Migrating from Telerik Reporting to IronPDF in .NET

Telerik Reporting is a comprehensive reporting suite with designers, data binding, and complex layout engines. IronPDF is a lightweight, HTML-first PDF library optimized for modern web-based PDF generation.

If you're using Telerik Reporting but don't need its full reporting infrastructure—or if you're frustrated by licensing costs, deployment complexity, or the steep learning curve—here's how to migrate to IronPDF.

Why Migrate from Telerik to IronPDF?

1. Simpler Licensing and Lower Cost

Telerik Reporting pricing:

• DevCraft Complete: $1,299 per developer per year (includes Reporting + UI controls)
• Telerik Reporting alone: $899 per developer per year
• Runtime royalties: Additional fees for some deployment scenarios
• Annual renewal required: No perpetual licenses

IronPDF pricing:

• $749 per developer (one-time purchase, perpetual license)
• No runtime fees
• No annual renewals
• Free updates for first year, optional renewals

Savings: $150-$550 per developer per year, plus elimination of runtime fees.

2. Modern HTML-First Workflow

Telerik Reporting uses a proprietary report designer (.trdp/.trdx files) with its own layout engine.

Telerik's approach:

1. Design reports in Telerik Report Designer (Windows app)
2. Define data sources, parameters, groups in designer
3. Deploy report definitions to server
4. Render using Telerik's engine

IronPDF's approach:

1. Design PDFs using HTML/CSS (any editor, any framework)
2. Render with Chromium engine (same as Google Chrome)
3. Deploy as simple .NET code

IronPDF benefits:

• Use existing web design skills (HTML/CSS)
• Leverage modern CSS frameworks (Bootstrap, Tailwind)
• No proprietary designer required
• Works with any templating engine (Razor, Scriban, Liquid)

3. Lightweight Deployment

Telerik Reporting requires:

• Telerik assemblies (~50+ MB)
• Report Designer dependencies (if editing reports server-side)
• SQL Server or other data source for report storage
• IIS configuration for REST/SOAP services

IronPDF requires:

• IronPdf NuGet package
• Minimal dependencies
• No report storage infrastructure

Result: Simpler Docker images, faster deployments, less infrastructure.

4. Better HTML/CSS Support

Telerik's layout engine supports a subset of HTML/CSS but has limitations:

What Telerik struggles with:

• Modern CSS (Flexbox, Grid)
• Complex responsive designs
• JavaScript-based charts (Chart.js, D3.js)
• Third-party web fonts
• CSS animations/transitions

IronPDF uses Chromium rendering:

• Full HTML5/CSS3 support
• JavaScript execution (charts, dynamic content)
• Modern CSS layouts work perfectly
• Google Fonts and custom fonts load reliably

When to Stay with Telerik Reporting

Don't migrate if:

1. You heavily use Telerik's report designer and visual designers are critical to your workflow
2. You need built-in data binding wizards for complex SQL queries, stored procedures, and report parameters
3. You're using Telerik's grouping, sub-reports, and master-detail features extensively
4. You already own DevCraft Complete and are using other Telerik UI components (migration saves less)
5. You need interactive web report viewers with drill-down, paging, and export controls

Migrate to IronPDF if:

1. You generate reports from code (not visual designers)
2. You use HTML templates for report layouts
3. Licensing costs are a concern ($899/year vs $749 one-time)
4. You want simpler deployment (no report server infrastructure)
5. You need modern CSS support (Bootstrap layouts, responsive design)
6. You're building SaaS applications and want to avoid runtime fees

Migration Strategy

Option 1: Hybrid Approach (Recommended)

Keep Telerik for complex interactive reports, use IronPDF for simple document generation.

using IronPdf;
using Telerik.Reporting;
// Install via NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf

public class ReportService
{
    private readonly [ChromePdfRenderer](https://ironpdf.com/blog/videos/how-to-render-html-string-to-pdf-in-csharp-ironpdf/) _ironPdf = new ChromePdfRenderer();
    private readonly ReportProcessor _telerikProcessor = new ReportProcessor();

    public byte[] GenerateSimpleInvoice(Invoice invoice)
    {
        // Use IronPDF for simple documents
        var html = RenderInvoiceTemplate(invoice);
        var pdf = _ironPdf.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
        return pdf.BinaryData;
    }

    public byte[] GenerateComplexReport(ReportParameters parameters)
    {
        // Use Telerik for complex reports with data binding
        var report = new SalesReport();
        report.ReportParameters["StartDate"].Value = parameters.StartDate;
        report.ReportParameters["EndDate"].Value = parameters.EndDate;

        var result = _telerikProcessor.RenderReport("PDF", report, null);
        return result.DocumentBytes;
    }
}

