head to head · open source
Papermark vs pdfcpu
Papermark has 9,181 GitHub stars, 1,396 forks, 239 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. pdfcpu has 8,842 stars, 633 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Papermark leads on adoption by 4% (9,181 vs 8,842 stars). Papermark is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; pdfcpu is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Papermark has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, pdfcpu 7%. pdfcpu 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Papermark | pdfcpu | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.2K | ★ 8.8K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-08-28 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 633 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Papermark if
- You weight community size — 9.2K 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 pdfcpu if
- You want the pdfcpu feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and pdfcpu fits your workflow better
About Papermark
Papermark open source document sharing alternative to DocSend. Project lives in Next.js/TypeScript web stack, category Business Software / Document Management & E Signatures. GitHub metadata: 9166 stars, 1392 forks, 239 open issues, last push 2026 08 28T15:58:25Z. README says built in analytics and custom domains. It is self hosted, open source, and customizable as needed. License field says NOASSERTION, so license terms need separate check.
read the full Papermark overview →
About pdfcpu
pdfcpu is a PDF processing library and command line tool written in Go. It lives in the Go and Golang ecosystem, is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, and is listed under Business Software in the Document Management and E Signatures category. The project has existed for nine years, carries 8,835 stars and 628 forks, and lists 121 open issues. Its maintainer, Horst Rutter, is a member of the PDF Association, and the project documentation lives at pdfcpu.io. The GitHub topics attached to the repository are cli, go, golang, golang library, pdf, pdf files, and pdf tools, which describes both halves of what the…
read the full pdfcpu overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Document Management & E-Signatures projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Document Management & E-Signatures field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Papermark or pdfcpu more popular?
Papermark has 9,181 GitHub stars and pdfcpu has 8,842. Papermark has the larger community by that measure.
Are Papermark and pdfcpu free?
Both are open source. Papermark has no licence declared in this registry, and pdfcpu is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Papermark and pdfcpu?
Papermark is written in TypeScript and pdfcpu in Go. 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 pdfcpu?
Choose Papermark if you want the larger community (9,181 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose pdfcpu if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.