A Comparison between IronPDF and ExpertPDF for .NET

Developers in C# have always faced challenges when it comes to reading, writing, creating, or converting PDFs between different file formats. However, with the emergence of numerous libraries, these issues have been resolved, and the easy integration of these libraries has made them more popular and easy to use in C# applications.

This article aims to compare two of the most popular PDF libraries for .NET Framework and .NET Core developers:

• IronPDF
• ExpertPDF

Both of these libraries are .NET C# libraries that offer methods to generate, convert, and edit PDFs in .NET and .NET Core. The main question is to decide which of these C# PDF libraries is best suited for our project. In this article, we will compare these two libraries in the most comprehensive manner, highlighting their standout features, so you can make an informed decision when choosing the right library for your project.

Firstly, let's take a look at what both of these libraries have to offer, and then we'll move ahead with the comparison itself.

The IronPDF Library

IronPDF is a comprehensive .NET PDF library solution that is particularly beneficial for C# developers. With this library, you can easily implement all the functionalities necessary to create an excellent PDF reader or PDF viewer in C#.

IronPDF has a .NET Chromium engine that renders HTML content to PDF documents, making it easier to design or position PDFs without requiring complex APIs. Its HTML to PDF converter enables the creation of a .NET PDF library using HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and images. Additionally, it allows you to edit PDFs, add headers and footers, and extract images from PDFs with ease. Furthermore, it makes reading PDF text a straightforward process.

Features

Create PDF Files (HTML to PDF)

• Create PDF files from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
• Generate PDF documents from Website URL
• Load webpage URLs with custom login credentials

PDF Editor Without Adobe Acrobat Reader

• Fill and read PDF fully editable forms data field
• Extract text and images from PDFs
• Stamp HTML content on any existing page
• Add HTML headers and footers
• Add annotations and digitally sign PDF documents

Manipulating PDF Documents

• Loading and parsing existing documents
• Merging and splitting content in documents
• Add watermarks, text, and assets

Convert from Multiple File Formats

• Convert ASPX WebForms with just three lines of code
• Convert HTML to PDF files
• Images (PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF) to PDF

Save and Print

• Save file in binary data or MemoryStreams
• Print CSS media types
• Turning PDF files into a Print Document object and print without Adobe

ExpertPDF

Visit ExpertPDF's Official Site for Detailed Information for more about their .NET library that offers developers to convert from HTML to PDF on the fly. If you need to generate PDF reports or make a PDF reader, you don't have to use complex report generating software anymore.

ExpertPDF is easy to use but yet it is a powerful PDF editor. It contains a high-class HTML to PDF converter that can be implemented into any .NET application within a few minutes. It works with .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5 and .NET 6.

It is a powerful .NET library that helps you create PDF viewers and documents from any webpage URL or raw HTML markup, string, or file in .NET Framework or .NET Core applications.

Standout Features

Following are the important features:

• Convert URL webpage to PDF
• Convert HTML string to PDF
• Multiple output file options
• Set page margins and size
• Set headers and footers
• Add automatic and custom page breaks
• Convert only a specific part of the webpage to PDF
• Hide specific elements from the page while converting to PDF
• Merge multiple webpages into a single PDF
• Convert webpages to PDF that require authentication
• Select CSS media (screen or print) type for rendering
• Bookmarks support
• Digital signing support
• Retrieve HTML elements positions in PDF
• Support for latest HTML5/CSS3
• Support for web-fonts like open type and true type
• File Type Conversions:
  • PDF to Text Converter
  • HTML to PDF Converter
  • HTML to Image Converter
  • PDF to Image Converter
  • RTF to PDF Converter

The rest of the article will cover the following topics:

1. Create a Console Project
2. IronPDF Installation
3. ExpertPDF Installation
4. Create PDF from a URL
5. Create PDF from HTML Input String
6. Merge Multiple PDF into a single PDF
7. Convert Images to PDF
8. Licensing and Pricing
9. Conclusion

1. Create a Console Project

Follow the steps to create a console application in C# using Visual Studio 2022:

• Open Visual Studio 2022 and click create a new project

  

• Select C# Console App and click next

  

• From the next screen, type the name of your project and click next

  

• Choose the .NET Framework for your application. We will use the latest version 6.0.

