jspdf vs react-pdf vs pdfmake vs @react-pdf/renderer
PDF Generation Libraries for Web Development Comparison
1 Year
jspdfreact-pdfpdfmake@react-pdf/rendererSimilar Packages:
What's PDF Generation Libraries for Web Development?

PDF generation libraries are essential tools in web development that allow developers to create and manipulate PDF documents directly from web applications. These libraries provide various functionalities, such as rendering complex layouts, adding images, text, and graphics, and enabling user interactions with the generated PDFs. They cater to different use cases, from simple document creation to complex reports and invoices, making them invaluable for applications that require document generation capabilities.

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jspdf1,875,96529,91714.8 MB12213 days agoMIT
react-pdf1,287,4279,872552 kB342 months agoMIT
pdfmake930,77511,85913.5 MB2912 months agoMIT
@react-pdf/renderer725,80215,329263 kB419a day agoMIT
Feature Comparison: jspdf vs react-pdf vs pdfmake vs @react-pdf/renderer

Integration with React

  • jspdf:

    jsPDF does not have a direct integration with React, but it can be used alongside React applications. Developers need to manage the PDF generation process separately from the React component lifecycle, which may require additional handling for updates and state management.

  • react-pdf:

    react-pdf is focused on rendering existing PDF documents in a React environment. It allows developers to display PDFs as components, providing a seamless experience for users who need to view documents within a React application.

  • pdfmake:

    pdfmake can be used in React applications, but it is not specifically tailored for React. Developers can still utilize it to generate PDFs, but they need to manage the integration manually, which may involve additional boilerplate code.

  • @react-pdf/renderer:

    @react-pdf/renderer is specifically designed for React applications, allowing developers to create PDFs using React components. This integration makes it easy to manage the PDF layout and content using familiar React paradigms, such as props and state.

Complex Layout Support

  • jspdf:

    jsPDF is more limited in terms of complex layout support. While it can handle basic text and images, creating intricate layouts may require more manual work and custom calculations, making it less suitable for complex documents.

  • react-pdf:

    react-pdf is primarily focused on rendering existing PDFs rather than generating new ones. Therefore, it does not directly support layout creation but can display complex PDFs accurately.

  • pdfmake:

    pdfmake excels in supporting complex layouts, including tables, lists, and custom styling. It provides a powerful document definition object that allows for detailed control over the document structure and appearance.

  • @react-pdf/renderer:

    @react-pdf/renderer supports complex layouts and styling, allowing developers to create multi-page documents with advanced formatting. It leverages React's styling capabilities, enabling the use of CSS-like styles for PDF generation.

Learning Curve

  • jspdf:

    jsPDF has a relatively low learning curve, with a straightforward API that allows developers to quickly start generating PDFs. However, more complex features may require additional learning and experimentation.

  • react-pdf:

    react-pdf has a low learning curve for developers familiar with React, as it allows them to leverage their existing knowledge to render PDFs. However, understanding the nuances of PDF rendering may still require some additional learning.

  • pdfmake:

    pdfmake has a steeper learning curve due to its powerful features and document definition syntax. Developers may need to invest time in understanding its structure to fully utilize its capabilities for complex documents.

  • @react-pdf/renderer:

    @react-pdf/renderer has a moderate learning curve, especially for developers already familiar with React. Understanding how to structure components for PDF generation may take some time, but it follows React's conventions, making it easier for React developers to adopt.

Performance

  • jspdf:

    jsPDF is lightweight and performs well for generating simple PDFs. However, performance may degrade with more complex documents or large amounts of data, as it processes everything on the client side without server-side assistance.

  • react-pdf:

    react-pdf is optimized for rendering existing PDFs and performs well in displaying documents. However, performance may be impacted by the size and complexity of the PDF being rendered.

  • pdfmake:

    pdfmake is designed for performance with complex documents, but it may require more memory and processing power compared to simpler libraries. It is well-optimized for generating structured documents with rich formatting.

  • @react-pdf/renderer:

    @react-pdf/renderer performs well for generating PDFs, but performance may vary depending on the complexity of the document and the number of components used. It is generally efficient for most use cases but may require optimization for very large documents.

Extensibility

  • jspdf:

    jsPDF offers some extensibility through plugins and custom functions, but it may not be as flexible as other libraries for creating highly customized PDF documents.

