head to head · open source
bentopdf vs PaperKnife
bentopdf has 16,233 GitHub stars, 1,450 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PaperKnife has 1,525 stars, 107 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. bentopdf leads on adoption by 964% (16,233 vs 1,525 stars). bentopdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; PaperKnife is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. bentopdf has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, PaperKnife 7%. bentopdf was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (pdf, pdf-tools), 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.
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Side by side
| bentopdf | PaperKnife | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 107 |
| 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 PaperKnife if
- You want the PaperKnife 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 PaperKnife fits your workflow better
About bentopdf
BentoPDF BentoPDF is a powerful, privacy first, client side PDF toolkit that is self hostable and allows you to manipulate, edit, merge, and process PDF files directly in your browser. No server side processing is required, ensuring your files remain secure and private. Table of Contents Join Us on Discord Documentation Licensing Stargazers over time Thank You to Our Sponsors Why BentoPDF? Features / Tools Supported Organize & Manage PDFs Edit & Modify PDFs Convert to PDF Convert from PDF Secure & Optimize PDFs Other Products Translations Getting Started Prerequisites Quick Start Static Hosting Self Hosting…
read the full bentopdf overview →
About PaperKnife
PaperKnife A simple, honest PDF utility that respects your privacy. Preview Why I built this Most PDF websites ask you to upload your sensitive documents—bank statements, IDs, contracts—to their servers. Even if they promise to delete them, your data still leaves your device and travels across the internet. I built PaperKnife to solve this. It's a collection of tools that run entirely in your browser or on your phone. Your files never leave your memory, they aren't stored in any database, and no server ever sees them. It works 100% offline. What it can do Modify: Merge multiple files, split pages, rotate, and…
read the full PaperKnife overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is bentopdf or PaperKnife more popular?
bentopdf has 16,233 GitHub stars and PaperKnife has 1,525. bentopdf has the larger community by that measure.
Are bentopdf and PaperKnife free?
Both are open source. bentopdf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PaperKnife under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between bentopdf and PaperKnife?
bentopdf is written in JavaScript and PaperKnife 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 PaperKnife?
Choose bentopdf if you want the larger community (16,233 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose PaperKnife if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.