head to head · open source
Papermark vs PaperKnife
Papermark has 9,286 GitHub stars, 1,415 forks, 239 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. PaperKnife has 1,525 stars, 107 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Papermark leads on adoption by 509% (9,286 vs 1,525 stars). Papermark is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; PaperKnife is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Papermark has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, PaperKnife 7%. PaperKnife was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (open-source, pdf, typescript), 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
| Papermark | PaperKnife | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.3K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-28 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 107 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Papermark if
- You weight community size — 9.3K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 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 →
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 Papermark or PaperKnife more popular?
Papermark has 9,286 GitHub stars and PaperKnife has 1,525. Papermark has the larger community by that measure.
Are Papermark and PaperKnife free?
Both are open source. Papermark 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 Papermark and PaperKnife?
Papermark is written in TypeScript 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, Papermark or PaperKnife?
Choose Papermark if you want the larger community (9,286 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.