Benefits:

• Gradual migration (replace reports one at a time)
• Keep Telerik for reports that justify the cost
• Use IronPDF for simple documents (invoices, receipts, labels)
• Reduce Telerik license count as you migrate

Option 2: Full Replacement

Convert all Telerik reports to HTML templates and use IronPDF exclusively.

Migrating Common Telerik Report Patterns

Pattern 1: Simple Data-Bound Report

Before (Telerik):

Telerik report definition (.trdx file):

<Report Name="InvoiceReport">
  <DataSource>
    <SqlDataSource ConnectionString="..." SelectCommand="SELECT * FROM Invoices WHERE Id = @InvoiceId" />
  </DataSource>
  <ReportParameters>
    <ReportParameter Name="InvoiceId" Type="Integer" />
  </ReportParameters>
  <Items>
    <TextBox Name="InvoiceNumber" Value="=Fields.InvoiceNumber" />
    <TextBox Name="Total" Value="=Fields.Total" Format="{0:C}" />
  </Items>
</Report>

C# code to render:

using Telerik.Reporting;
using Telerik.Reporting.Processing;

var report = new InvoiceReport();
report.ReportParameters["InvoiceId"].Value = 12345;

var processor = new ReportProcessor();
var result = processor.RenderReport("PDF", report, null);

File.WriteAllBytes("invoice.pdf", result.DocumentBytes);

After (IronPDF):

HTML template (Razor):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.0/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
</head>
<body>
    <div class="container mt-5">
        <h1>Invoice #@Model.InvoiceNumber</h1>
        <p>Date: @Model.Date.ToString("MMMM dd, yyyy")</p>

        <table class="table table-striped mt-4">
            <thead>
                <tr>
                    <th>Item</th>
                    <th>Quantity</th>
                    <th>Price</th>
                    <th>Total</th>
                </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
                @foreach (var item in Model.Items)
                {
                    <tr>
                        <td>@item.Description</td>
                        <td>@item.Quantity</td>
                        <td>@item.Price.ToString("C")</td>
                        <td>@item.Total.ToString("C")</td>
                    </tr>
                }
            </tbody>
        </table>

        <div class="row mt-4">
            <div class="col text-end">
                <h3>Total: @Model.Total.ToString("C")</h3>
            </div>
        </div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

C# code:

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

// Fetch data (use your existing data layer)
var invoice = _database.Invoices
    .Include(i => i.Items)
    .FirstOrDefault(i => i.Id == 12345);

// Render HTML template
var html = _razorEngine.RenderTemplate("InvoiceTemplate.cshtml", invoice);

// Generate PDF
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
pdf.SaveAs("invoice.pdf");

Benefits:

• No proprietary report format
• Use existing Razor/MVC skills
• Bootstrap styling works perfectly
• Easier to version control (HTML instead of XML)

Pattern 2: Header and Footer with [Page Numbers](https://ironpdf.com/how-to/html-to-pdf-page-breaks/)

Before (Telerik):

<Report>
  <PageHeader>
    <TextBox Value="Company Name" />
  </PageHeader>
  <PageFooter>
    <TextBox Value="=PageNumber + ' of ' + PageCount" />
  </PageFooter>
</Report>

After (IronPDF):

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

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Configure header
renderer.RenderingOptions.HtmlHeader = new HtmlHeaderFooter
{
    HtmlFragment = "<div style='text-align: center; font-size: 12px;'>Company Name</div>",
    DrawDividerLine = true
};

// Configure footer with page numbers
renderer.RenderingOptions.HtmlFooter = new HtmlHeaderFooter
{
    HtmlFragment = "<div style='text-align: center; font-size: 10px;'>Page {page} of {total-pages}</div>",
    DrawDividerLine = true
};

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

IronPDF merge fields:

• {page}: Current page number
• {total-pages}: Total page count
• {date}: Current date
• {time}: Current time
• {url}: Source URL (if rendering from URL)

