Rivoli PDF
The fully-managed PDF engine for .NET.
Build, read, and round-trip PDFs with pixel-level fidelity. No Ghostscript, no headless browser, no native binaries: one managed library that behaves the same on every machine.
Your first PDF in five minutes
Install the package and write a document. No system libraries, no headless browser, no per-platform setup.
using Rivoli.Pdf;
using Rivoli.Pdf.Model;
// Create a document
var document = Document.Create("Hello World", "Rivoli PDF");
// Add a section and content
var section = document.AddSection();
section.Add(new Paragraph("Hello, World!"));
// Save to PDF
document.SavePdf("hello-world.pdf");Rivoli.Pdf 0.1.0 targets .NET 8 and .NET 10. The document model ships as Rivoli.Pdf.Core; HTML-to-PDF is the optional Rivoli.Pdf.Html package.
Why Rivoli PDF
Four things the incumbents can't all claim at once.
Fully managed
Pure .NET. No Ghostscript, no Chromium, no platform-specific binaries to ship, sandbox, or patch. Deploy to Linux, Docker, and serverless without surprises.
Byte-stable output
The same input produces the same PDF, every run, on every platform. Diffable, cacheable, and testable, which is what makes a fidelity benchmark possible at all.
PDF/A-first
Archival and accessibility conformance is a first-class path, validated against the veraPDF battery, not an afterthought bolted on at the end.
JSON-native with change tracking
A serializable document object model you can diff, store, and round-trip as JSON, with built-in change tracking for collaborative and programmatic editing.
What it does
A commercial-grade surface, grouped by what you're trying to get done.
Create
DOM + layout engine: sections, headings, paragraphs, tables, lists, images, headers/footers, multi-column, cascading styles, fonts (TrueType/CID/Type3), vector canvas.
Convert
HTML to PDF via the internal layout engine (optional Rivoli.Pdf.Html package), images to PDF. No browser engine required.
Comply
PDF 1.4–1.7, PDF/A-1a and PDF/A-1b, tagged PDF (accessibility), XMP metadata, deterministic output.
Secure
AES-128 / AES-256 encryption (RC4 for legacy compatibility), permissions, PKCS#7 digital signatures, password protection.
Extract
Text and image extraction, coordinate-aware search, metadata and XMP.
Operate
Merge, split, page-range extraction, layers (OCG), file attachments, AcroForm fields (text, checkbox, radio, choice, button, signature).
Roadmap
Built for .NET. Designed to travel.
The engine ships on .NET today. The document model and deterministic core are designed to port, and these runtimes are under active consideration.
We grade every release
Every release is graded by a round-trip fidelity harness: parse, rebuild, and re-export each document, then compare pixels against PDFium as the rendering oracle across five tiers. Publication of the scores is forthcoming.
Measured against a 32-PDF public corpus with PDFium as the rendering oracle.
Pricing
Free for individuals and for organisations under US$1M in annual gross revenue. A perpetual, per-developer commercial license for everyone else, priced well below the incumbents.
Free
For individuals and organisations under $1M in annual gross revenue.
- Full library, no watermark, no page limits
- Royalty-free for your own apps
- All platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, Docker
- Community support on GitHub Discussions
Free for individuals, and for organisations with annual gross revenue under US$1,000,000, under the Rivoli PDF License v1.0 (source-available).
Enterprise
The commercial license for larger companies. A lot cheaper than the incumbents.
- Perpetual Founder license, buy once, use forever
- 1 year of updates and priority email support included
- Royalty-free redistribution included (no OEM add-on)
- Unlimited deployments
- Optional paid renewal for updates and priority support after year one
- Early-access rate locks in for life
The commercial license, required once your organisation's annual gross revenue reaches US$1,000,000. Licensing questions: licensing@rivoli.ai.
Questions about licensing? See the license terms.
How we compare
The same capabilities, side by side with the libraries you're choosing between.
| Capability | Rivoli PDF | IronPDF | Aspose.PDF | Syncfusion | iText | QuestPDF | PDFsharp | Apryse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free for small companies | Conditional | AGPL only | ||||||
| Entry price (per developer) | $299 | $999 | ~$1,679 | ~$2,495/yr | Quote | ~$999/yr | Free | $150K+/yr |
| Royalty-free redistribution included | Add-on | Add-on | Quote | |||||
| Fully managed (no native deps) | ||||||||
| Deterministic output | ||||||||
| PDF/A-first | ||||||||
| JSON document model + change tracking | ||||||||
| Round-trip fidelity harness | ||||||||
| Cross-language roadmap | 5 planned | Multi | Multi | Multi | Java/.NET | Multi |
Competitor prices are researched approximations (June 2026); several vendors are now quote-gated, so some figures are historical or third-party. Rivoli PDF is pre-1.0: document creation is feature-complete, while full parsing of arbitrary PDFs and rasterized rendering are partial and on the near-term roadmap.
Questions
What counts as a developer?
Any engineer who writes or maintains code that calls the library. The Enterprise license is per developer, billed once. You set the seat count at checkout.
Is it really free for my company?
If you're an individual, or your organisation's annual gross revenue is under US$1,000,000, the full library is free under the Rivoli PDF License, with no watermark and no page limits. At or above that line, you need the commercial Enterprise license. Questions: licensing@rivoli.ai.
Is the source code available? Can I fork it?
The source is available on GitHub under the Rivoli PDF License v1.0. It is source-available, not open source: you may modify it for your own internal use and your own applications, but you may not redistribute the source or any modified or derivative version. Unmodified compiled binaries may be distributed only as an integrated component of your application.
Does Enterprise include royalty-free redistribution?
Yes, at no extra charge. You can embed Rivoli PDF in the software you ship to customers. Most incumbents hide redistribution behind a separate OEM add-on, often around $1,999. We include it.
How mature is the library?
Rivoli PDF is pre-1.0 (currently 0.1.0), and we say so plainly. Document creation is feature-complete and validated; full parsing of arbitrary third-party PDFs and rasterized rendering are partial and on the near-term roadmap. The Founder price reflects that, and locks in for life.
Where do I get support?
Free users get community support on GitHub Discussions. Enterprise customers get priority email support and updates for the first year; continuing priority support and updates after year one is an optional paid renewal. Your perpetual license never expires either way.
Which platforms are supported?
Windows, Linux, and macOS on .NET 8 and .NET 10, including Docker and serverless. Because there are no native dependencies, Linux font handling and container deployment work without extra setup.
Resources
Everything ships in the open: the docs, the source, and the packages.
Guides & comparisons
Evaluating a switch, or a specific deployment target? Each guide has a runnable sample, real output, a comparison, and a migration path.
Compare
Side-by-side with the library you're evaluating.
Deploy anywhere
Docker, serverless, and browser-free HTML conversion.
Compliance & accessibility
PDF/A, tagged PDF, and accessible output.
Build with it
The library pages and the classic use cases.
Start free. Pay only when you're big.
Install the package today. When your company crosses the line, the Founder rate locks in for life.