Why PeachPDF?

Because you already know how to build documents — you've been doing it in HTML and CSS for years. PeachPDF turns that knowledge into professional vector PDFs, entirely in-process, completely free.

The skills you already have are the API

Most PDF libraries ask you to learn their world. PeachPDF meets you in yours.

No new API to learn

Describe your invoice, report, or contract in HTML and CSS — not in a proprietary document object model or a fluent builder API you'll only ever use for PDFs. If you can write a web page, you can already write a PeachPDF document.

No manual layout

No coordinate math, no measuring strings to see where the next line goes, no hand-rolled pagination. The layout engine handles text flow, tables, flexbox, page breaks, and running headers and footers — you say what the document is, not where every piece sits.

Design tooling you already own

Iterate on your template in a browser, keep it in version control as plain HTML, and hand it to anyone who knows the web. Designers can restyle a document without ever reading C#.

Graphics without a graphics API

Charts, logos, seals, and diagrams go in as inline or standalone <svg> and come out as true vector PDF content — crisp at any zoom, never rasterized, no drawing code required.

Bring your own templating

PeachPDF takes an HTML string, so however you already produce HTML works: Razor, Scriban, Handlebars, or plain string interpolation. No vendor template language, no proprietary document format.

Accessibility from your markup

The semantic HTML you already write — headings, lists, tables, alt text — becomes an optionally tagged, accessible PDF with a real structure tree. Tune the tagging per element with a CSS property, not a separate accessibility API.

See exactly what's supported in the HTML & CSS compatibility matrix and the SVG feature list.

Free and open source — actually

No asterisks. No trial watermarks. No surprises at renewal time.

BSD-3-Clause licensed

One of the most permissive licenses there is. Use PeachPDF in commercial products, closed-source products, SaaS platforms — anywhere — with no obligation beyond keeping the license notice.

No license keys or fees

No per-developer seats, no per-server pricing, no revenue thresholds that flip a "community" license into an invoice once your business grows. The library is unconditionally free for everyone.

Developed in the open

Every line of source is on GitHub. Read it, audit it, debug into it, fork it. Optional paid support and sponsorship exist for teams that want them — the library never depends on either.

Runs on every supported .NET

PeachPDF supports .NET 8 and newer, in step with Microsoft's own .NET support policy, and is ready for trimmed and AOT-compiled deployments. When a new .NET lands, PeachPDF is there — no legacy runtime shims to carry.

Read the full license and FAQ.

How PeachPDF compares

The .NET HTML-to-PDF landscape splits three ways: wrap a browser, wrap a native binary, or make you lay out the PDF in code. PeachPDF takes a fourth path — a real HTML/CSS layout engine written in managed .NET. The .NET runtime support column shows which runtimes each targets.

Library	License & cost	HTML & CSS input	How it renders	Accessible (tagged) PDF	Native / external dependencies	.NET runtime support	Containers & serverless	Status
PeachPDF	Free — BSD-3-Clause	✅ HTML, CSS, and SVG	Own layout engine, fully in-process	✅ Optional tagged output with a structure tree; tag mapping customizable per element via CSS (`-peachpdf-pdf-tag-type`, including `none` for decorative content)	None — pure managed .NET	✅ .NET 8 and newer — every currently-supported .NET version	Excellent — no browser, no native binaries, works in trimmed and AOT deployments	Actively developed
IronPDF	Commercial — paid per developer	✅ Chromium-grade	Embedded Chromium renderer	⚠️ PDF/A and PDF/UA export options; no per-element tag control	Ships Chromium native binaries with the package	.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Standard 2.0, .NET Core / .NET 5–10	Works, but images grow by hundreds of MB	Actively developed
PuppeteerSharp	Free — MIT	✅ Chrome-grade	Drives a headless Chrome in a separate process	⚠️ Chrome can emit tagged PDFs; no tag customization	Downloads a full Chromium build (hundreds of MB)	.NET Standard 2.0 and .NET 8+	Hard — browser install, sandbox flags, and extra memory in every image	Actively developed
DinkToPdf	Free — MIT	⚠️ 2012-era WebKit; no flexbox or modern CSS	Wraps the native `libwkhtmltox` library	❌ Untagged output	Per-platform native library you deploy yourself	.NET Standard 2.0 / .NET Core (dormant)	Fragile — native loading issues and long-standing thread-safety problems	Dormant — no releases in years
wkhtmltopdf	Free — LGPL	⚠️ 2012-era WebKit; no flexbox or modern CSS	External command-line process	❌ Untagged output	Native binary installed on the host	Language-agnostic external CLI	Possible, but you're baking an archived tool into new images	Archived — deprecated by its maintainers
Prince (PrinceXML)	Commercial — paid per server	✅ Excellent, best-in-class paged-media CSS	External native process	✅ Strong tagged / PDF-UA support with CSS tag customization	Native binary installed on the host	Language-agnostic external process	Works, but every container counts as a licensed server	Actively developed
QuestPDF	Free under $1M annual revenue, paid above	❌ None — code-first fluent C# API	Own engine drawing through SkiaSharp	⚠️ PDF/A and PDF/UA conformance in recent versions, from code-first layouts	SkiaSharp native binaries	.NET Framework 4.x, .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 6+	Good, but every layout is C# code your developers maintain	Actively developed
PDFsharp / MigraDoc	Free — MIT	❌ None — drawing and document object model	Direct PDF drawing; you position content	⚠️ Tagged / PDF-UA output via `UAManager` in recent versions; structure marked up in code	None	.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 6+	Good, but all layout is manual	Actively developed
Aspose.PDF	Commercial — paid per developer	⚠️ HTML conversion with partial CSS fidelity	Own converter inside a large general-purpose PDF suite	✅ Tagged PDF via a programmatic tagging API	Large closed-source library	.NET Framework, .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 6+	Works	Actively developed

Licensing and pricing details are as of this writing and change over time — always check each vendor's site before deciding.

Where PeachPDF isn't the right fit: it doesn't execute JavaScript, and pixel-perfect Chrome parity isn't the goal — if your documents are rendered by client-side scripts, a browser-based tool is the honest recommendation. For everything else, the compatibility matrix tells you exactly what you get.