head to head · open source
bentopdf vs Papermark
bentopdf has 16,233 GitHub stars, 1,450 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Papermark has 9,286 stars, 1,415 forks, 239 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. bentopdf leads on adoption by 75% (16,233 vs 9,286 stars). bentopdf is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; Papermark is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. bentopdf has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Papermark 15%. 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.
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Side by side
| bentopdf | Papermark | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick bentopdf if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Papermark if
- You want the Papermark feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Papermark fits your workflow better
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 →
About Papermark
Papermark The open source DocSend alternative. papermark.com Papermark is the open source document sharing alternative to DocSend, featuring built in analytics and custom domains. Features Shareable Links: Share your documents securely by sending a custom link. Custom Branding: Add a custom domain and your own branding. Analytics: Gain insights through document tracking and soon page by page analytics. Self hosted, Open source: Host it yourself and customize it as needed. Demo Tech Stack Next.js – Framework TypeScript – Language Tailwind – CSS shadcn/ui UI Components Prisma ORM PostgreSQL Database NextAuth.js –…
read the full Papermark overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is bentopdf or Papermark more popular?
bentopdf has 16,233 GitHub stars and Papermark has 9,286. bentopdf has the larger community by that measure.
Are bentopdf and Papermark free?
Both are open source. bentopdf is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Papermark has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between bentopdf and Papermark?
bentopdf is written in JavaScript and Papermark 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, bentopdf or Papermark?
Choose bentopdf if you want the larger community (16,233 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Papermark if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.