head to head · open source
bentopdf vs Documenso
bentopdf has 15,578 GitHub stars, 1,339 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Documenso has 15,062 stars, 3,225 forks, 238 open issues and last shipped yesterday. bentopdf leads on adoption by 3% (15,578 vs 15,062 stars). bentopdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; Documenso is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. bentopdf has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Documenso 21%. Documenso was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (pdf), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| bentopdf | Documenso | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 15K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick bentopdf if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Documenso if
- You want the Documenso feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Documenso fits your workflow better
About bentopdf
BentoPDF is a JavaScript, browser based PDF toolkit that merges, edits, converts, and processes documents entirely on the client, and it is aimed at individuals and teams who need those document workflows without sending files to a third party service.
read the full bentopdf overview →
About Documenso
Documenso is open source document signing software. It lives in business software ecosystem, specifically document management and e signatures. Project calls itself open source DocuSign alternative. It provides digital signing for PDF documents. It is written in TypeScript. It is licensed under AGPL 3.0. Repository shows 15014 stars, 3207 forks, 238 open issues, last push 2026 09 14.
read the full Documenso overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Document Management & E-Signatures projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Document Management & E-Signatures field.
Frequently asked questions
Is bentopdf or Documenso more popular?
bentopdf has 15,578 GitHub stars and Documenso has 15,062. bentopdf has the larger community by that measure.
Are bentopdf and Documenso free?
Both are open source. bentopdf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Documenso under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between bentopdf and Documenso?
bentopdf is written in JavaScript and Documenso in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, bentopdf or Documenso?
Choose bentopdf if you want the larger community (15,578 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Documenso if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.