  • react-pdf:

    react-pdf does not focus on document generation but rather on rendering existing PDFs. Its extensibility is limited to how PDFs are displayed within a React application.

  • pdfmake:

    pdfmake is highly extensible, allowing developers to define custom styles, layouts, and document structures. It provides a robust API for creating complex and tailored PDF documents.

  • @react-pdf/renderer:

    @react-pdf/renderer allows for extensibility through custom components and styles, enabling developers to create reusable PDF components that can be shared across different documents.

How to Choose: jspdf vs react-pdf vs pdfmake vs @react-pdf/renderer
  • jspdf:

    Choose jsPDF if you need a lightweight, client-side solution for generating PDF documents without relying on server-side processing. It is particularly useful for simple documents and offers a straightforward API for adding text, images, and shapes.

  • react-pdf:

    Choose react-pdf if you want to render existing PDF documents in a React application. It allows you to display PDFs as React components, enabling you to integrate PDF viewing capabilities into your web applications easily.

  • pdfmake:

    Choose pdfmake if you require a powerful and flexible PDF generation library that supports complex layouts and features such as tables, lists, and styling. It is particularly suited for applications that need to generate structured documents with rich formatting.

  • @react-pdf/renderer:

    Choose @react-pdf/renderer if you are building a React application and want to leverage React components to create PDF documents. It allows for a seamless integration of React's component-based architecture into PDF generation, making it ideal for developers familiar with React.

README for jspdf

jsPDF

Continous Integration Code Climate Test Coverage GitHub license Total alerts Language grade: JavaScript Gitpod ready-to-code

A library to generate PDFs in JavaScript.

You can catch me on twitter: @MrRio or head over to my company's website for consultancy.

jsPDF is now co-maintained by yWorks - the diagramming experts.

Live Demo | Documentation

Install

Recommended: get jsPDF from npm:

npm install jspdf --save
# or
yarn add jspdf

Alternatively, load it from a CDN:

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jspdf/3.0.0/jspdf.umd.min.js"></script>

Or always get latest version via unpkg

<script src="https://unpkg.com/jspdf@latest/dist/jspdf.umd.min.js"></script>

The dist folder of this package contains different kinds of files:

  • jspdf.es.*.js: Modern ES2015 module format.
  • jspdf.node.*.js: For running in Node. Uses file operations for loading/saving files instead of browser APIs.
  • jspdf.umd.*.js: UMD module format. For AMD or script-tag loading.
  • polyfills*.js: Required polyfills for older browsers like Internet Explorer. The es variant simply imports all required polyfills from core-js, the umd variant is self-contained.

Usually it is not necessary to specify the exact file in the import statement. Build tools or Node automatically figure out the right file, so importing "jspdf" is enough.

Usage

Then you're ready to start making your document:

import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";

// Default export is a4 paper, portrait, using millimeters for units
const doc = new jsPDF();

doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");

If you want to change the paper size, orientation, or units, you can do:

// Landscape export, 2×4 inches
const doc = new jsPDF({
  orientation: "landscape",
  unit: "in",
  format: [4, 2]
});

doc.text("Hello world!", 1, 1);
doc.save("two-by-four.pdf");

Running in Node.js

const { jsPDF } = require("jspdf"); // will automatically load the node version

const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf"); // will save the file in the current working directory

Other Module Formats

AMD
require(["jspdf"], ({ jsPDF }) => {
  const doc = new jsPDF();
  doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
  doc.save("a4.pdf");
});
Globals
const { jsPDF } = window.jspdf;

const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello world!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");

Optional dependencies

Some functions of jsPDF require optional dependencies. E.g. the html method, which depends on html2canvas and, when supplied with a string HTML document, dompurify. JsPDF loads them dynamically when required (using the respective module format, e.g. dynamic imports). Build tools like Webpack will automatically create separate chunks for each of the optional dependencies. If your application does not use any of the optional dependencies, you can prevent Webpack from generating the chunks by defining them as external dependencies:

// webpack.config.js
module.exports = {
  // ...
  externals: {
    // only define the dependencies you are NOT using as externals!
    canvg: "canvg",
    html2canvas: "html2canvas",
    dompurify: "dompurify"
  }
};

In Vue CLI projects, externals can be defined via the configureWebpack or chainWebpack properties of the vue.config.js file (needs to be created, first, in fresh projects).

