GemBox PDF vs IronPDF: Technical Comparison Guide

HTML to PDF Conversion

The most fundamental operation demonstrates the core architectural difference.

GemBox PDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package GemBox.Pdf
using GemBox.Pdf;
using GemBox.Pdf.Content;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        var document = PdfDocument.Load("input.html");
        document.Save("output.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package GemBox.Pdf
using GemBox.Pdf;
using GemBox.Pdf.Content;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        var document = PdfDocument.Load("input.html");
        document.Save("output.pdf");
    }
}

IronPDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

GemBox PDF uses PdfDocument.Load() with a file path, requiring an existing HTML file to load, then Save() for output. The approach treats HTML as a file to load rather than content to render.

IronPDF creates a ChromePdfRenderer, calls RenderHtmlAsPdf() with an HTML string directly, and saves with SaveAs(). The Chromium engine renders the HTML with full CSS3 and JavaScript support, just as a browser would.

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

Merging Multiple PDFs

PDF merging demonstrates the document manipulation approach differences.

GemBox PDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package GemBox.Pdf
using GemBox.Pdf;
using System.Linq;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        using (var document = new PdfDocument())
        {
            var source1 = PdfDocument.Load("document1.pdf");
            var source2 = PdfDocument.Load("document2.pdf");

            document.Pages.AddClone(source1.Pages);
            document.Pages.AddClone(source2.Pages);

            document.Save("merged.pdf");
        }
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package GemBox.Pdf
using GemBox.Pdf;
using System.Linq;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        using (var document = new PdfDocument())
        {
            var source1 = PdfDocument.Load("document1.pdf");
            var source2 = PdfDocument.Load("document2.pdf");

            document.Pages.AddClone(source1.Pages);
            document.Pages.AddClone(source2.Pages);

            document.Save("merged.pdf");
        }
    }
}

IronPDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var pdf1 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document1.pdf");
        var pdf2 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document2.pdf");

        var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2);
        merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var pdf1 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document1.pdf");
        var pdf2 = PdfDocument.FromFile("document2.pdf");

        var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2);
        merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf");
    }
}

GemBox PDF requires creating a new empty PdfDocument, loading source documents with PdfDocument.Load(), calling document.Pages.AddClone() for each source's pages, then saving with document.Save(). The pattern requires managing multiple document objects and explicit page cloning.

IronPDF uses PdfDocument.FromFile() to load source documents, calls the static PdfDocument.Merge() method with the documents as parameters, and saves with SaveAs(). The static merge method returns a new merged document directly.

Adding Text to PDFs

Text addition demonstrates the coordinate-based versus stamper-based approaches.

GemBox PDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package GemBox.Pdf
using GemBox.Pdf;
using GemBox.Pdf.Content;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        using (var document = new PdfDocument())
        {
            var page = document.Pages.Add();
            var formattedText = new PdfFormattedText()
            {
                Text = "Hello World",
                FontSize = 24
            };

            page.Content.DrawText(formattedText, new PdfPoint(100, 700));
            document.Save("output.pdf");
        }
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package GemBox.Pdf
using GemBox.Pdf;
using GemBox.Pdf.Content;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");

        using (var document = new PdfDocument())
        {
            var page = document.Pages.Add();
            var formattedText = new PdfFormattedText()
            {
                Text = "Hello World",
                FontSize = 24
            };

            page.Content.DrawText(formattedText, new PdfPoint(100, 700));
            document.Save("output.pdf");
        }
    }
}

IronPDF:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using IronPdf.Editing;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Original Content</p>");

        var stamper = new TextStamper()
        {
            Text = "Hello World",
            FontSize = 24,
            HorizontalOffset = 100,
            VerticalOffset = 700
        };

        pdf.ApplyStamp(stamper);
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using IronPdf.Editing;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<p>Original Content</p>");

        var stamper = new TextStamper()
        {
            Text = "Hello World",
            FontSize = 24,
            HorizontalOffset = 100,
            VerticalOffset = 700
        };

        pdf.ApplyStamp(stamper);
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

GemBox PDF creates a new PdfDocument, adds a page with document.Pages.Add(), creates a PdfFormattedText object with Text and FontSize properties, then calls page.Content.DrawText() with the text and a PdfPoint(100, 700) for positioning. The coordinate-based approach requires knowing exact X/Y positions.

IronPDF can start with HTML-rendered content using ChromePdfRenderer, then uses TextStamper with Text, FontSize, HorizontalOffset, and VerticalOffset properties, applied via pdf.ApplyStamp(). The stamper approach allows adding text to existing documents with offset-based positioning.

Learn more about PDF editing in the IronPDF tutorials.

Core Class Mapping

Document Operations Mapping

Text Formatting Mapping

GemBox PDF Strengths

• Focused Functionality: Streamlined for specific PDF operations
• Ease of Deployment: .NET component without third-party dependencies
• Commercial Support: Dedicated support and updates with commercial license

GemBox PDF Considerations

• 20 Paragraph Limit: Free version severely restricted, includes table cells
• No HTML-to-PDF: Must construct documents programmatically
• Coordinate-Based Layout: Calculate every X/Y position manually
• Limited Feature Set: Fewer features compared to comprehensive libraries
• Design Change Friction: Every layout change requires coordinate recalculation

IronPDF Strengths

• HTML/CSS Layout: Use web technologies developers already know
• No Content Limits: Trial version has watermark only, no paragraph limits
• Chromium Rendering: Full CSS3, Flexbox, Grid, JavaScript support
• Flow Layout: Content positions naturally, no coordinate calculations
• Modern Approach: Design changes require editing HTML/CSS, not recalculating positions
• Comprehensive Resources: Extensive tutorials and documentation

IronPDF Considerations

• Different Paradigm: Requires thinking in HTML/CSS rather than coordinates
• Commercial License: Required for production use