  

Now our Console project is created and we are ready to test our libraries. However, we still need to set them up in our project. Let's first install IronPDF.

2. IronPDF Installation

There are multiple ways to download and install the IronPDF library. These are as follows:

1. Using Visual Studio
2. Download the NuGet Package directly
3. Download the IronPDF .DLL Library

2.1. Using Visual Studio

Visual Studio itself provides the NuGet Package Manager to install all NuGet packages in C# projects. You can access it either through:

• Project Menu Tools, or

• Right-clicking the project in the Solution Explorer

  

Once it's selected, browse for IronPDF NuGet package, and install it:

2.2. Download the NuGet Package Directly

Another method is to download IronPDF from the NuGet website. Visit the IronPDF NuGet Page directly and download the package. Follow the steps:

• Go to NuGet IronPDF Package
• Select "Download Package"
• Double-click on the downloaded package
• The package will then be installed
• Reload Visual Studio and begin using it

2.4. Install IronPDF: Downloading the Library

You can also download the IronPDF .DLL file directly from the IronPDF website. Click on Download IronPDF DLL to install.

Next, reference IronPDF in your project by following these steps:

• Right-click on the Solution in the Solution Explorer
• Select "Add Reference"
• Browse for the IronPDF.dll library
• Click OK and it's done!

All done! IronPDF is now installed and ready to use. However, before that, we will install ExpertPDF for comparison.

3. ExpertPDF Installation

There are two ways to download and install the ExpertPDF Library:

• Using Visual Studio NuGet Package Manager for .NET Framework, .NET Core, .NET 5, .NET 6
• Downloading assemblies (older .NET Framework versions)

We are going to work with the new .NET Framework, so we'll install ExpertPDF using the NuGet Package Manager.

3.1. Using Visual Studio NuGet Package Manager

Just like IronPDF, you can access NuGet Package Manager by:

• Project Menu Tools

• Right-clicking the project in the Solution Explorer

  

Once it's selected, browse for the ExpertPDF NuGet package, and install it:

Note: ExpertPDF only supports Windows operating system.

4. Create PDF from a URL

Both of the libraries have the ability to convert HTML markup to PDF. Now, let's take a look at the C# code for each library one by one.

4.1. URL to PDF using IronPDF

IronPDF is very straightforward when rendering HTML from existing URLs as PDF. It has a very high level of support for CSS, JavaScript, images, and Forms.

The following code sample creates a PDF directly from a website URL.

// Import the IronPdf library
using IronPdf;

// Initialize a new renderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
// Render the specified URL as a PDF
var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/");
// Save the rendered PDF to a file
pdf.SaveAs("url.pdf");

// Import the IronPdf library
using IronPdf;

// Initialize a new renderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
// Render the specified URL as a PDF
var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/");
// Save the rendered PDF to a file
pdf.SaveAs("url.pdf");

' Import the IronPdf library
Imports IronPdf

' Initialize a new renderer
Private renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
' Render the specified URL as a PDF
Private pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/")
' Save the rendered PDF to a file
pdf.SaveAs("url.pdf")

4.2. URL to PDF using ExpertPDF

ExpertPDF converts URL to PDF using a savePdfFromUrlToFile method, which is fast, secure, and efficient. The formatting of the page is saved as it is on the actual web browser.

// Import the ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf namespace
using ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf;

// Initialize a new PdfConverter
PdfConverter pdfConverter = new PdfConverter();
// Use PdfConverter to save a webpage URL directly to a PDF file
pdfConverter.SavePdfFromUrlToFile("https://www.html-to-pdf.net/", "output.pdf");

// Import the ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf namespace
using ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf;

// Initialize a new PdfConverter
PdfConverter pdfConverter = new PdfConverter();
// Use PdfConverter to save a webpage URL directly to a PDF file
pdfConverter.SavePdfFromUrlToFile("https://www.html-to-pdf.net/", "output.pdf");

' Import the ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf namespace
Imports ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf

' Initialize a new PdfConverter
Private pdfConverter As New PdfConverter()
' Use PdfConverter to save a webpage URL directly to a PDF file
pdfConverter.SavePdfFromUrlToFile("https://www.html-to-pdf.net/", "output.pdf")

5. Create PDF from HTML Input String

IronPDF and Expert PDF both provide the ability to create PDFs from a markup string containing HTML.

