head to head · open source
Docuseal vs bentopdf
Docuseal has 18,979 GitHub stars, 1,933 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped yesterday. bentopdf has 16,233 stars, 1,450 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docuseal leads on adoption by 17% (18,979 vs 16,233 stars). Docuseal is written in Ruby under AGPL-3.0; bentopdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. Docuseal has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, bentopdf 9%. bentopdf was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Docuseal | bentopdf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 16K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| 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 bentopdf if
- You want the bentopdf 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 bentopdf 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 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 →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Document Management & E-Signatures projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Document Management & E-Signatures field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docuseal or bentopdf more popular?
Docuseal has 18,979 GitHub stars and bentopdf has 16,233. Docuseal has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docuseal and bentopdf free?
Both are open source. Docuseal is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and bentopdf under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docuseal and bentopdf?
Docuseal is written in Ruby and bentopdf 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, Docuseal or bentopdf?
Choose Docuseal if you want the larger community (18,979 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose bentopdf if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.