head to head · open source
Documenso vs Artefact
Documenso has 15,745 GitHub stars, 3,470 forks, 238 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Artefact has 508 stars, 39 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Documenso leads on adoption by 2,999% (15,745 vs 508 stars). Documenso is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Artefact is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Documenso has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, Artefact 8%. Artefact was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (open-source, 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.
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Side by side
| Documenso | Artefact | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 508 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-12 | 2026-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 39 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Documenso if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Artefact if
- You want the Artefact feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Artefact fits your workflow better
About Documenso
The Open Source DocuSign Alternative. Learn more » Discord · Website · Documentation · Issues · Upcoming Releases · Roadmap About Documenso Signing documents digitally should be fast and easy and should be the best practice for every document signed worldwide. This is technically quite easy today, but it also introduces a new party to every signature: The signing tool providers. While this is not a problem in itself, it should make us think about how we want these providers of trust to work. Documenso aims to be the world's most trusted document signing tool. This trust is built by empowering you to self host…
read the full Documenso overview →
About Artefact
Artefact Free, open source PDF reader and document editor for Android. Previously known as ClearPDF. Read, sign and edit PDFs, open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, and keep notes, to do and shopping lists, photos and voice memos on one liquid glass desk. No ads, no accounts, no internet: everything stays on your phone. All releases · Discussions · Contribute · Sponsor Artefact is the next version of ClearPDF , best known for its user experience and refined features. It installs over ClearPDF as an update and keeps your files where they are. Everything runs on your phone, on one Rust engine for PDF…
read the full Artefact overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Documenso or Artefact more popular?
Documenso has 15,745 GitHub stars and Artefact has 508. Documenso has the larger community by that measure.
Are Documenso and Artefact free?
Both are open source. Documenso is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Artefact under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Documenso and Artefact?
Documenso is written in TypeScript and Artefact in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Documenso or Artefact?
Choose Documenso if you want the larger community (15,745 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Artefact if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.