head to head · open source
bentopdf vs signaturepdf
bentopdf has 15,578 GitHub stars, 1,339 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. signaturepdf has 831 stars, 108 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. bentopdf leads on adoption by 1,775% (15,578 vs 831 stars). bentopdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; signaturepdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. bentopdf has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, signaturepdf 13%. 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-editor), 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 | signaturepdf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 831 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 108 |
| 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 signaturepdf if
- You want the signaturepdf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and signaturepdf 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 signaturepdf
Signature PDF is a free, open source web application under the AGPL 3.0 licence that lets people sign a PDF alone or together with others while also organizing pages, editing metadata, and compressing the file, and it is aimed at individuals, associations, cooperatives, and hosting providers who would rather run document signing on infrastructure they control than hand documents to a third party service.
read the full signaturepdf overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is bentopdf or signaturepdf more popular?
bentopdf has 15,578 GitHub stars and signaturepdf has 831. bentopdf has the larger community by that measure.
Are bentopdf and signaturepdf free?
Both are open source. bentopdf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and signaturepdf under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between bentopdf and signaturepdf?
bentopdf is written in JavaScript and signaturepdf in JavaScript. 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 signaturepdf?
Choose bentopdf if you want the larger community (15,578 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose signaturepdf if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.