5.1. HTML Input String using IronPDF

The following code snippet demonstrates how a PDF document image is rendered using an HTML input string.

// Import the IronPdf library
using IronPdf;

// Initialize a new renderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
// Render a PDF from HTML string and save it
var pdfDoc1 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Html with CSS and Images</h1>");
pdfDoc1.SaveAs("pixel-perfect.pdf");

// Render HTML with external assets and save it
var pdfDoc2 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<img src='icons/iron.png'>", @"C:\site\assets\");
pdfDoc2.SaveAs("html-with-assets.pdf");

// Import the IronPdf library
using IronPdf;

// Initialize a new renderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
// Render a PDF from HTML string and save it
var pdfDoc1 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Html with CSS and Images</h1>");
pdfDoc1.SaveAs("pixel-perfect.pdf");

// Render HTML with external assets and save it
var pdfDoc2 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<img src='icons/iron.png'>", @"C:\site\assets\");
pdfDoc2.SaveAs("html-with-assets.pdf");

' Import the IronPdf library
Imports IronPdf

' Initialize a new renderer
Private renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
' Render a PDF from HTML string and save it
Private pdfDoc1 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Html with CSS and Images</h1>")
pdfDoc1.SaveAs("pixel-perfect.pdf")

' Render HTML with external assets and save it
Dim pdfDoc2 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<img src='icons/iron.png'>", "C:\site\assets\")
pdfDoc2.SaveAs("html-with-assets.pdf")

5.2. HTML Input String using Expert PDF

ExpertPDF HTML To PDF converter supports conversion from HTML string to PDF. The code is simple and self-explanatory as URL to PDF:

// Import the ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf namespace
using ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf;

// Initialize a new PdfConverter
PdfConverter pdfConverter = new PdfConverter();
// Use PdfConverter to save an HTML string to a PDF file
pdfConverter.SavePdfFromHtmlStringToFile("<h1>PDF using Expert PDF</h1>", "html-to-pdf.pdf");

// Import the ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf namespace
using ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf;

// Initialize a new PdfConverter
PdfConverter pdfConverter = new PdfConverter();
// Use PdfConverter to save an HTML string to a PDF file
pdfConverter.SavePdfFromHtmlStringToFile("<h1>PDF using Expert PDF</h1>", "html-to-pdf.pdf");

' Import the ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf namespace
Imports ExpertPdf.HtmlToPdf

' Initialize a new PdfConverter
Private pdfConverter As New PdfConverter()
' Use PdfConverter to save an HTML string to a PDF file
pdfConverter.SavePdfFromHtmlStringToFile("<h1>PDF using Expert PDF</h1>", "html-to-pdf.pdf")

The first argument is the actual HTML string, and the second argument is the filename to which the scanned document will be saved.

6. Merge Multiple PDF Files into a Single PDF

Both IronPDF and ExpertPDF offer the ability to merge multiple PDF files into a single PDF file. This feature is useful for consolidating scattered data and sending it over the internet more efficiently.

6.1. Merge using IronPDF

The following code renders two PDFs created from different HTML strings and then merges them using the Merge method. This is a one-liner and is very easy to use. More options can be added to the PDF settings while rendering.

