head to head · open source
Docuseal vs Artefact
Docuseal has 19,045 GitHub stars, 1,947 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Artefact has 508 stars, 39 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docuseal leads on adoption by 3,649% (19,045 vs 508 stars). Docuseal is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0; Artefact is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Docuseal has attracted 10% 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
| Docuseal | Artefact | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 508 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-09 | 2026-11-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 39 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docuseal if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- 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 Docuseal
DocuSeal Open source document filling and signing DocuSeal is an open source platform that provides secure and efficient digital document signing and processing. Create PDF forms to have them filled and signed online on any device with an easy to use, mobile optimized web tool. ✨ Live Demo ☁️ Try in Cloud Features PDF form fields builder (WYSIWYG) 12 field types available (Signature, Date, File, Checkbox etc.) Multiple submitters per document Automated emails via SMTP Files storage on disk or AWS S3, Google Storage, Azure Cloud Automatic PDF eSignature PDF signature verification Users management Mobile optimized…
read the full Docuseal 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 Docuseal or Artefact more popular?
Docuseal has 19,045 GitHub stars and Artefact has 508. Docuseal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docuseal and Artefact free?
Both are open source. Docuseal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Artefact under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docuseal and Artefact?
Docuseal is written in Ruby 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, Docuseal or Artefact?
Choose Docuseal if you want the larger community (19,045 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.