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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →For most PHP applications, the direct route is a Composer-installed renderer: Dompdf for a short load-render-output workflow, or mPDF when its UTF-8 HTML handling and deployment requirements fit your project. Neither is a full browser engine. Check the renderer’s CSS support, PHP version, extensions, fonts, asset policy, and pagination against your actual template before committing to it.
Choose a renderer for your document
Dompdf and mPDF both provide PHP APIs for converting HTML into PDF, but their documented requirements and rendering behavior differ. There is no universally best choice established by their project documentation; the practical choice depends on your markup, CSS, content, and hosting environment.
| Consideration | Dompdf | mPDF |
|---|---|---|
| Documented workflow | Load HTML, optionally configure paper and orientation, render, then stream output. | Load HTML with WriteHTML(), then deliver output with Output(). |
| CSS and layout | Mostly CSS 2.1; flexbox and CSS Grid are not supported. Table rows must fit on one page. | Check the selected release and test the template; the cited project guidance does not establish browser-equivalent CSS support. |
| Runtime needs | Check PHP and package-release requirements; remote assets need explicit configuration and cURL or allow_url_fopen. |
Requires mbstring and GD; advanced use can require zlib, bcmath, or xml. |
| Operational note | Keep local file access within configured chroot paths. |
Configure a dedicated writable temporary directory. External-resource fetching can be problematic on single-threaded servers such as PHP’s built-in server. |
These are project-documented characteristics, not a comparative benchmark. Requirements can differ between development branches and stable releases, so check the exact release you plan to install against your PHP version and extensions.
When Dompdf may fit
Consider Dompdf when your template uses relatively conventional HTML and CSS and its documented limitations match your layout. It supports common raster image formats, tables, presentational HTML attributes, and several page-related CSS rules. It documents limitations with flexbox, Grid, table rows that cannot fit on one page, and raw inline SVG.
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When mPDF may fit
Consider mPDF when its documented UTF-8 HTML workflow and runtime requirements suit your application. Confirm the required extensions are enabled, set a dedicated writable temporary directory, and validate remote resources under your actual web-server configuration.
Install and generate a PDF with Dompdf
Install the package from your project directory:
composer require dompdf/dompdfA minimal application flow, following Dompdf’s documented API, looks like this:
<?php
require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
use DompdfDompdf;
use DompdfOptions;
$options = new Options();
$dompdf = new Dompdf($options);
$html = '<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Invoice</title>
<style>
body { font-family: DejaVu Sans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; }
h1 { color: #243b53; }
table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; }
th, td { border: 1px solid #bbb; padding: 6px; text-align: left; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Invoice</h1>
<p>Generated from application HTML.</p>
</body>
</html>';
$dompdf->loadHtml($html, 'UTF-8');
$dompdf->setPaper('A4', 'portrait');
$dompdf->render();
$dompdf->stream('invoice.pdf', ['Attachment' => true]);Use Attachment => true for a download response. If you want the browser to attempt inline display, use false. In a framework, avoid sending prior HTML, whitespace, or debug output before the PDF response, because that can corrupt the response body.
Remote and local assets
Dompdf disables remote resource loading by default. If your HTML needs remote images or stylesheets, enable it explicitly and make sure PHP has cURL or allow_url_fopen enabled:
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$options = new DompdfOptions();
$options->set('isRemoteEnabled', true);
$dompdf = new DompdfDompdf($options);Local filesystem references must remain inside configured chroot paths. Do not enable broad filesystem access or remote fetching for untrusted HTML or user-controlled URLs: a PDF renderer fetching arbitrary resources can expose files or make unintended network requests. Prefer controlled asset locations and validate any URL your application permits.
Install and generate a PDF with mPDF
Install mPDF with Composer:
composer require mpdf/mpdfIts documented minimal flow uses Composer’s autoloader, WriteHTML(), and Output():
<?php
require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';
$mpdf = new MpdfMpdf();
$html = '<!doctype html>
<html>
<head><meta charset="UTF-8"></head>
<body>
<h1>Report</h1>
<p>Generated from UTF-8 HTML.</p>
</body>
</html>';
$mpdf->WriteHTML($html);
$mpdf->Output('report.pdf', MpdfOutputDestination::DOWNLOAD);Before using this in production, confirm mbstring and GD are loaded. Depending on the features you use, mPDF may also need zlib, bcmath, or xml. Configure a dedicated writable temporary directory for mPDF; it cleans old temporary files there, so do not share that directory with unrelated application data.