// Import the IronPdf library
using IronPdf;

// Define HTML strings to convert to PDF
var htmlA = @"<p> [PDF_A] </p>
        <p> [PDF_A] 1st Page </p>
        <div style='page-break-after: always;'></div>
        <p> [PDF_A] 2nd Page</p>";

var htmlB = @"<p> [PDF_B] </p>
        <p> [PDF_B] 1st Page </p>
        <div style='page-break-after: always;'></div>
        <p> [PDF_B] 2nd Page</p>";

// Initialize a new renderer
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Render HTML strings as PDFs
var pdfDocA = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlA);
var pdfDocB = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlB);

// Merge the PDF documents
var mergedPdf = PdfDocument.Merge(pdfDocA, pdfDocB);

// Save the merged PDF
mergedPdf.SaveAs("Merged.pdf");

// Import the IronPdf library
using IronPdf;

// Define HTML strings to convert to PDF
var htmlA = @"<p> [PDF_A] </p>
        <p> [PDF_A] 1st Page </p>
        <div style='page-break-after: always;'></div>
        <p> [PDF_A] 2nd Page</p>";

var htmlB = @"<p> [PDF_B] </p>
        <p> [PDF_B] 1st Page </p>
        <div style='page-break-after: always;'></div>
        <p> [PDF_B] 2nd Page</p>";

// Initialize a new renderer
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Render HTML strings as PDFs
var pdfDocA = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlA);
var pdfDocB = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlB);

// Merge the PDF documents
var mergedPdf = PdfDocument.Merge(pdfDocA, pdfDocB);

// Save the merged PDF
mergedPdf.SaveAs("Merged.pdf");

' Import the IronPdf library
Imports IronPdf

' Define HTML strings to convert to PDF
Private htmlA = "<p> [PDF_A] </p>
        <p> [PDF_A] 1st Page </p>
        <div style='page-break-after: always;'></div>
        <p> [PDF_A] 2nd Page</p>"

Private htmlB = "<p> [PDF_B] </p>
        <p> [PDF_B] 1st Page </p>
        <div style='page-break-after: always;'></div>
        <p> [PDF_B] 2nd Page</p>"

' Initialize a new renderer
Private renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()

' Render HTML strings as PDFs
Private pdfDocA = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlA)
Private pdfDocB = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlB)

' Merge the PDF documents
Private mergedPdf = PdfDocument.Merge(pdfDocA, pdfDocB)

' Save the merged PDF
mergedPdf.SaveAs("Merged.pdf")

The Merge method also has an overload that accepts multiple documents in the form of Enumerable objects. You can see an example of its use in this IronPDF Code Example for Merging PDFs.

Note that if the PDF files being merged contain editable forms, the resulting PDF's form fields will have their names appended with the index number.

6.2. Merge using ExpertPDF

ExpertPDF uses a Merge PDF component to complete this task. This must be installed from the NuGet Package Manager in order to use it. There is an AppendPDFFile method which appends a PDF file to a PDFMerge class object. The code to merge the two PDFs created previously by ExpertPDF goes as follows:

// Import the ExpertPdf.MergePdf namespace
using ExpertPdf.MergePdf;

// Initialize a new PDFMerge object
PDFMerge pdfMerge = new PDFMerge();
// Append PDF files to the merge object
pdfMerge.AppendPDFFile("output.pdf");
pdfMerge.AppendPDFFile("html-to-pdf.pdf");
// Save the merged PDF to a file
pdfMerge.SaveMergedPDFToFile("merged.pdf");

// Import the ExpertPdf.MergePdf namespace
using ExpertPdf.MergePdf;

// Initialize a new PDFMerge object
PDFMerge pdfMerge = new PDFMerge();
// Append PDF files to the merge object
pdfMerge.AppendPDFFile("output.pdf");
pdfMerge.AppendPDFFile("html-to-pdf.pdf");
// Save the merged PDF to a file
pdfMerge.SaveMergedPDFToFile("merged.pdf");

' Import the ExpertPdf.MergePdf namespace
Imports ExpertPdf.MergePdf

' Initialize a new PDFMerge object
Private pdfMerge As New PDFMerge()
' Append PDF files to the merge object
pdfMerge.AppendPDFFile("output.pdf")
pdfMerge.AppendPDFFile("html-to-pdf.pdf")
' Save the merged PDF to a file
pdfMerge.SaveMergedPDFToFile("merged.pdf")

7. Convert Images to PDF

IronPDF has the ability to convert a variety of images to PDF files, while ExpertPDF does not offer this feature. However, ExpertPDF can extract images from PDF files, and can also convert PDF files to images, a feature that IronPDF also provides.

