shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Telerik?

Save time building sleek web, mobile and desktop apps with professional .NET UI Components, JavaScript UI Libraries, Reporting and Automated Testing solutions. - telerik.com

Depends. Buy if you're an enterprise .NET team building complex, data-heavy UIs and can commit to prompt security patching. Skip it if you're a solo dev or small team — free component libraries and simpler stacks cover simple apps.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~20 public sources; no concrete price figures found in reviewed pages.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Not disclosed

ModelSubscription
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed

Best for

  • Enterprise .NET teams
  • Data-heavy internal apps
  • Blazor and shops
  • Teams needing built-in reporting

Not for

  • Solo devs and hobby projects
  • Small apps fine with free libraries
  • Teams that won't patch CVEs promptly
  • Buyers who need perpetual licenses

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Perpetual licenses dropped — recurring subscription cost for the life of the app

high

UI for AJAX RCE (CVSS 8.1); unpatched versions are actively targeted

high

CVE-2019-18935 sits in CISA's KEV — attackers exploit unpatched installs

medium

Removing Telerik from legacy apps is painful enough that admins seek workarounds

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Huge breadth: web, mobile, desktop, reporting, testing components
  • Blazor users call it a game-changer for web development
  • Support praised as excellent by long-time users
  • Rich docs, demos and developer hub
  • 554 companies tracked using Telerik UI

Cons

  • Multiple RCE and deserialization CVEs, some actively exploited
  • Perpetual licensing discontinued — subscription only going forward
  • WinForms suite criticized for slow controls and weak support
  • Legacy AJAX line carries the bulk of CVE history

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 10 sources - Flagged: repeated high-severity CVEs including unauthenticated RCE — patching discipline is mandatory.

official x1review x4security x3news x2
  • CVE-2026-13185: UI for AJAX unauthenticated RCE, Chained vulnerabilities allow remote code execution; CVSS 8.1.
  • CVE-2026-6023: deserialization of untrusted data, Affects UI for AJAX versions 2024.4.1114 through 2026.1.4.
  • CVE-2024-1801 / CVE-2024-1856: Telerik Reporting, Insecure deserialization vulnerabilities requiring mitigation steps.
  • CVE-2019-18935: CISA KEV listing, Older Telerik UI versions actively exploited in the wild per CISA alert AA23-074A.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • Not disclosed

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Perpetual licenses dropped; costs recur annually
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Some report sluggish controls in WinForms
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Massive suite: web, mobile, desktop, reporting, testing
  • Support quality: 3/5. Praised by some, panned in WinForms
  • Security posture: 2/5. Repeated RCE/deserialization CVEs; CISA KEV listed
  • 554 Companies tracked using Telerik UI per TheirStack technology index
  • CVSS 8.1 Worst CVE severity in sources UI for AJAX RCE, CVE-2026-13185
  • Subscription Pricing model perpetual licenses discontinued
  • Progress Software Ownership acquired Telerik; formerly Summit Partners-backed

Pricing

Not disclosed

Security

Flagged: repeated high-severity CVEs including unauthenticated RCE — patching discipline is mandatory.

  • CVE-2026-13185: UI for AJAX unauthenticated RCEChained vulnerabilities allow remote code execution; CVSS 8.1.⁷
  • CVE-2026-6023: deserialization of untrusted dataAffects UI for AJAX versions 2024.4.1114 through 2026.1.4.
  • CVE-2024-1801 / CVE-2024-1856: Telerik ReportingInsecure deserialization vulnerabilities requiring mitigation steps.
  • CVE-2019-18935: CISA KEV listingOlder Telerik UI versions actively exploited in the wild per CISA alert AA23-074A.⁸

Alternatives

Compare Telerik with each alternative.

  • MudBlazor

    Free open-source Blazor components; enough for most internal apps.

    Telerik vs MudBlazor

  • Fluent UI (Blazor)

    Microsoft's free Fluent components; standard look, zero licensing cost.

  • Syncfusion

    Guess: comparable paid .NET suite, sometimes cheaper per developer.

Companies that use it

  • Insperity
  • Canyon Digital Solutions
  • LaunchStar
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources; no concrete price figures found in reviewed pages.

Powerful, pricey .NET component suite: great for serious enterprise dev teams, overkill for small apps.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources; no concrete price figures found in reviewed pages.

Sources

  1. Telerik.com homepagetelerik.com
    official
  2. Progress Telerik Reviews — Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  3. Telerik discontinued perpetual licensing — Reddit r/dotnetreddit.com
    review
  4. Experience with Telerik, Fluent, MudBlazor — Reddit r/Blazorreddit.com
    review
  5. Telerik UI Reviews — Gartner Peer Insightsgartner.com
    review
  6. Critical RCE chain bulletin, UI for AJAXtelerik.com
    security
  7. CVE-2026-13185 advisory — CCB Belgiumccb.belgium.be
    security
  8. CISA KEV: CVE-2019-18935 — Picus Securitypicussecurity.com
    security
  9. Telerik — Wikipedia (Progress acquisition)en.wikipedia.org
    news
  10. Companies that use Telerik UI (554) — TheirStacktheirstack.com
    news

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