Pattern 3: Subreports and Grouped Data

Before (Telerik):

<Report>
  <Group Name="CategoryGroup" Grouping="=Fields.Category">
    <GroupHeader>
      <TextBox Value="=Fields.Category" />
    </GroupHeader>
    <Detail>
      <TextBox Value="=Fields.ProductName" />
      <TextBox Value="=Fields.Price" />
    </Detail>
  </Group>
</Report>

After (IronPDF):

Use LINQ grouping in C#, render with Razor:

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

// Group data in C#
var groupedProducts = products
    .GroupBy(p => p.Category)
    .Select(g => new
    {
        Category = g.Key,
        Products = g.ToList()
    })
    .ToList();

// Razor template
var html = @"
@foreach (var group in Model)
{
    <h2>@group.Category</h2>
    <table>
        @foreach (var product in group.Products)
        {
            <tr>
                <td>@product.ProductName</td>
                <td>@product.Price.ToString(""C"")</td>
            </tr>
        }
    </table>
}";

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(RenderTemplate(html, groupedProducts));
pdf.SaveAs("grouped-report.pdf");

Benefits:

• Use LINQ for grouping (more powerful than report designer)
• Full control over HTML layout
• Easier to debug (breakpoints in C#, inspect HTML)

Pattern 4: Charts and Visualizations

Before (Telerik):

<Report>
  <Graph Name="SalesChart">
    <CategoryGroups>
      <CategoryGroup>
        <Grouping>
          <GroupExpression>=Fields.Month</GroupExpression>
        </Grouping>
      </CategoryGroup>
    </CategoryGroups>
    <SeriesGroups>
      <SeriesGroup>
        <Series>
          <ChartSeries Name="Sales">
            <DataY>=Sum(Fields.Amount)</DataY>
          </ChartSeries>
        </Series>
      </SeriesGroup>
    </SeriesGroups>
  </Graph>
</Report>

After (IronPDF with Chart.js):

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/chart.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
    <canvas id="salesChart" width="800" height="400"></canvas>
    <script>
        const ctx = document.getElementById('salesChart').getContext('2d');
        const chart = new Chart(ctx, {
            type: 'bar',
            data: {
                labels: ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May', 'Jun'],
                datasets: [{
                    label: 'Sales',
                    data: [12000, 19000, 15000, 22000, 18000, 25000],
                    backgroundColor: 'rgba(54, 162, 235, 0.5)'
                }]
            }
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>

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

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
renderer.RenderingOptions.RenderDelay = 500; // Wait for Chart.js to render

var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlWithChart);
pdf.SaveAs("sales-chart.pdf");

Benefits:

• Use modern charting libraries (Chart.js, D3.js, ApexCharts)
• Interactive charts during development (test in browser)
• Thousands of chart types and plugins available

Pattern 5: Conditional Formatting

Before (Telerik):

<TextBox Name="Status">
  <Value>=Fields.Status</Value>
  <Style>
    <BackgroundColor>=IIf(Fields.Status = "Overdue", "Red", "White")</BackgroundColor>
  </Style>
</TextBox>

After (IronPDF):

@foreach (var invoice in Model.Invoices)
{
    <tr class="@(invoice.Status == "Overdue" ? "table-danger" : "")">
        <td>@invoice.InvoiceNumber</td>
        <td>@invoice.Status</td>
        <td>@invoice.Total.ToString("C")</td>
    </tr>
}

Or with inline styles:

<td style="background-color: @(invoice.Status == "Overdue" ? "#ffcccc" : "white");">
    @invoice.Status
</td>

Benefits:

• Use C# logic directly (more readable than report expressions)
• Leverage CSS frameworks (Bootstrap table colors)
• Full control over styling

Performance Comparison

Benchmark: Generate 100 invoices (each 3 pages):

Library	Time	Notes
Telerik Reporting	~180 seconds	Includes data binding overhead
IronPDF	~90 seconds	Direct HTML rendering

IronPDF is ~2x faster for simple documents without complex data binding.

Note: Telerik excels at complex reports with grouping, subreports, and interactive features. For those use cases, performance is comparable.

