head to head · open source
CryptPad vs KillerPDF
CryptPad has 7,927 GitHub stars, 849 forks, 401 open issues and last shipped yesterday. KillerPDF has 3,879 stars, 307 forks, 38 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. CryptPad leads on adoption by 104% (7,927 vs 3,879 stars). CryptPad is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; KillerPDF is written in C# under GPL-3.0. CryptPad has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, KillerPDF 8%. CryptPad 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
| CryptPad | KillerPDF | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.9K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 849 | ⑂ 307 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick CryptPad if
- You weight community size — 7.9K 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 KillerPDF if
- You want the KillerPDF feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and KillerPDF fits your workflow better
About CryptPad
CryptPad is an open source collaboration suite built around end to end encryption, written in JavaScript and released under the AGPL 3.0. It lives in the JavaScript and real time collaboration ecosystem, using ChainPad to synchronize changes to documents in real time. The suite covers documents, sheets, presentations, forms, kanban boards, code, rich text, and whiteboards, all reachable from a single CryptDrive, and it is positioned as an open alternative to Google Docs.
read the full CryptPad overview →
About KillerPDF
KillerPDF is a free, open source PDF editor for Windows, built in C under the GPL 3.0 licence, that gives individuals and teams a complete view annotate OCR edit sign workflow without an Adobe subscription and without sending document processing off the machine.
read the full KillerPDF overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is CryptPad or KillerPDF more popular?
CryptPad has 7,927 GitHub stars and KillerPDF has 3,879. CryptPad has the larger community by that measure.
Are CryptPad and KillerPDF free?
Both are open source. CryptPad is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and KillerPDF under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between CryptPad and KillerPDF?
CryptPad is written in JavaScript and KillerPDF in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, CryptPad or KillerPDF?
Choose CryptPad if you want the larger community (7,927 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose KillerPDF if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.