Rotativa vs IronPDF: Technical Comparison Guide

Rotativa HTML Conversion

Rotativa requires the MVC controller context and uses action result patterns:

// NuGet: Install-Package Rotativa.Core
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace RotativaExample
{
    public class PdfController : Controller
    {
        public async Task<IActionResult> GeneratePdf()
        {
            var htmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF document.</p>";

            // Rotativa requires returning a ViewAsPdf result from MVC controller
            return new ViewAsPdf()
            {
                ViewName = "PdfView",
                PageSize = Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options.Size.A4
            };
        }
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package Rotativa.Core
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace RotativaExample
{
    public class PdfController : Controller
    {
        public async Task<IActionResult> GeneratePdf()
        {
            var htmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF document.</p>";

            // Rotativa requires returning a ViewAsPdf result from MVC controller
            return new ViewAsPdf()
            {
                ViewName = "PdfView",
                PageSize = Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options.Size.A4
            };
        }
    }
}

Rotativa's approach ties PDF generation to MVC views and controllers. The ViewAsPdf action result renders a Razor view and converts it to PDF, but cannot accept raw HTML strings directly without a view.

IronPDF HTML Conversion

IronPDF provides direct HTML string conversion without requiring MVC context:

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

namespace IronPdfExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
            var htmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF document.</p>";

            var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);
            pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");

            Console.WriteLine("PDF generated successfully!");
        }
    }
}

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

namespace IronPdfExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
            var htmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF document.</p>";

            var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);
            pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");

            Console.WriteLine("PDF generated successfully!");
        }
    }
}

The RenderHtmlAsPdf method accepts HTML content directly, enabling PDF generation from any application context—console applications, background services, or web applications of any type.

Rotativa URL Conversion

// NuGet: Install-Package Rotativa.Core
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace RotativaExample
{
    public class UrlPdfController : Controller
    {
        public async Task<IActionResult> ConvertUrlToPdf()
        {
            // Rotativa works within MVC framework and returns ActionResult
            return new UrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com")
            {
                FileName = "webpage.pdf",
                PageSize = Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options.Size.A4,
                PageOrientation = Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options.Orientation.Portrait
            };
        }
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package Rotativa.Core
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace RotativaExample
{
    public class UrlPdfController : Controller
    {
        public async Task<IActionResult> ConvertUrlToPdf()
        {
            // Rotativa works within MVC framework and returns ActionResult
            return new UrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com")
            {
                FileName = "webpage.pdf",
                PageSize = Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options.Size.A4,
                PageOrientation = Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options.Orientation.Portrait
            };
        }
    }
}

Rotativa's UrlAsPdf result type requires the MVC controller context and returns an action result. Note that URL rendering through wkhtmltopdf exposes the SSRF vulnerability, allowing attackers to potentially access internal network resources.

IronPDF URL Conversion

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

namespace IronPdfExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

            var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com");
            pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf");

            Console.WriteLine("URL converted to PDF successfully!");
        }
    }
}

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

namespace IronPdfExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

            var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com");
            pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf");

            Console.WriteLine("URL converted to PDF successfully!");
        }
    }
}

IronPDF's RenderUrlAsPdf method operates independently of any web framework, with built-in security restrictions that prevent SSRF attacks.

Rotativa Headers and Footers

Rotativa uses command-line switches passed as strings:

// NuGet: Install-Package Rotativa.Core
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace RotativaExample
{
    public class HeaderFooterController : Controller
    {
        public async Task<IActionResult> GeneratePdfWithHeaderFooter()
        {
            return new ViewAsPdf("Report")
            {
                PageSize = Size.A4,
                PageMargins = new Margins(20, 10, 20, 10),
                CustomSwitches = "--header-center \"Page Header\" --footer-center \"Page [page] of [toPage]\""
            };
        }
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package Rotativa.Core
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore;
using Rotativa.AspNetCore.Options;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace RotativaExample
{
    public class HeaderFooterController : Controller
    {
        public async Task<IActionResult> GeneratePdfWithHeaderFooter()
        {
            return new ViewAsPdf("Report")
            {
                PageSize = Size.A4,
                PageMargins = new Margins(20, 10, 20, 10),
                CustomSwitches = "--header-center \"Page Header\" --footer-center \"Page [page] of [toPage]\""
            };
        }
    }
}

The CustomSwitches property passes raw command-line arguments to wkhtmltopdf. This approach lacks type safety, IntelliSense support, and compile-time checking. Errors in the switch syntax only appear at runtime.

IronPDF Headers and Footers

IronPDF provides typed properties for header and footer configuration:

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

namespace IronPdfExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

            renderer.RenderingOptions.TextHeader = new TextHeaderFooter()
            {
                CenterText = "Page Header",
                DrawDividerLine = true
            };

            renderer.RenderingOptions.TextFooter = new TextHeaderFooter()
            {
                CenterText = "Page {page} of {total-pages}",
                DrawDividerLine = true
            };

            var htmlContent = "<h1>Report Title</h1><p>Report content goes here.</p>";
            var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);
            pdf.SaveAs("report.pdf");

            Console.WriteLine("PDF with headers and footers created successfully!");
        }
    }
}

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

namespace IronPdfExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

            renderer.RenderingOptions.TextHeader = new TextHeaderFooter()
            {
                CenterText = "Page Header",
                DrawDividerLine = true
            };

            renderer.RenderingOptions.TextFooter = new TextHeaderFooter()
            {
                CenterText = "Page {page} of {total-pages}",
                DrawDividerLine = true
            };

            var htmlContent = "<h1>Report Title</h1><p>Report content goes here.</p>";
            var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);
            pdf.SaveAs("report.pdf");

            Console.WriteLine("PDF with headers and footers created successfully!");
        }
    }
}

IronPDF's TextHeaderFooter class provides IntelliSense support, compile-time type checking, and clear property names. The placeholder syntax differs: Rotativa uses [page] and [toPage] while IronPDF uses {page} and {total-pages}.

Rotativa Strengths

• Simple MVC integration for basic use cases
• Open source (MIT License)
• Familiar pattern for legacy MVC applications
• No commercial licensing costs

Rotativa Limitations

• ASP.NET MVC only—no Razor Pages, Blazor, or minimal APIs
• Abandoned—no updates or maintenance
• Critical security vulnerabilities that will never be patched
• Outdated WebKit rendering engine (2012)
• No Flexbox or CSS Grid support
• Unreliable JavaScript execution
• Synchronous only—poor scalability
• No PDF manipulation capabilities
• No digital signatures or PDF/A compliance

IronPDF Strengths

• Works with any .NET project type
• Modern Chromium rendering with full CSS3/JavaScript support
• Actively maintained with regular security updates
• Full async/await support
• Comprehensive PDF manipulation features
• Digital signatures and security
• PDF/A archival compliance
• Professional support and documentation

IronPDF Considerations

• Commercial licensing model
• Requires license key initialization