The mPDF project warns that fetching external HTTP resources can cause problems on single-threaded servers, including PHP’s built-in server. For that situation it recommends Apache or nginx with PHP-FPM. User input passed into mPDF must be vetted and sanitized as an application security responsibility; browser-level sanitization alone is not enough.
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Make the output match the real document
CSS and pagination
Inventory the CSS your template actually uses. If it depends on flexbox or Grid, Dompdf’s documented support does not cover those layout systems; redesign the PDF-specific template with simpler layout rules or evaluate another renderer. Test long tables, page breaks, headers, footers, and content near page boundaries. Dompdf documents that a table row must fit on one page, so a very tall row can create pagination problems.
Fonts, encoding, and multilingual text
Test with representative names, symbols, and languages rather than only ASCII sample text. Check that the chosen font is available to the renderer and includes the needed characters. Dompdf notes that built-in PDF base fonts have limited character coverage; external fonts can be embedded when accessible and referenced appropriately. mPDF describes its input as UTF-8 HTML, so set the document encoding explicitly and verify the resulting glyphs.
Images and other resources
Check whether each image or stylesheet is local or remote, whether the renderer is allowed to access it, and whether its path falls within the permitted filesystem boundary. For reliable deployment, avoid relying on resources that are accessible only from a developer workstation. Test the same asset paths and network policy used by the production environment.
Paper size and orientation
Set paper size and orientation deliberately for documents with specific page requirements. Dompdf exposes setPaper(); its documented flow allows paper and orientation to be configured before rendering. Inspect page count and content placement using real-length data, because a short sample may not reveal overflow or awkward breaks.
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Security, performance, and deployment checks
- Untrusted markup: Sanitize and validate HTML and URLs before rendering. Do not treat the renderer as a security boundary.
- Filesystem access: With Dompdf, constrain local file access to the intended
chrootpaths and avoid widening access casually. - Remote requests: Enable remote fetching only when needed, and restrict the URLs your application can supply to avoid arbitrary network access.
- PHP and extensions: Check the exact package release requirements in the target deployment, not just your local development environment.
- Temporary storage: Ensure mPDF’s dedicated temp directory is writable and has enough operational headroom for your workload.
- Repeated rendering: Dompdf advises creating a new instance for each HTML document because parsing or rendering artifacts may persist.
- Performance: No comparative speed or memory benchmark is established here. Measure rendering time, memory use, and output size with representative documents on your own server before setting throughput expectations.
Troubleshoot common conversion failures
Composer installation fails
Check the PHP version and extensions required by the exact package release. A dependency constraint may reject the PHP runtime or report a missing extension; install or enable the required dependency, or select a compatible package release.
Images or stylesheets are missing
For Dompdf, confirm remote access is enabled if the resource is remote, that cURL or allow_url_fopen is available, and that the URL is reachable from the PHP server. For local resources, verify the path and that it is inside the configured chroot. Do not solve a missing asset by granting unrestricted access.
Modern layout looks wrong
Check whether the template depends on flexbox or Grid; Dompdf does not support them. Use a PDF-oriented HTML/CSS layout supported by the selected renderer, then render representative pages and inspect them.
Table content splits badly or overflows
For Dompdf, inspect any row taller than the available page area because documented behavior requires rows to fit on a single page. Break oversized content into smaller rows or sections and test with the longest realistic values.
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Text is missing or replaced
Verify the HTML encoding, font availability, and character coverage with the same multilingual content used in production. Configure an accessible font with the required glyphs rather than assuming a built-in base font covers every character.
mPDF cannot write temporary files
Check that its configured temporary directory exists and is writable by the PHP process. Keep it dedicated to mPDF, since mPDF may remove old files from that location.
External resources fail on the built-in PHP server
mPDF documents issues fetching external HTTP resources on single-threaded servers such as PHP’s built-in server. Test under Apache or nginx with PHP-FPM when that deployment pattern applies.
The downloaded file is corrupt or empty
Ensure no debug text, warning, whitespace, or page markup is sent before the PDF response. Check the application logs for PHP errors and verify that the renderer reaches its output call.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a PHP HTML-to-PDF library as a drop-in browser replacement?
No. Rendering and CSS support depend on the library and its release; test your actual template and assets rather than assuming browser-equivalent output.
Should I use Dompdf or mPDF?
Choose based on the CSS, text, extensions, asset access, and deployment requirements your document has. The documented characteristics do not establish a universal winner.
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