Compare/Apryse (PDFTron)

PDFluent vs Apryse

Apryse is a mature, full-featured SDK. It requires a C++ or C# runtime, ships DLL dependencies, and gates trial access behind a sales call.

Apryse (formerly PDFTron) is one of the oldest commercial PDF SDKs. It has broad feature coverage but ships a native C++ core that must be distributed as DLLs or shared libraries. Trial access requires contacting sales. PDFluent is a pure Rust library: no DLL, no C++ runtime, single static binary, and a self-serve 30-day trial.

Side-by-side

PDFluent (Rust)
use pdfluent::Document;

fn main() -> pdfluent::Result<()> {
    let doc = Document::open("invoice.pdf")?;

    // Extract text from page 1
    let text = doc.page(0)?.extract_text()?;
    println!("{}", text);

    // Fill a form field
    let mut form = doc.acroform()?;
    form.set_field("invoice_number", "INV-2024-001")?;

    doc.save("invoice_filled.pdf")?;
    Ok(())
}
Apryse (PDFTron) (C#)
using Apryse;

class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        // Requires PDFNetC DLL in PATH or next to the executable
        PDFNet.Initialize("YOUR_LICENSE_KEY");

        using var doc = new PDFDoc("invoice.pdf");
        doc.InitSecurityHandler();

        // Extract text from page 1
        var page = doc.GetPage(1);
        var txt = new TextExtractor();
        txt.Begin(page);
        Console.WriteLine(txt.GetAsText());

        // Fill a form field
        var field = doc.GetField("invoice_number");
        field.SetValue("INV-2024-001");

        doc.Save("invoice_filled.pdf", SDFDoc.SaveOptions.e_linearized);
        PDFNet.Terminate();
    }
}

Feature comparison

FeaturePDFluentApryse (PDFTron)
Language / runtimeRust, no runtimeC++ core, C#/.NET/Java wrappers
DLL / shared library required
WASM / browser SDKPartial (JS viewer product, separate from SDK)
PDF/A validation
XFA forms
Serverless without native DLL
Self-serve trial (no sales call)
Published pricing

Pros and cons

PDFluent
  • No DLL to deploy — ships as a Rust crate
  • Self-serve 30-day trial, no sales call required
  • Runs in WASM for browser-side processing
  • Transparent published pricing
  • Zero native dependencies for serverless / Lambda
  • Younger codebase — less production history than Apryse
  • No viewer product — PDFluent is an SDK only
  • Fewer language bindings currently (Rust, Python, Node)
Apryse (PDFTron)
  • Mature SDK with many years of production use
  • Wide language support (C#, Java, Python, Go, others)
  • JavaScript viewer product (WebViewer) for browser display
  • Dedicated enterprise support team
  • Requires native DLL deployed with your application
  • Trial requires contacting their sales team
  • Pricing not published — requires a custom quote
  • Difficult to run in pure serverless environments without bundling native libraries
  • Large deployment footprint (~50-100 MB native libraries)

When to use each

Choose PDFluent

PDFluent fits if you are writing a Rust service, deploying to Lambda or Cloudflare Workers, building a WASM-based browser application, or evaluating quickly without a sales process. The no-dependency nature makes it straightforward to containerize and deploy anywhere.

Choose Apryse (PDFTron)

Apryse is a reasonable choice if you already have a large .NET or Java codebase and need a single vendor for both server-side processing and a browser PDF viewer. Their WebViewer is a mature product that PDFluent does not have an equivalent for.

Bottom line

Apryse covers a wide surface area and has years of production use. If you are already in a C# or C++ shop and need a one-stop SDK with enterprise support, it is a reasonable choice. If you are on Rust, need WASM, deploy to serverless, or want to evaluate without a sales call, PDFluent fits better.

Frequently asked questions

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