DinkToPdf vs IronPDF: Technical Comparison Guide

Basic HTML to PDF Conversion

The most fundamental operation demonstrates the API complexity differences.

DinkToPdf:

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

IronPDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

DinkToPdf requires creating a SynchronizedConverter with PdfTools, constructing an HtmlToPdfDocument with GlobalSettings and ObjectSettings, configuring WebSettings, converting to byte[], and manually writing to a file. IronPDF creates a ChromePdfRenderer, calls RenderHtmlAsPdf(), and saves—three lines versus fifteen.

For advanced HTML rendering options, explore the HTML to PDF conversion guide.

URL to PDF Conversion

Capturing web pages as PDFs shows similar complexity differences.

DinkToPdf:

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    Page = "https://www.example.com",
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("webpage.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    Page = "https://www.example.com",
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("webpage.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

IronPDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com");
        pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com");
        pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf");
    }
}

DinkToPdf uses the Page property within ObjectSettings to specify a URL, requiring the same document wrapper structure. IronPDF provides a dedicated RenderUrlAsPdf() method for direct URL rendering.

Learn more about URL rendering in the URL to PDF documentation.

Custom Page Settings and Margins

Configuring page orientation and margins demonstrates settings API differences.

DinkToPdf:

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Landscape,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
                Margins = new MarginSettings { Top = 10, Bottom = 10, Left = 15, Right = 15 }
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("custom.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Landscape,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
                Margins = new MarginSettings { Top = 10, Bottom = 10, Left = 15, Right = 15 }
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("custom.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

IronPDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using IronPdf.Rendering;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginTop = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginBottom = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginLeft = 15;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginRight = 15;

        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("custom.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using IronPdf.Rendering;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginTop = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginBottom = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginLeft = 15;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginRight = 15;

        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("custom.pdf");
    }
}

DinkToPdf embeds page settings within GlobalSettings including a nested MarginSettings object. IronPDF uses RenderingOptions properties directly on the renderer, with individual margin properties (MarginTop, MarginBottom, MarginLeft, MarginRight) for clearer configuration.

Core Class Mapping

Settings Mapping

Header/Footer Placeholder Syntax

DinkToPdf Strengths

• Open Source: MIT license allows free use and modification
• Simplicity: Basic HTML-to-PDF conversion for simple use cases
• Community: Established user base with community resources

DinkToPdf Considerations

• Security Vulnerabilities: CVE-2022-35583 SSRF vulnerability, unpatched
• Abandoned Project: No updates since 2018, wkhtmltopdf abandoned since 2020
• Thread Safety: Crashes in concurrent use despite SynchronizedConverter
• Native Dependencies: Platform-specific binaries required
• Outdated Rendering: WebKit engine from 2015 without Flexbox/Grid support
• Limited JavaScript: Inconsistent execution

IronPDF Strengths

• Modern Rendering: Chromium engine with full CSS3 and JavaScript support
• Thread Safety: Designed for concurrent operations
• No Native Dependencies: Pure NuGet package deployment
• Active Maintenance: Regular updates and security patches
• Professional Support: Enterprise-grade support available
• Extended Features: PDF manipulation, forms, signatures, encryption, watermarks
• Extensive Resources: Comprehensive tutorials and documentation

IronPDF Considerations

• Commercial License: Requires license for production use