Choosing the Right IronPDF Version for Projects

I see there are a few different versions of IronPDF. How do I know which one is the best for me?

To avoid missing dependencies issues it is not recommended to use IronPdf.Slim. However, IronPdf.Slim is highly useful when the targeted OS is unknown. To allow Windows, Linux, or macOS dependencies to be downloaded at run-time IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries must be set to true.

Please note that for IronPdf.Slim apart from being portable, it will not save the user any space at run-time. IronPdf relies on two dependencies IronPdf.Slim(contains IronPdf.dll) and IronPdf.Native.Chrome(contains Chrome (default) renderer) based on platform. For example, in windows environment at run-time IronPdf.Native.Chrome.Windows will be downloaded, in Linux IronPdf.Native.Chrome.Linux will be downloaded, and for macOS depending on which processor is being used either IronPdf.Native.Chrome.MacOS or IronPdf.Native.Chrome.MacOS.ARM will be downloaded.

IronPdf

https://www.nuget.org/packages/IronPdf/

Contains Windows-specific dependencies for Chrome (default) renderer
Default package, which will download Windows-specific dependencies at runtime
Defaults to Chrome renderer
Supports ALL platforms, but Windows platform will work without any additional downloads
Useful for Windows users or default users. OK TO USE ON ALL PLATFORMS

IronPdf.Slim

https://www.nuget.org/packages/IronPdf.Slim/

Does NOT include Windows, Linux, or macOS specific dependencies
Windows, Linux, or macOS dependencies will be downloaded at run-time
Defaults to Chrome renderer on all platforms unless otherwise specified
Useful for cross-platform solutions which want to download platform-specific dependencies at run-time
Supports ALL platforms, but platform-specific dependencies will be downloaded the first time the program is run
Useful for AWS Lambda or highly portable applications where the target platform is unknown

Installation instruction:

Set AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries to true. (API reference) This will enable Windows, Linux, or macOS dependencies to be downloaded at run-time.

IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = true;

IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = true;

IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = True

VB C#

IronPdf.Linux

https://www.nuget.org/packages/IronPdf.Linux/

Contain Linux-specific dependencies for Chrome (default) renderer
Defaults to Chrome renderer
Supports ALL platforms, but Linux platform will work without any additional downloads
Useful for Linux power-users, specifically docker and cloud users