Telerik Reporting alternative
What is the best alternative to Telerik Reporting for .NET?
Bold Reports is an alternative to Telerik Reporting for .NET teams that hold SSRS reports or need a report server in the same license. Bold Reports is a complete RDL reporting platform: existing .rdl and .rdlc files open natively, and every edition includes the report server, scheduling, and embedding SDKs. Bold Reports is never priced per developer. Telerik Reporting is a .NET reporting library licensed per developer, and suits teams that need WinForms, WinUI, or native Blazor viewers.
Free trial: 30 days with a work email. No credit card required.
Last updated: November 13, 2026. Compared: Bold Reports 15.1.16 and Telerik Reporting as its website described it on November 12, 2026.
Two kinds of product
How is Bold Reports different from Telerik Reporting?
A reporting library
Telerik Reporting
Telerik Reporting describes itself as a lightweight, cross-platform library for building, embedding, and exporting reports in .NET applications. It is licensed per developer, per year, and Telerik Report Server is a separate product. It suits a team that embeds reports in its own application, including a WinForms, WPF, or WinUI desktop one.
A reporting platform
Bold Reports
Bold Reports is a complete RDL reporting platform. One report file is designed, embedded, exported, and scheduled, and every edition includes the report server. It suits a team that holds SSRS reports, or that needs reports inside a web application with a server behind them.
Your existing reports
Can Telerik Reporting open SSRS RDL reports?
As of November 2026, Telerik Reporting's documentation lists report converters for Crystal Reports, ActiveReports, and DevExpress XtraReports, but not for SSRS RDL files. Bold Reports opens SSRS RDL and RDLC files natively, without conversion.
Bold Reports
Telerik Reporting
Telerik's own report files are .trdp files, or the older .trdx format, and its Visual Studio designer works with .cs or .vb report definitions. Telerik's page on importing reports says its converters do not guarantee a one-to-one complete conversion.
What the format is, and which Bold Reports tool opens which file, is on the RDL page: Which reporting platform runs RDL and RDLC reports natively?
Side by side
How do Bold Reports and Telerik Reporting compare, feature by feature?
Each Telerik value below is taken from Telerik's own website, as read on November 12, 2026. A capability that is missing from this table was not checked; it is not a claim that either product lacks it.
| Criterion | Bold Reports | Telerik Reporting |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A complete RDL reporting platform | A library for building, embedding, and exporting reports in .NET applications |
| Report format | RDL and RDLC | .trdp or .trdx files, or .cs and .vb report definitions |
| SSRS .rdl and .rdlc files | Open natively, without conversion | No converter listed. Converters cover Crystal Reports, ActiveReports, and XtraReports |
| Designers | Web Report Designer, which can be embedded, and a Standalone Report Designer for Windows | Standalone desktop, web, and Visual Studio report designers |
| Web viewers | Embedding SDKs for JavaScript, Angular, React, Blazor, and ASP.NET Core | ASP.NET Core, Blazor, ASP.NET MVC, ASP.NET Web Forms, HTML5/JS, Angular, and React |
| Blazor viewer | A jQuery-based viewer called through JavaScript interop | A native Blazor Report Viewer |
| Desktop viewers | No WinForms viewer | WPF, WinForms, and WinUI |
| Report server | Included in every edition | A separate product, Telerik Report Server |
| Developer licenses | None. Developers are unlimited in every edition | Per developer, per year |
| Report server users | 100 users included, or unlimited users per application | 15 Client Access Licenses per instance, then bundles of five |
| Vendor-managed cloud | Bold Reports Cloud | Not described on the pages read. An Azure virtual machine image runs in your own subscription |
Pricing
How does Bold Reports pricing compare with Telerik Reporting?
Bold Reports is never priced per developer, so adding developers doesn't change the price. Pricing is published, with volume discounts of up to 60% on per-user plans, or unlimited users with On-Premises per-application licensing. Report server functionality, embedding, multi-tenancy, and white-labeling are included in every edition.
Per user or per application
Bold Reports
Cloud costs $999 per month and On-Premises $499 per month, each with 100 users included, or $1,499 per month per application with unlimited users. Prices are in USD and exclude taxes.
- Cloud $999
- On-Premises $499
- Per application $1,499
Per developer, plus a server per instance
Telerik Reporting
Telerik's purchase page lists Telerik Reporting at $499, $599, or $999 per developer, per year, by support tier, and says only developers need licenses. Telerik Report Server is listed at $1,099, $1,199, or $1,599 per instance, per year, with 15 Client Access Licenses and more in bundles of five for $500. Telerik Report Server is also part of DevCraft Ultimate.
- Reporting from $499 per developer
- Report Server from $1,099 per instance
The two lists use different units, so they are not a like-for-like comparison. One Bold Reports example, before small business and regional discounts:
On-Premises, per user
250 users On-Premises, any number of developers
$499, plus 150 additional users at $3 ($450), less the 10% volume discount on the last 50 of them ($15).
Per month$934with the volume discount
How Bold Reports counts a license is on the licensing page: How is Bold Reports licensed? Check Telerik's current prices on its own purchase page before you compare totals.
Already a Telerik or DevExpress customer
We already own Telerik or DevExpress. Why add Bold Reports?
Bold Reports is a dedicated reporting platform with SSRS compatibility, enterprise scheduling, white-labeling, and multi-tenant deployment, built for long-term reporting needs rather than as part of a UI bundle.
A dedicated reporting platform
- SSRS compatibility
- Enterprise scheduling
- White-labeling
- Multi-tenant deployment
A suite you already license can still be the right tool for reports that are built in its format and embedded in your application. The cases where Telerik Reporting fits better are listed further down this page.
