer Sharp | IText7 (HTML to PDF) | IText7 (PDF document) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1k | 1,692 ms | 13,990 ms | 30,787 ms | 6,886 ms |
| 5k | 2,676 ms | 58,657 ms | 215,658 ms | 25,785 ms |
| 10k | 4,174 ms | 189,147 ms | 681,387 ms | 101,855 ms |
| 20k | 7,864 ms | Error | Error | 368,169 ms |
| 50k | 16,997 ms | 1,995,440 ms | ||
| 100k | 32,458 ms | Error | ||
| 200k | 66,875 ms | |||
| 500k | 186,909 ms | |||
| 1 Million | 496,650 ms |
Licenses
| QuestPDF | Puppeteer Sharp | IText7 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LICENCSE | More than 1M USD revenue: Purchase License, MIT for others | MIT | AGPL |
| PRICING | Professional: 500 USD per year, Enterprise: 3000 USD per year | FREE | REQUEST PRICE QUOTE |
Conclusion
Puppeteer Sharp is a suitable option for those who are not primarily concerned with performance and are looking for a free solution.
On the other hand, QuestPDF outperforms many Java alternatives in terms of performance. It leverages the Skia library internally, which is a well-established canvas library.
The licensing model is per developer, which can be expensive for developers working on smaller applications. Additionally, annual purchases are required for security updates. Despite these costs, considering its value and the limited alternatives available in the market, it can be a viable choice.