7.1. Images to PDF using IronPDF

In IronPDF, PDF documents can be easily created from one or more images using the ImageToPdfConverter Class. You can load the images from any folder in your application.

// Import the IronPdf namespace
using IronPdf;

// Specify the folder containing the image files
var imageFiles = System.IO.Directory.EnumerateFiles(@"C:\project\assets")
                  .Where(file => file.EndsWith(".jpg") || file.EndsWith(".jpeg"));

// Convert the images to a PDF document
var pdfDocument = ImageToPdfConverter.ImageToPdf(imageFiles);
// Save the PDF document
pdfDocument.SaveAs(@"C:\project\composite.pdf");

// Import the IronPdf namespace
using IronPdf;

// Specify the folder containing the image files
var imageFiles = System.IO.Directory.EnumerateFiles(@"C:\project\assets")
                  .Where(file => file.EndsWith(".jpg") || file.EndsWith(".jpeg"));

// Convert the images to a PDF document
var pdfDocument = ImageToPdfConverter.ImageToPdf(imageFiles);
// Save the PDF document
pdfDocument.SaveAs(@"C:\project\composite.pdf");

' Import the IronPdf namespace
Imports IronPdf

' Specify the folder containing the image files
Private imageFiles = System.IO.Directory.EnumerateFiles("C:\project\assets").Where(Function(file) file.EndsWith(".jpg") OrElse file.EndsWith(".jpeg"))

' Convert the images to a PDF document
Private pdfDocument = ImageToPdfConverter.ImageToPdf(imageFiles)
' Save the PDF document
pdfDocument.SaveAs("C:\project\composite.pdf")

In addition to converting a variety of images to PDF files, IronPDF can also convert scanned documents, paper documents, and business documents to separate images. It can also extract images from these types of files.

8. Licensing and Pricing

IronPDF is a fully open commercial C# PDF library available on the IronPDF website. It is free for private development and can be licensed anytime for commercial uses. A variety of Licenses are available for single projects, single or multiple developers, agencies, and global corporations. It also supports SaaS and OEM redistribution.

All licenses provide a 30-day money-back guarantee along with one year of support and product updates. The licenses are perpetual, meaning a one-time purchase with no extra fees. The Lite package for a single developer and single project starts from $749.

ExpertPDF offers purchasing licenses per developer or per company. You can try ExpertPDF for free. You can check the license features list in the below figure.

ExpertComponents Toolkit Total developer license starts from $850, and ExpertPDF Toolkit starts from $750. You can also purchase single components. The Full Pricing list for ExpertPDF is available on the website.

9. Conclusion

IronPDF renders HTML to PDF locally, thus not requiring an internet connection. In reality, it spins up an object of a real standard-compliant web browser implicitly. The HTML render is completely accurate and in vector format which is suitable for the highest standards of commercial printing. The output is clean, and a high-quality PDF is generated. It can be licensed for commercial use, and all its pricing is listed on its website without any hidden fees.

ExpertPDF's HTML-to-PDF Converter Library is a versatile tool that can convert webpages and HTML code to PDF documents, generate PDF reports from ASP.NET web pages, and even sign contracts with electronic signatures. It is free to use but can also be licensed for additional features.

While both libraries are capable of working with PDF files and converting from popular formats, IronPDF has some advantages over ExpertPDF. IronPDF offers conversion from a wider range of formats, including XML, images, and AngularJS, as well as more robust features for generating, formatting, and editing PDFs. IronPDF is a time-saving solution and is recommended for pragmatic developers seeking efficiency.

ExpertPDF comes in separate components that must be installed individually, whereas IronPDF is a complete software with all functionalities in one place. ExpertPDF may be a good choice for projects that only require a single component, such as HTML-to-PDF conversion. IronPDF's packages offer lifetime licenses with no ongoing costs, while ExpertPDF requires renewals.