head to head · open source
bentopdf vs Papra
bentopdf has 16,233 GitHub stars, 1,450 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Papra has 5,695 stars, 327 forks, 190 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. bentopdf leads on adoption by 185% (16,233 vs 5,695 stars). bentopdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; Papra is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. bentopdf has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Papra 6%. bentopdf was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Papra | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 5.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 327 |
| 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 Papra if
- You want the Papra 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 Papra 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 Papra
Papra Document management platform Minimalistic document management and archiving platform. Demo • Docs • Self hosting • Roadmap • Discord Introduction Papra is a minimalistic document management and archiving platform. It is designed to be simple to use and accessible to everyone. Papra is a platform for long term document storage and management, like a digital archive for your documents. Forget about that receipt of that gift you bought for your friend last year, or that warranty for your new phone. With Papra, you can easily store, forget, and retrieve your documents whenever you need them. A live demo of the…
read the full Papra overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is bentopdf or Papra more popular?
bentopdf has 16,233 GitHub stars and Papra has 5,695. bentopdf has the larger community by that measure.
Are bentopdf and Papra free?
Both are open source. bentopdf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Papra under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between bentopdf and Papra?
bentopdf is written in JavaScript and Papra 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 Papra?
Choose bentopdf if you want the larger community (16,233 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Papra if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.