In Angular projects, externals can be defined using custom webpack builders.

In React (create-react-app) projects, externals can be defined by either using react-app-rewired or ejecting.

TypeScript/Angular/Webpack/React/etc. Configuration:

jsPDF can be imported just like any other 3rd party library. This works with all major toolkits and frameworks. jsPDF also offers a typings file for TypeScript projects.

import { jsPDF } from "jspdf";

You can add jsPDF to your meteor-project as follows:

meteor add jspdf:core

Polyfills

jsPDF requires modern browser APIs in order to function. To use jsPDF in older browsers like Internet Explorer, polyfills are required. You can load all required polyfills as follows:

import "jspdf/dist/polyfills.es.js";

Alternatively, you can load the prebundled polyfill file. This is not recommended, since you might end up loading polyfills multiple times. Might still be nifty for small applications or quick POCs.

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jspdf/3.0.0/polyfills.umd.js"></script>

Use of Unicode Characters / UTF-8:

The 14 standard fonts in PDF are limited to the ASCII-codepage. If you want to use UTF-8 you have to integrate a custom font, which provides the needed glyphs. jsPDF supports .ttf-files. So if you want to have for example Chinese text in your pdf, your font has to have the necessary Chinese glyphs. So, check if your font supports the wanted glyphs or else it will show garbled characters instead of the right text.

To add the font to jsPDF use our fontconverter in /fontconverter/fontconverter.html. The fontconverter will create a js-file with the content of the provided ttf-file as base64 encoded string and additional code for jsPDF. You just have to add this generated js-File to your project. You are then ready to go to use setFont-method in your code and write your UTF-8 encoded text.

Alternatively you can just load the content of the *.ttf file as a binary string using fetch or XMLHttpRequest and add the font to the PDF file:

const doc = new jsPDF();

const myFont = ... // load the *.ttf font file as binary string

// add the font to jsPDF
doc.addFileToVFS("MyFont.ttf", myFont);
doc.addFont("MyFont.ttf", "MyFont", "normal");
doc.setFont("MyFont");

Advanced Functionality

Since the merge with the yWorks fork there are a lot of new features. However, some of them are API breaking, which is why there is an API-switch between two API modes:

  • In "compat" API mode, jsPDF has the same API as MrRio's original version, which means full compatibility with plugins. However, some advanced features like transformation matrices and patterns won't work. This is the default mode.
  • In "advanced" API mode, jsPDF has the API you're used from the yWorks-fork version. This means the availability of all advanced features like patterns, FormObjects, and transformation matrices.

You can switch between the two modes by calling

doc.advancedAPI(doc => {
  // your code
});
// or
doc.compatAPI(doc => {
  // your code
});

JsPDF will automatically switch back to the original API mode after the callback has run.

Support

Please check if your question is already handled at Stackoverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/jspdf. Feel free to ask a question there with the tag jspdf.

Feature requests, bug reports, etc. are very welcome as issues. Note that bug reports should follow these guidelines:

  • A bug should be reported as an mcve
  • Make sure code is properly indented and formatted (Use ``` around code blocks)
  • Provide a runnable example.
  • Try to make sure and show in your issue that the issue is actually related to jspdf and not your framework of choice.

Contributing

jsPDF cannot live without help from the community! If you think a feature is missing or you found a bug, please consider if you can spare one or two hours and prepare a pull request. If you're simply interested in this project and want to help, have a look at the open issues, especially those labeled with "bug".

You can find information about building and testing jsPDF in the contribution guide

Credits

  • Big thanks to Daniel Dotsenko from Willow Systems Corporation for making huge contributions to the codebase.
  • Thanks to Ajaxian.com for featuring us back in 2009. (Internet Archive Wayback Machine reference)
  • Our special thanks to GH Lee (sphilee) for programming the ttf-file-support and providing a large and long sought after feature
  • Everyone else that's contributed patches or bug reports. You rock.

License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2010-2021 James Hall, https://github.com/MrRio/jsPDF (c) 2015-2021 yWorks GmbH, https://www.yworks.com/

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.