head to head · open source
OpenSign vs PaperKnife
OpenSign has 7,254 GitHub stars, 856 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. PaperKnife has 1,533 stars, 107 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. OpenSign leads on adoption by 373% (7,254 vs 1,533 stars). OpenSign is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; PaperKnife is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. OpenSign has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, PaperKnife 7%. OpenSign 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
| OpenSign | PaperKnife | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.3K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-10 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 856 | ⑂ 107 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenSign if
- You weight community size — 7.3K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick PaperKnife if
- You want the PaperKnife feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and PaperKnife fits your workflow better
About OpenSign
The free and open source alternative to DocuSign Website • Help Docs • API Docs • Blog • Discord • Twitter • LinkedIn The premier open source document signing solution(DocuSign alternative) Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Features 3. Installation 4. Usage 5. Contribution Guidelines 6. License 7. Acknowledgments Please star ⭐ the repo to support us! 😀 Introduction Welcome to OpenSign, the premier open source docusign alternative document e signing solution designed to provide a secure, reliable and free alternative to commercial esign platforms like DocuSign, PandaDoc, SignNow, Adobe Sign, Smartwaiver…
read the full OpenSign overview →
About PaperKnife
PaperKnife A simple, honest PDF utility that respects your privacy. Preview Why I built this Most PDF websites ask you to upload your sensitive documents—bank statements, IDs, contracts—to their servers. Even if they promise to delete them, your data still leaves your device and travels across the internet. I built PaperKnife to solve this. It's a collection of tools that run entirely in your browser or on your phone. Your files never leave your memory, they aren't stored in any database, and no server ever sees them. It works 100% offline. What it can do Modify: Merge multiple files, split pages, rotate, and…
read the full PaperKnife overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenSign or PaperKnife more popular?
OpenSign has 7,254 GitHub stars and PaperKnife has 1,533. OpenSign has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenSign and PaperKnife free?
Both are open source. OpenSign has no licence declared in this registry, and PaperKnife is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenSign and PaperKnife?
OpenSign is written in JavaScript and PaperKnife in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenSign or PaperKnife?
Choose OpenSign if you want the larger community (7,254 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose PaperKnife if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.