head to head · open source
gspread vs PDF4QT
gspread has 7,507 GitHub stars, 978 forks, 73 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. PDF4QT has 1,477 stars, 145 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped yesterday. gspread leads on adoption by 408% (7,507 vs 1,477 stars). gspread is written in Python under MIT; PDF4QT is written in C++ under MIT. gspread has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, PDF4QT 10%. PDF4QT 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 | PDF4QT | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.5K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-07-30 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 978 | ⑂ 145 |
| 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 PDF4QT if
- You want the PDF4QT feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and PDF4QT fits your workflow better
About gspread
gspread is a Python client library for the Google Sheets API v4 that lets Python code open, read, write, format, and share Google Sheets spreadsheets without hand writing HTTP requests against the Sheets REST endpoints.
read the full gspread overview →
About PDF4QT
PDF4QT is an MIT licensed, cross platform PDF toolkit for Windows and Linux that combines dedicated desktop applications — a viewer, editor, page manipulator, document diff tool and command line utility — with a C++/Qt PDF rendering engine built against the PDF Reference 2.0, and it is aimed at end users, developers and integrators who need PDF handling they can inspect, modify and redistribute without licence friction.
read the full PDF4QT overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is gspread or PDF4QT more popular?
gspread has 7,507 GitHub stars and PDF4QT has 1,477. gspread has the larger community by that measure.
Are gspread and PDF4QT free?
Both are open source. gspread is licensed under MIT and PDF4QT under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between gspread and PDF4QT?
gspread is written in Python and PDF4QT 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, gspread or PDF4QT?
Choose gspread if you want the larger community (7,507 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose PDF4QT if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.