head to head · open source
gspread vs Pdf_Tools
gspread has 7,514 GitHub stars, 980 forks, 73 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Pdf_Tools has 684 stars, 44 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. gspread leads on adoption by 999% (7,514 vs 684 stars). gspread is written in Python under MIT; Pdf_Tools is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0. gspread has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, Pdf_Tools 6%. Pdf_Tools 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
| gspread | Pdf_Tools | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.5K | ★ 684 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 980 | ⑂ 44 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick gspread if
- You weight community size — 7.5K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Pdf_Tools if
- You want the Pdf_Tools feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and Pdf_Tools fits your workflow better
About gspread
Google Spreadsheets Python API v4 Maintainer needed We are sorry to announce that we are currently unable to maintain Gspread. We are looking for new maintainers to keep up the good work. Feel free to reach out to us using this issue 1570 Overview Simple interface for working with Google Sheets. Features: Open a spreadsheet by title , key or URL . Read, write, and format cell ranges. Sharing and access control. Batching updates. Installation Requirements: Python 3.8+. Basic Usage 1. Create credentials in Google API Console 2. Start using gspread v5.12 to v6.0 Migration Guide Upgrade from Python 3.7 Python 3.7 is…
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About Pdf_Tools
PDF Toolkit A privacy first, offline PDF utility for Android 📱 Get it on Android 📥 F Droid Installation & Benefits PDF Toolkit is published on F Droid , the repository of free and open source Android software: 100% Free & Open Source : Built using the fdroid build flavor with 0 proprietary dependencies or trackers. Offline Tesseract OCR Engine : Performs Optical Character Recognition completely on device without Google Play Services or network connections. Reproducible & Verified : Standard F Droid automated builds compiled from source. To Install via F Droid: 1. Download the F Droid Client App. 2. Search for…
read the full Pdf_Tools overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is gspread or Pdf_Tools more popular?
gspread has 7,514 GitHub stars and Pdf_Tools has 684. gspread has the larger community by that measure.
Are gspread and Pdf_Tools free?
Both are open source. gspread is licensed under MIT and Pdf_Tools under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between gspread and Pdf_Tools?
gspread is written in Python and Pdf_Tools in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, gspread or Pdf_Tools?
Choose gspread if you want the larger community (7,514 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Pdf_Tools if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.