A Comparison Between IronXL and ClosedXML

Name: IronXL
Brand: Iron Software
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.67 (175 reviews)

ByRegan Pun

November 1, 2023

Updated June 2, 2025

In this video, a comparative analysis is conducted between two prominent .NET libraries, IronXL and ClosedXML, focusing on their capabilities in reading Excel files. Both libraries are popular for handling Excel data, but they have distinct differences. The video begins by demonstrating how to read an Excel file using the ClosedXML library, which involves creating an instance of the Excel workbook class and reading the data with a for loop. This approach is noted as somewhat complex. In contrast, the IronXL library is showcased for its simplicity and versatility. It allows reading the Excel file using a foreach loop, offering support for almost all spreadsheet formats, unlike ClosedXML, which is limited to Excel files only. The video concludes by recommending IronXL for users seeking a library with broader file compatibility and ease of use. Viewers are encouraged to subscribe for more tutorials and try a trial subscription of Iron Software for further exploration.

Here’s a code example showing how to read an Excel file using both libraries:

// Using the ClosedXML library
using ClosedXML.Excel;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Load the Excel workbook
        using (var workbook = new XLWorkbook("example.xlsx"))
        {
            // Get the first worksheet in the workbook
            var worksheet = workbook.Worksheet(1);

            // Loop through the rows in the worksheet
            for (int i = 1; i <= worksheet.LastRowUsed().RowNumber(); i++)
            {
                // Access cells in the row. Assume the first column for data.
                var cellValue = worksheet.Cell(i, 1).Value;
                System.Console.WriteLine($"Row {i}: {cellValue}");
            }
        }
    }
}

// Using the ClosedXML library
using ClosedXML.Excel;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Load the Excel workbook
        using (var workbook = new XLWorkbook("example.xlsx"))
        {
            // Get the first worksheet in the workbook
            var worksheet = workbook.Worksheet(1);

            // Loop through the rows in the worksheet
            for (int i = 1; i <= worksheet.LastRowUsed().RowNumber(); i++)
            {
                // Access cells in the row. Assume the first column for data.
                var cellValue = worksheet.Cell(i, 1).Value;
                System.Console.WriteLine($"Row {i}: {cellValue}");
            }
        }
    }
}

' Using the ClosedXML library
Imports ClosedXML.Excel

Friend Class Program
	Shared Sub Main()
		' Load the Excel workbook
		Using workbook = New XLWorkbook("example.xlsx")
			' Get the first worksheet in the workbook
			Dim worksheet = workbook.Worksheet(1)

			' Loop through the rows in the worksheet
			Dim i As Integer = 1
			Do While i <= worksheet.LastRowUsed().RowNumber()
				' Access cells in the row. Assume the first column for data.
				Dim cellValue = worksheet.Cell(i, 1).Value
				System.Console.WriteLine($"Row {i}: {cellValue}")
				i += 1
			Loop
		End Using
	End Sub
End Class

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// Using the IronXL library
using IronXL;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Load the Excel workbook
        WorkBook workbook = WorkBook.Load("example.xlsx");

        // Get the first worksheet in the workbook
        WorkSheet sheet = workbook.WorkSheets.First();

        // Iterate through rows using foreach
        foreach (var row in sheet.Rows)
        {
            // Access cells in the row. Assume the first column for data.
            var cellValue = row.Columns[0].Value;
            System.Console.WriteLine($"Row {row.RowIndex}: {cellValue}");
        }
    }
}

// Using the IronXL library
using IronXL;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        // Load the Excel workbook
        WorkBook workbook = WorkBook.Load("example.xlsx");

        // Get the first worksheet in the workbook
        WorkSheet sheet = workbook.WorkSheets.First();

        // Iterate through rows using foreach
        foreach (var row in sheet.Rows)
        {
            // Access cells in the row. Assume the first column for data.
            var cellValue = row.Columns[0].Value;
            System.Console.WriteLine($"Row {row.RowIndex}: {cellValue}");
        }
    }
}

' Using the IronXL library
Imports IronXL

Friend Class Program
	Shared Sub Main()
		' Load the Excel workbook
		Dim workbook As WorkBook = WorkBook.Load("example.xlsx")

		' Get the first worksheet in the workbook
		Dim sheet As WorkSheet = workbook.WorkSheets.First()

		' Iterate through rows using foreach
		For Each row In sheet.Rows
			' Access cells in the row. Assume the first column for data.
			Dim cellValue = row.Columns(0).Value
			System.Console.WriteLine($"Row {row.RowIndex}: {cellValue}")
		Next row
	End Sub
End Class

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Further Reading: A Comparison Between IronXL and ClosedXML

Regan Pun

Chat with engineering team now

Software Engineer

Regan graduated from the University of Reading, with a BA in Electronic Engineering. Before joining Iron Software, his previous job roles had him laser-focused on single tasks; and what he most enjoys at Iron Software is the spectrum of work he gets to undertake, whether it’s adding value to sales, technical support, product development or marketing. He enjoys understanding the way developers are using the Iron Software library, and using that knowledge to continually improve documentation and develop the products.

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