For developers
How do I add the Bold Reports viewer to an ASP.NET Core application?
Bold Reports provides embedding SDKs for JavaScript, Angular, React, Blazor, and ASP.NET Core, included in every edition. The viewer loads a report by its path. The report is processed on the server by a reporting web service or by Bold Reports Report Server, so every setup needs one of the two. The ASP.NET Core Report Viewer needs this much markup:
- JavaScript
- Angular
- React
- Blazor
- ASP.NET Core
The other frameworks and the embedded designer are covered on the embedded reporting page: How do I embed Bold Reports in my application?
<bold-report-viewer
report-service-url="https://your-domain.com/reporting/reportservice/api/Viewer"
report-server-url="https://your-domain.com/reporting/api/site/site1"
report-path="/Sample Reports/Company Sales"
service-authorization-token="Bearer YOUR_SERVER_TOKEN">
</bold-report-viewer>
// _ViewImports.cshtml
@addTagHelper *, BoldReports.AspNet.CoreMoving over
What does moving from Telerik Reporting to Bold Reports involve?
It depends on where your reports started.
Reports that still exist as SSRS .rdl or .rdlc files open in Bold Reports as they are.
Crystal Reports .rpt files are converted to RDL, and that migration is included at no extra cost in every edition.
Reports that exist only in Telerik's format are different. The published Bold Reports migration paths cover SSRS and Crystal Reports, not the Telerik format, so plan to rebuild those reports in the Bold Reports Report Designer, and ask the Bold Reports team before you commit to a date.
Moving a whole SSRS estate is on the migration page: Will my existing SSRS reports run in Bold Reports without changes?
Honest fit
When is Telerik Reporting the better choice?
A desktop application or a Telerik estate
Choose Telerik Reporting if
- You need a WinForms, WinUI, or native Blazor report viewer. Bold Reports has no WinForms viewer, and its Blazor viewer is called through JavaScript interop.
- Your reports are already built in Telerik's format and you have no RDL reports to keep.
- You only embed reports in your own application and want to pay per developer, with no report server to run.
- You already license DevCraft Ultimate, which includes Telerik Report Server.
SSRS reports or a report server
Choose Bold Reports if
- You hold SSRS reports and want them to open unchanged.
- You need a report server, scheduling, and multi-tenancy in the same license.
- You want the price to stay the same when the development team grows.
- You want a cloud edition that Bold Reports manages, or an on-premises one, with the same report format in both.
Comparing other .NET reporting tools: What is the best FastReport .NET alternative for RDL reports? and What is the best alternative to ActiveReports for RDL reports? If a free open-source engine is on your list, see Bold Reports compared with Jaspersoft.
Method
How were these facts checked?
The Telerik values come from eight pages of the vendor's website, read on November 12, 2026. Those pages show no Telerik Reporting version number. The Bold Reports values describe version 15.1.16 and the published pricing.
Telerik Reporting product page: what the product is, designers, web and desktop viewers, the Blazor viewer.
Telerik report designer tools (updated November 10, 2026) and importing reports (updated August 28, 2026): report formats and converters.
Telerik Reporting purchase page and Telerik Report Server purchase page: listed prices, license units, DevCraft Ultimate.
Telerik Report Server: how licenses work, the Guest account, and the Azure Marketplace offer.
Not checked, and so not compared here: export formats, multi-tenancy, white-labeling, AI features, and the license terms of Telerik Reporting beyond its purchase pages. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Spotted something out of date? Tell the Bold Reports team and the page is corrected at its next review.
Questions
What do teams ask about Bold Reports before they switch?
Short answers from the Bold Reports FAQ. See all 78 questions.
Is Bold Reports licensed per user, per server, or per report?
Bold Reports is licensed per user, or per application for On-Premises. It is never priced per developer or per report. Cloud: $999/month includes 100 users, then $5 per additional user per month. On-Premises per user: $499/month includes 100 users, then $3 per additional user per month. On-Premises per application: $1,499/month per application with unlimited users.
Does Bold Reports support Blazor?
Yes. Bold Reports has a Report Viewer for Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly apps to view, print and export RDL and RDLC reports.
Can the report designer be embedded, or is it viewer-only?
Both can be embedded. With the Bold Reports embedding SDKs, reports can be designed, viewed and exported inside your own web application.
Does Bold Reports support multi-tenancy?
Yes. Bold Reports supports multi-tenant architecture. Bold Reports Report Server hosts many tenants on one deployment, each isolated, and version 14.1 added tenant-management APIs.
Can I white-label Bold Reports in my application?
Yes. Bold Reports supports white-label deployment. You can rebrand the viewer and designer with your own logo, theme and domain, so reports look like part of your product.
Is there a cloud-hosted SaaS option, or is Bold Reports only self-hosted?
Both are available. Bold Reports Cloud is hosted and managed by Bold Reports, and the On-Premises edition is self-hosted on your own servers.
What if Bold Reports doesn't work for us after we buy?
Bold Reports offers a 30-day return policy with a full refund within 30 days. Before you buy, you can test the full platform in a free trial: 30 days with a work email, or 15 days with a personal email, with no credit card.
Is Bold Reports actively developed, and is there a public roadmap?
Yes. Bold Reports publishes a public roadmap and release notes on its website. Updates ship weekly and monthly; the release history page (boldreports.com/resources/release-history/) lists the latest version and its date.
Ten minutes, no form
What can I try in the next 10 minutes?
Open a sample RDL report in the Bold Reports demo gallery, with no form to fill in. The free trial needs no credit card and lasts 30 days with a work email, or 15 days with a personal email.