Cost Comparison (5 Developers, 3 Years)

Cost	Telerik Reporting	IronPDF
Year 1	$4,495 (5 × $899)	$3,745 (5 × $749)
Year 2	$4,495 (renewal)	$0 (perpetual license)
Year 3	$4,495 (renewal)	$0 (perpetual license)
3-Year Total	$13,485	$3,745
Savings	—	$9,740 (72%)

Additional savings:

• No runtime fees (Telerik charges for some deployment scenarios)
• No server infrastructure costs (Telerik Report Server, REST services)

Migration Checklist

Phase 1: Assessment (1-2 weeks)

✅ Audit current Telerik reports (count simple vs. complex reports)

✅ Identify reports for migration (start with simple data-bound reports)

✅ Evaluate templating engine (Razor, Scriban, Liquid)

✅ Test IronPDF with sample report (proof of concept)

Phase 2: Parallel Development (2-4 weeks)

✅ Install IronPDF via NuGet (Install-Package IronPdf)

✅ Create HTML templates for migrated reports

✅ Implement rendering logic (fetch data, render template, generate PDF)

✅ Run side-by-side comparison (Telerik vs. IronPDF output)

✅ Validate output quality (fonts, images, layout)

Phase 3: Migration (Ongoing)

✅ Migrate simple reports first (invoices, receipts, labels)

✅ Replace Telerik calls with IronPDF rendering

✅ Deploy and monitor (performance, output quality)

✅ Iterate (migrate next batch of reports)

✅ Reduce Telerik license count (as reports are migrated)

Phase 4: Cleanup (1-2 weeks)

✅ Remove Telerik dependencies from projects

✅ Archive .trdx report definitions (keep for reference)

✅ Update documentation (new PDF generation process)

✅ Cancel Telerik subscription (or reduce licenses)

Real-World Migration Example

Scenario: SaaS invoicing platform generating 10,000 invoices per month.

Before (Telerik):

• 3 Telerik Reporting licenses ($2,697/year)
• 5 .trdx report definitions
• SQL Server for report storage
• IIS + Telerik REST service for rendering

After (IronPDF):

• 3 IronPDF licenses ($2,247 one-time)
• 5 Razor templates (version-controlled in Git)
• No report storage infrastructure
• Simple ASP.NET Core API endpoint

Migration process:

1. Week 1-2: Converted 2 simple reports (invoices, receipts) to Razor templates
2. Week 3-4: Deployed to staging, validated output
3. Week 5-6: Converted remaining 3 reports
4. Week 7: Deployed to production, monitored for issues
5. Week 8: Canceled Telerik subscription

Results:

• Cost savings: $2,697/year eliminated (72% reduction)
• Deployment simplified: Removed report server infrastructure
• Performance: 2x faster PDF generation
• Developer experience: Easier to maintain (HTML instead of .trdx XML)

When IronPDF Isn't the Right Fit

Stick with Telerik if:

1. You need Telerik's report designer for non-developers to create reports
2. You use complex data binding with master-detail relationships, cross-tabs, and pivot tables
3. You export to multiple formats (PDF, Excel, Word, CSV) with identical output
4. You use interactive web viewers with drill-through, bookmarks, and document maps
5. You already own DevCraft Complete and migration savings are minimal

Consider alternatives if:

• You need Excel generation: Use EPPlus or ClosedXML (specialized Excel libraries)
• You need Word documents: Use DocX or Syncfusion DocIO
• You need reporting designer for end users: Use Telerik, DevExpress, or Stimulsoft

The Bottom Line

Telerik Reporting is excellent for complex enterprise reporting with visual designers, data binding wizards, and interactive viewers.

IronPDF is better for HTML-first PDF generation:

• Lower cost ($749 one-time vs. $899/year)
• Simpler deployment (no report server infrastructure)
• Modern HTML/CSS support (Chromium rendering)
• Easier to maintain (HTML templates, not proprietary XML)

Migration makes sense if:

• You generate reports from code (not visual designers)
• Your reports are primarily data-bound HTML templates
• You want to reduce licensing costs by 70%+
• You prefer modern web development workflows

Start with a hybrid approach: Keep Telerik for complex reports, use IronPDF for simple documents. Migrate incrementally as you validate output quality and developer experience.

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Written by Jacob Mellor, CTO at Iron Software. Jacob created IronPDF and leads a team of 50+ engineers building .NET document processing libraries.