PDF Generation in C# (.NET): Overview of Libraries and Tools

PDF Generation in C# (.NET): A Complete Overview of Libraries and Tools

Creating PDF documents is one of the most common tasks in enterprise development. Reports, invoices, waybills, contracts — all of these require a reliable generation tool. In the C# (.NET) ecosystem, there are several powerful libraries, each with its own features. In this article, we will review the most popular options, their pros and cons, and provide code examples.

1. iTextSharp / iText 7 for .NET

iText is the de facto standard in the world of PDF generation. The library has existed since 2000 and is actively developed. For .NET, version iText 7 is available (NuGet package itext7).

Features:

• Full control over content: text, tables, images, annotations.
• Working with forms (AcroForms), digital signatures, encryption.
• Support for PDF/A (archival storage).
• High performance.

Disadvantages:

• Complex API (low-level work with coordinates).
• Commercial use requires a paid license (AGPL for open-source).

Example of creating a simple PDF:

using iText.Kernel.Pdf;using iText.Layout;using iText.Layout.Element;

public void CreatePdf(string filePath){    using (var writer = new PdfWriter(filePath))    using (var pdf = new PdfDocument(writer))    using (var document = new Document(pdf))    {        document.Add(new Paragraph("Hello, world!"));        document.Add(new Paragraph("This is a PDF created with iText 7."));    }}

2. PDFsharp

PDFsharp is a lightweight open-source library for .NET (also available for GDI+). It is well suited for simple tasks: creating documents with text, tables, and images.

Features:

• Simple and intuitive API.
• Font support (including Cyrillic).
• Working with graphic primitives (lines, shapes).
• Free (MIT license).

Disadvantages:

• Limited support for complex elements (forms, bookmarks).
• Slower than iText on large volumes.

Example:

using PdfSharp.Pdf;using PdfSharp.Drawing;

public void CreatePdf(string filePath){    using (var document = new PdfDocument())    {        var page = document.AddPage();        using (var gfx = XGraphics.FromPdfPage(page))        {            var font = new XFont("Arial", 20, XFontStyle.Regular);            gfx.DrawString("Hello, world!", font, XBrushes.Black,                 new XPoint(40, 100));        }        document.Save(filePath);    }}

3. QuestPDF

QuestPDF is a modern library with a fluent API, inspired by the "layout-first" concept. It allows you to describe the document structure declaratively, which greatly simplifies the creation of complex layouts.

Features:

• Declarative style (like WPF or HTML).
• Automatic pagination.
• Support for tables, headers, and footers.
• Free version with limitations (up to 10 pages).

Disadvantages:

• Free version is limited.
• Less flexibility than iText (difficult to draw arbitrary graphics).

Example:

using QuestPDF.Fluent;using QuestPDF.Helpers;using QuestPDF.Infrastructure;

public void CreatePdf(string filePath){    Document.Create(container =>    {        container.Page(page =>        {            page.Size(PageSizes.A4);            page.Margin(30);            page.Content().Column(col =>            {                col.Item().Text("Hello, world!").FontSize(20);                col.Item().Text("This is QuestPDF.").FontSize(14);            });        });