Move off the unmaintained wkhtmltopdf binary to a modern Chromium engine. IronPDF is a pure NuGet package with no native library to copy, full CSS3 and JavaScript rendering, and active maintenance. Three lines of C#.
// DinkToPdf: load the native libwkhtmltox binary, then convert
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
var ctx = new CustomAssemblyLoadContext();
ctx.LoadUnmanagedLibrary("libwkhtmltox.dll"); // copy per OS/arch
IConverter converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument {
GlobalSettings = { PaperSize = PaperKind.A4 },
Objects = { new ObjectSettings {
HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1>" } }
};
byte[] bytes = converter.Convert(doc);
File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", bytes);
// IronPDF: pure NuGet, no manual native binary to deploy, actively maintained
using IronPdf;
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>");
pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");' DinkToPdf: load the native libwkhtmltox binary, then convert
Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Dim ctx = New CustomAssemblyLoadContext()
ctx.LoadUnmanagedLibrary("libwkhtmltox.dll") ' copy per OS/arch
Dim converter As IConverter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument With {
.GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings With {.PaperSize = PaperKind.A4},
.Objects = {
New ObjectSettings With {
.HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1>"
}
}
}
Dim bytes As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", bytes)
' IronPDF: pure NuGet, no manual native binary to deploy, actively maintained
Imports IronPdf
Dim renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()
Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>")
pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf")
PM >
Install-Package IronPdf
DinkToPdf is a P/Invoke wrapper around wkhtmltopdf, a native binary built on a Qt WebKit engine frozen around 2015. DinkToPdf last shipped in 2018 and wkhtmltopdf is no longer maintained, so modern CSS gaps and known security issues stay unaddressed. IronPDF replaces it with a maintained Chromium engine delivered as a pure NuGet package, with editing, merging, forms, and signing in the same library.
| DinkToPdf | IronPDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Last release 2018, wkhtmltopdf unmaintained | Actively maintained, regular releases |
| Rendering engine | Qt WebKit, frozen around 2015 | Modern Chromium |
| Modern CSS / JS | Limited flexbox, grid, JavaScript | Full CSS3, flexbox, grid, JavaScript |
| Deployment | Native libwkhtmltox binary, P/Invoke | Pure NuGet, no native binary |
| Security | Inherits unpatched wkhtmltopdf CVEs | Maintained and patched |
| IIS hosting | Not tested with IIS (per README) | Runs on IIS, Azure, Docker |
| Concurrency | Hangs / crashes under load | Thread-safe, built for servers |
| PDF editing | Convert plus basic options | Edit, merge, stamp, sign, forms |
| License and support | Free, MIT, no support | Commercial, perpetual, 24/5 engineers |
Built for developers replacing an unmaintained wkhtmltopdf wrapper with a modern, supported engine.
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Install-Package IronPdf
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Is IronPDF a maintained alternative to DinkToPdf for HTML to PDF in C#?YES!
Can I migrate off the abandoned wkhtmltopdf binary that DinkToPdf wraps?YES!
Can I convert HTML to PDF without copying a native libwkhtmltox library?YES!
Does IronPDF render modern CSS, flexbox, grid, and JavaScript that wkhtmltopdf cannot?YES!
Does it run on IIS, Azure, and Docker without native dependency setup?YES!
Is the library thread-safe for concurrent server-side conversion?YES!
Can I render pixel-perfect PDFs from complex HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript?YES!
Can I convert an HTML string to PDF in one line of C# code?YES!
Can I convert a URL to PDF with authentication, cookies, and custom headers?YES!
Can I generate a PDF from Razor, CSHTML, or ASPX views?YES!
Can I add custom headers, footers, page numbers, and watermarks during conversion?YES!
Can I run HTML to PDF conversion in Docker, Azure Functions, or AWS Lambda?YES!
Can I deploy my application using the library to Linux, macOS, or Windows, including Docker containers?YES!
Is the library thread-safe for use in highly concurrent, multi-threaded server applications and APIs?YES!
Can I set custom viewport dimensions and print media CSS to control responsive layouts?YES!
Is IronPDF compatible with Azure Functions?YES!
Can I permanently redact sensitive text and images from PDF documents?YES!
Can I generate a PDF from a URL that requires authentication via custom headers, cookies, or form logins?YES!
Can I access PDF DOM through ObjectModel property?YES!
Can I programmatically fill, read, and flatten interactive AcroForm?YES!
Does it support generating PDF/A and PDF/UA compliant documents for archiving and accessibility standards?YES!
Can I secure a document with 256-bit AES password encryption and set user permissions?YES!
Can I apply and verify digital signatures on a PDF using X.509 certificates?YES!
Can I test IronPDF in my live project for free now?YES! 
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